Robocop (2014)
Last Watch Date - May 31, 2025
Total Times Watched - 1
Comments
I don't know if I'd say I was purposely avoiding this movie or not, but I hadn't watched it until NOW. I guess I figured it'd be a weird movie to remake. There's so much of the 80s Robocop that works because of how over-the-top it is and that's really hard to capture. Plus, most of the modern remakes go for the "slick" style too much and it never works for a gritty movie like Robocop. Maybe I'm wrong though, as I've heard some good things from people about it!
Because this is a remake, I'm going to look at it a bit differently than others. The way they revamped the story is a bit silly. It's almost like two separate stories, one based in the modern age and one based on the 80s premise, that they've stuck together with some scotch tape and bubble gum. Nothing really feels "right" about this. You have some great actors in it, which makes it even weirder how off it is.
Gary Oldman plays the head scientist of OmniCorp who is putting Murphy into the robo-suit with the consent of his wife. This is already different than the 87 version and it seems like they're trying to humanize or make OmniCorp more of a gray area than OCP in the 87 version. You see this softer side of the corporation where they're more concerned with the human than you get with OCP and the original Murphy.
Murphy himself has a very different arc as well. In this version, he's aware of himself, his memories, his humanity from the very start. They do suppress it with some AI handwaving, but he is able to punch through to become more of a man later. This is very different from the 87 version where he's a machine right from the get-go and only starts to realize who he is from contextual clues as time goes on.
I mentioned this before, but OmniCorp is so different than OCP. They try to make it more realistic with leadership who want profits, but have people within questioning the motives and pushing back at least a little bit. It also includes a whistleblower scene. OCP in 87 is basically a set of cartoon villains. It works because it's so wild.
The final piece I'll mention here is the weird media character that Samuel L. Jackson plays. It's more or less a Fox News talking head trying to stir up feelings in his viewers. It's ... weird.
All that said, I don't think this movie works. The satirization of corporate America building toward a dystopian hellscape like Detroit in the 87 version is not even remotely captured in the 2014 version. They totally missed the boat there. It seems to be a more serious take on the potential dangers of AI and automation, maybe a little bit of media.
Let me put this another way. I WOULDN'T BUY THAT FOR A DOLLAR! (which is said in this movie by.. I think Jackie Earle Haley, which is a play on "I'd buy that for a dollar!" from the 87 version).
Recommended?
No. Go watch the 87 version and forget this exists.
