Robocop

Among the many benefits of the all freedom lifestyle in which I'm currently indulging is lots of movie viewing time. Last weekend I saw (and failed to review, because hobo) I, Frankenstein, which is not not entertaining, but is really, really stupid. In short, it's demons vs. gargoyles, and has exactly as much gravity as you'd expect from such a film. This weekend was much better! Let's start with a police action.

Robocop

I should preface this with an embarrassing admission: I have not seen the original Robocop. The new one was my introduction to the franchise, and it left me wanting. Don't get me wrong, you could do a lot worse than Robocop if you're looking for a light weight action movie, but you could also do a better. If a reboot of 80s/90s super-cop cinema is what you seek, I highly recommend Netflixing Dredd before spending money here. Robocop is not the law. Judge Dredd is the law.

Most of you are probably familiar with Robocop's premise (or can infer as much from it's dazzlingly self-explanatory title), but briefly- in the not too distant a future, a good Detroit cop named Alex Murphy is near mortally injured in an assassination attempt by some gangsters who want him to stop interfering with their gangster work. Omnicorp, a robotics company seeking to sway public opinion toward allowing robotic law enforcement entities in the United States (they're already being used in American military efforts abroad), saves his life by turning him into a cyborg in the hopes of giving said public a hero they can root for. It's a lot like Iron Man without Tony Stark inside the robo-suit.

Robocop's biggest weakness is that it just doesn't have enough fun with what should be a really easy premise to have fun with. Humor is sparse, and the shoot-em-up action sequences pack a lot more bullets (a LOT more bullets) than they do actual thrills. The characters are also insufficiently sassy. Director Jose Padilha wants to *say something* about corporate America/American imperialism abroad, and seems to think that the best way to do so is to have supporting characters just as robotic as the movie's titular lead. Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton do solid jobs with their respective roles, but there's just not enough meat in the script for them to really sink their teeth into. Robocop is a movie begging for a Shane Black re-write.  

There's really no area in which the film excels, but the plot is serviceable, and Abbie Cornish is adorable, so I guess that's something. Robocop isn't bad, it just isn't particularly good. You should definitely see The Lego Movie (to be reviewed tomorrow!) instead.

Directed By: Jose Padilha

Starring: Joel Kinnaman, (Swedish as hell) Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish

You Should See it if: You've already seen The Lego Movie and wanna watch some stuff blow up.