As a fan of Robocop (1987), I have to tell you, I was extremely looking forward to this remake. With the amazing trailer with CG effects and animations, the film looked nothing short of badass. Unfortunately though, like most remakes, Robocop fell short. Even if the storyline and ideas come from the 80’s and are almost obsolete in this contemporary time, there is no excuse for the blunder involved in Director Jose Padhila’s 2014 Robocop.
You would expect actors chosen to take part in the remake of such an awesome classic to have fun with the job, but other than with Samuel Jackson, none of the actors did. They simply acted it straight and boring. The project was supposed to be a fun remake that would capture the essence of the old film and bring it to our generation. Robocop is undoubtedly a guns blazin’, explosion-excessive action film. The whole entertainment value of the movie comes from the exciting fight scenes which are cut short in the new adaption. Most of the film was dialogue. I’m not saying that dialogue-heavy films are boring, but for a film aiming to recreate the success of the classic sci-fi film should try to make an epic rendition of the combat scenes.
Padhilla’s choice in set and music wasn’t quite fitting either. The urban environment depicted in the scene was put together well, but didn’t give the futuristic feeling that the classic gives off. In the original film, the plot twist at the end was shocking and powerful, but in the adaption, it is merely predictable and one could see how the film would end in the first thirty minutes.
Samuel Jackson’s screen time was probably the only enjoyable parts as you could see him put his energy into the film and represent his character perfectly. Apart from his highlights, the movie’s graphics were indeed top-notch and serve to be a demonstration of a film that focuses so heavily on CGI that it doesn’t give enough thought into the plot or screenplay.
