Robocop (2014) vs. Robocop (1987)

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nThis comparison between Robocop (1987) and Robocop (2014)comesnfrom a hardcore Robocop fan, who truly freaking loved the original. I mean,nwhen that first movie came out, it was the talk of the town, I remember. All mynbuddies and I could talk about was Robocop and how cool it was. How awesome wasnRobocop to me? Well, this is how cool: I made a mini comic that was a parody ofnRobocop! I called it ‘Bobocop’, the series went on for five whole issues! My 12nyear old self loved this ‘R’ rated film, I worshiped this freaking movie.nThinking back, I was a pretty tough kid, I mean, I loved this hardcore ‘R’nmovie that included scenes of drug abuse, nudity and hardcore gore! I mean,nhere’s a movie where Alex Murphy, a Detroit City cop literally gets his brainsnblown out by the bad guys! But then again, that’s what I liked about it; hownover the top it was. How hardcore was Robocop? Well, let me put it this way, innthe original film, when the Robocop project gets green lit, the guy who wasnspearheading the project goes and gets a couple of hookers, sprays some cocainenon their breasts and snorts away to celebrate his success! Want more? Well, innthat first film, a bad guy gets a vat of chemicals poured on him and we see hisnflesh melt off his bones! Basically, this movies modus operandi was callednoverkill. And you know what? That’s the way I liked it! That was director PaulnVerhoeven’s way, many of the movies he made during the 80’s and 90’s were always over the top with their violence. Ifnyou don’t believe me, then check out Total Recall (1989), a film that wasncriticized for its bucket loads of blood and disregard for human life.

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nBut it’s like Verhoeven says, the violence in these movies isnan exaggeration of real life, cartoonish in some ways, in other words, it’s allnin good fun. Which is exactly what I loved aboutnVerhoeven’s Robocop, the shock value. And let’s talk a bit about that, I didn’t watch a film like Robocop for how deep it was or how it touched uponnwhat it means to be a human, as a kid I devoured Verhoeven’s film for the cheapnthrills, the shock value, that jolt of electricity that you get when Robocopnslashes Clearance Boddicker’s throat. It’s what made these moviesnfun. Not that I’m some sort of blood thirsty violent person, I’m actually quitenthe peace loving dude, but I love the shock in movies like Robocop, it wasnnever, not for one second boring! Of course, I also loved that science fictionnangle; I loved that Robocop was a cyborg and I loved ED-209. In the end, to myntwelve year old mind, Robocop was an irresistible mix of science fiction,naction and shock, what’s not to love? And I’m not just talkingnthrough my nostalgia goggles here, I still think Verhoeven’s Robocop is a solidnfilm with an amazing cast in every single role. Heroes took chances and risks, I mean, Alex Murphy was a brave guy! So was Lewis.nThe villains where scary dudes, Clearance Boddicker, that guy was really evilnin that movie, it took me a while to see that actor as anything but the villainnfrom Robocop. You felt a certain kind of energy through their performances,nwhich is something I didn’t get from the new one. Everyone is so one note onnthis new film, it was nauseating! Where was the anger and fury on these people?nDoesn’t anybody feel? Point is the old Robocop was an intense, solid film allnaround.  The action was so intense and innyour face, it just felt real.

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nIn contrast, this new Robo does not deliver the same levelsnof intensity, which is sad. Now, when I first heard about the news of anRobo-remake I was excited as hell because I’d been needing a new dose of Robonaction. I wanted more Robocop, even if it was through a remake. I was thrilled with the prospect of a new Robo film, and I have to admit that in certain moments of the new film I was genuinely excited to see Robocop again, unfortunatelynthe cons outweigh the pros on this one.  Ofncourse, as it is always the case when the remake of a beloved franchise isnannounced, film buffs and geeks all across the world shouted sacrilege. I’mnnot the type to immediately hate a remake because as I’ve said a thousand timesnbefore, there’s the off chance that it might be one of the good ones. I was seeing a lot of good things in the previews. In all fariness, the remake does not warrant the intense hatred it’s been getting. It actuallynhas some good ideas. For example, I liked that whole idea about the UnitednStates using robots to invade (read: conquer) other countries, the militarynapplications for Robocop where not ignored, this is an element we never saw in previous Robocop films. They dwelled a whole lot more onnthe technological advances that allow thesenpeople to merge a man with a robot. They explored the ideas of whatnmakes a cyborg a cyborg a whole lot more than on Verhoeven’s film. But thennagain, therein lies part of the problem; while the first film glazed over a lotnof the logic in order to make room for the fun stuff, this one wants to be anbit more cerebral.

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nThey spend too much screen time explaining everything; whichnby the way is something that a lot of films are doing nowadays; they analyzenthings to death. The original film didn’t explain everything about Robocop, we werenmeant to take certain things for granted, we found our own explanations in ournminds. We as an audience connected the dots in our heads. Not so on this newnfilm where they explore ideas to death. The problem with that is that after seeing Verhoeven’s Robocop andnwatching this new one, I swear I felt like a junkie with freaking withdrawalnsymptoms, I needed my jolt of shock! I needed that fun factor turned up!nSadly, this is a problem with films nowadays, they want to be so politicallyncorrect that they are no longer fun. They don’t want Alex Murphy to say fuck,nthey don’t want drugs, they don’t want blood, they don’t want  gore…we my friends are living in an age wherenaction films are being sensored, the action film as we knew it no longer exists. We are living in an age where filmsnsimply have no guts. I know that studios want to make more money, and thatnmaking films PG-13 is a way to do that, but damn, seriously, is every singlenthing that Hollywood makes going to be watered down? Is everything going to benmade for pre-teens?  

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nAnd here’s part of the problem with the Robocop franchise,nit started out as a hardcore action franchise for adults. The first two filmsnwere ‘R’ rated sci-fi films for adults, but once they got to the third one,nwell, the owners of the Robo franchise decided to turn it into a franchise fornkids. By then they had made Saturday morning cartoons of Robocop, a televisionnseries, toys, video games and even comic books, all made for children, whichnmakes no sense whatsoever. I mean, why would you want to make a cartoon seriesnfor children based on a movie where Robocop’s creator snorts cocaine from the breastsnof a prostitute? You know what I mean? From inception Robocop was a very adultnseries of films, but Hollywood thinks Robots, and they immediately think kidsnand toys. Which is the reason why by the time the franchise arrived to itsnthird film, well, Robocop had a little kid sidekick. It was also by the thirdnfilm that the studio decided to make Robocop a PG-13 franchise. And you knownhow that story goes, Robocop 3 (1993) turned out to be the worst film in the franchisenbecause it wasn’t the Robocop that we knew and loved, it was by then, a wateredndown version of the first film.

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nWhich, I’m sad to say is what we get with this new Robocopnfilm. This is not to say the film doesn’t have its moments. I mean, I lovenRobocop itself, how he looks when he puts the visor on and aims his gun isnpositively cool. I loved seeing Robocop in action, sadly there’s not enoughnaction to be had, and what action we do get, is computer generated. On thenfirst film when Robocop gets shot to death by all those cops, you cannpractically taste the gun powder and the shards of glass, you felt an intensitynin Peter Weller’s performance, even through the helmet. Weller’s eyes and mouthnexpressed the pain; I felt sympathy for Robocop in those scenes!  On the new one I didn’t feel for the character.nJoel Kinnaman was a bad choice to play Robocop, it’s the biggest bit ofnmiscasting since John Cusack playing Nixon in The Butler (2013). I felt nonsympathy for this Robocop because I didn’t care for the guy, there were no momentsnin the film where I connected with the character. In the first we felt we were Alex Murphy, a cop out on a new turf, Detroit. On this film the city is not a character and neither are the people who inhabit it, in the old one Detroit was a hell hole you did not want to live in. And then there’s Kinnaman, why fill a movie with all these stars and then leave the most importantnrole in the film to a complete unknown? You know how much better Robocop isnbecause Peter Weller’s in it? A whole lot better! I’m sorry, but Kinnaman evennlooks goofy in his robo gear. And speaking of Robo gear, I was willing to giventhe film a chance in this department, but the black was a bad choice. Here’snthe thing, they should’ve left him looking all metallic, whenever Robocop looksnmetallic in the new film, everything was so much better! If it aint broke don’tnfix it. Robocop is not black, he’s metallic!

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nOne of the biggest problems with the film is that nothingnfeels tangible or intense, the film felt as cold as the robots it portrays. Mynadvice to Hollywood is: stop doing entire films in CGI! However cool you guysnthink everything looks, things just don’t feel real. Use freaking computernanimation sparingly dammit! The minute I saw a computer generated Robocopnjumping through the air in the previews, I knew something was rotten innDenmark. So my final say on this is that the first film is still superior innevery single way possible. I gave this one a chance; I gave it thenbenefit of the doubt and while it has some cool moments and shots, the film asna whole felt like it was missing what made the old one so much fun to watch,nHollywood is an old man afraid to have fun these days. When it started, Robocopnwas a concept made for adults, it had biting satyre! I mean, beneath all thatnshock and action, the film made fun of society. Basically, what happened withnthis new Robocop remake is the same thing that happened with the Total Recall (2012)nremake, while enjoyable to some extent, they took away the edgy, fun elements, it brings down the film if you ask me, it makes it less than what it was.nAnd you know what I say to that? Boo, is what I say. I want my fun movies back.nBring back the freaking eighties because I don’t like what action films havenbecome. Simply put: they don’t feel like action films anymore. If you want tonsee what all the hoopla is about go see this new Robocop movie, I’m not callingnit a bad film, I’m calling it a watered down version of its former self. Shamenon you Hollywood, you know what we want, you’ve just decided not to give it tonus. 

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nRobocop (1987): 5 out of 5

nRobocop (2014): 2 out of 5

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