Robocop 2014

1987 was the start of a good run for Paul Verhoeven, already well established as a Dutch filmaker his transition to Hollywood kicked off with Robocop a movie that courted as much critisim as praise for its dark ultra violence mixed with a blacker than black satirical edge. This was the time of the greed is good 80's.

       I loved it at the time, for daring to go out on a limb, and for Paul Wellers outstanding turn as Alex Murphy. in fact it could be argued that it was his performance that brought class to the whole enterprise.  I was an avid reader of Judge Dredd and this was as near as I would get to taste of that bleak black comedic view of a world gone mad and consumed by greed and violent civil unrest.

       The film delivered it appealed to gore hounds as well as action film fans and this was a period of the 80's when Stallone and Shwarzenegger dominated.   When action was king with anti heroes bleaker than Dirty Harry.

        So now we come to the new 2014 verison of Robocop. Instead of critics being polarized by the movie we instead have dissent from the rank and file fans who despite an endless  stream of reboots and reimaginings seem overly protective over the mettalic future of law enforcement.

        I hold no such qualms this is a film that relects the current time as much as the original is very much a product of the 80's.  The violence is toned down but still there, the idea of man becoming machine and which is the dominant factor Murphy or Robocop is now front and centre and very much the heart of the film.  So my first bit of advice therefore would be to ignore the original. Take this new film on its own terms as it is a vastly superior film to the originals lacklustre sequals even if it doesnt reach the originals emotional wallop. 

       Everything about the set up is different , the big bad is different and theough violent it is less bloody it is very much a relection of current times.  This is a world in which politics is in conflict with corporate interests.  Villains are more ambigious and less clear and if there is one critisism this film lacks a big scenery chewing baddy for Alex Murphy to go up against.

       I feel strongly its because the man or machine element is of more interest to the film maker rather than being a pure action movie.

       On the whole I enjoyed the film on its terms.  The original is still out there, it can still be viewed and loved the new reboot exceeded my jaded expectations and deserves to exisit in its own right. It was a journey I am glad I took and if there was to be a sequal i would gladly welcome it. But next time, we need a bigger, badder villain for Alex Murphy to go up against.