When it comes to reboots there is always a fear that it will not live up to the original or do the original justice. In a situation like this, the best practice is to not think about the original when watching a reboot. This way you can enjoy what you are watching and not feel cheated. (It’s also best to not re-watch the original before seeing the new) I did that with the new RoboCop movie …and it worked. It was an enjoyable movie.
Story
“….the controversy surrounding the use of drones…”
Like most stories, a little bit of real life is incorporated to make it feel more realistic and dramatic. If you have been listening or watching to even a little bit of the news, then you may be aware of the controversy surrounding the use of drones on U.S. soil even though we use them overseas. That is the slice of reality put into this story. It all has to do with the Dreyfus Act, which prevents the use of drones, like the E. D. 209 (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) and their bi-pedal drone (which is basically what Alex Murphy becomes minus the biological element), domestically. RoboCop comes in as a way to get around the Act. The Act states that a robot drone cannot be used, because it doesn’t have the human aspect, but by incorporating it as a cyborg it bypasses the Act because a human is making the choices.
What I Liked
The use of the E. D. 209 takes me back to the original RoboCop released in 1987. I am very glad they used them; it would have been tragic if they didn’t. You should want the story to appeal to all audiences, both old and new. Now most of the new fans may not get the reference, but the old surely do (like me). Now, another thing that we old fans liked from the original was the show with the bald guy and his catch phrase “I’d buy that for a dollar!” The show wasn’t there, but there was a bald guy just the same that did use the phrase as homage. To make it really great, it was uttered by Jackie Earle Haley.
What I Didn’t Like
Now, I don’t expect every movie I see to be rated-R. That would just be boring… and a movie doesn’t need to be rated-R to be exciting either, but with a story like RoboCop’s a higher rating is probably necessary. The original movie had a very gritty story. They made this movie the way they did because they wanted kids to be able to see it. Making movies these days is all about making money, not about the story (think toys)…mores the pity. But this is more or less me nit-picking.
Conclusion
This is certainly an enjoyable movie and it’s very hard to judge RoboCop new vs old. The two are different takes on the subject matter. Also, I will not say it is a must see in theaters, but if you are wanting something to watch and cheesy romance is not what you are in the mood for, then I recommend RoboCop.