MOVIE REVIEW:
ROBOCOP (2014)
Review By:
G.P. Manalo
Directed By:
Jose Padilha
Starring:
Joel Kinnaman
Michael Keaton
Gary Oldman
Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop was a sleeper hit back
in 1987; Robocop has that satirical yet honest message about crime and corporation
could affect the society in the near future but it was built in the metallic
shell of a smart yet violent Hard-R science fiction movie. But some years
later, Robocop has become part of the short list of Hollywood where there is a
need to bring back the best of the 80s through either sequels, prequels or most
typically re-makes or reboots. Jose Padilha’s version stripped away almost
everything that makes Verhoeven’s version great and it is the satire it had and
the violence that does make the world of Robocop not a great place to live in.
This version of Robocop is more of a political message and at the same time focuses
more on what makes man - man. The only question left that is floating in the
audience’s mind is whether or not Robocop is better off dead or alive?
In
2028, a company called OmniCorp has become a worldwide brand of robotics and
advanced weaponry that can defend the world from both crime and terrorist
attacks, but a publicly-supported government bill known as the Dreyfuss act is
stopping the company from putting drones and weapons in American soil. The CEO
of Omnicorp, Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) has vowed to counteract the act
by putting a man in a machine. He handpicked a Detroit Cop, Alex Murphy (John
Kinnaman) for the Robocop program after being brutally murdered in a car
explosion by the local gang for interfering with their plans and exposing their
crimes. He is meanwhile suited in a robotic armor with the help of Dr. Norton
(Gary Oldman) and he trained for months until he is free to serve his country
for proving the world that drones can make America a better place. But it
didn’t take long for Murphy to fight the program stopping him from solving his
own murder and finish the case he took in the first place.
