RoboCop
review by
ANIZ FILMVALA
*****
CRITIC VIEW.
José Padilha's RoboCop doesn’t recreate perfection over the
original it’s just a reboot and the result are not so impressive. The movie
sucks, much has been seen and delivered on such genre [video-game action].
There is no adrenaline rush or a high octane action to your disposal. The re-surrection
portion is boring and drags. Film is more about on white collar crime,
diverting audience mind towards making them think rather engaging them into
more thrills and edge of the seat experience.
The rock-hard costume and super
intelligence of the RoboCop is fascinating. A first-class production design, astounding
background score by Pedro Bromfman and a impressive casting [Michael Keaton as
Raymond Sellars ] is a saving grace to this latest installment of the super
power entertainment.
STORY.
In 2028, multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the
center of military "robot soldier" technology, supplying the US
Military with mechanical soldiers that are used overseas. OmniCorp wants to
sell their products for use in civilian law enforcement in the United States
but public opinion, embodied by the Dreyfuss Act, prevents this. OmniCorp CEO
Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) asks his marketing team, in conjunction with
scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), to create a new law enforcement
product by combining human and machine that he believes can be "sold"
to the American public, and cause the Dreyfuss Act to be voted down in
Congress. They begin looking for a police officer who was permanently injured
to act as the core of their prototype.
Policeman Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is critically injured
by a carbomb planted by crooked cops under the payroll of local crime boss Antoine
Vallon. Norton picks Murphy for the RoboCop program, and after getting consent
from Murphy's wife, Clara (Abbie Cornish), has him outfitted with the RoboCop
body and software, which gives him enhanced strength along with instant
computing information in his brain. Alex at first rejects his current
condition, but is convinced by Norton to be strong for his wife and son. Rick
Mattox (Jackie Earle Haley), OmniCorp's military tactician, is skeptical of
Alex's abilities and points out he will never be as efficient as a fully
mechanical robot. In order to make Alex perform better, Norton tampers with
Alex's brain, making him believe that his tactical decisions are his own when
he is actually executing programs.
While preparing for a public press conference to unveil
RoboCop, Alex is emotionally overwhelmed and has a seizure while Norton is
downloading the police database information into his brain. Pressed for time,
Norton has Alex's brain chemistry altered, lowering his dopamine levels until
he no longer displays any emotions. Under control, Alex attends the press
conference, where he ignores his waiting wife and son, and efficiently
apprehends a criminal in the crowd. RoboCop is a public relations success, and
afterward Alex is successful in drastically reducing the crime rate in Detroit.
Public opinion on the Dreyfuss Act begins to turn. Norton is told to prevent
Alex from seeing his wife and son to disguise the lowered dopamine changes.
Clara manages to confront her husband as he is leaving the
station, telling him about his son David's nightmares. Alex leaves, but then
overrides his programming and detours from his current case to go to his house.
He reviews the CCTV footage of his accident and realizes that David saw his
body and was traumatized by it. Alex then pursues Vallon for revenge, and in
the course of tracking him down to a warehouse learns that Sellars was involved
with Vallon. Vallon is tipped off that Alex was coming and prepares for him,
when Alex arrives Vallon nearly succeeds in killing him but fails and is shot
by Alex. Alex then returns to the station to apprehend the two cops who sold
him out. Alex arrests the two cops, and is about to arrest the Chief of Police
when Mattox, who has been given full access to the RoboCop program, remotely
shuts him down, fearing the police chief will confess to Sellars involvement in
the car bomb that nearly killed Alex. Alex is then taken back to OmniCorp for
repair.
Sellars decides to spin this turn of events to his
advantage, via television presenter Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson), who thanks
RoboCop for revealing the fallibility of the police, and points out that drones
are incorruptible. A repeal of the Dreyfuss Act goes underway, with voters
overwhelmingly in support of the repeal. Clara, who has been insisting to see
Alex, goes to the press and angrily demands to see her husband. Sellars and
Mattox realize that Clara can eventually force a meeting with her and Alex and
this could reveal their involvement with Vallon, so Sellars separately sends
both Mattox and Norton to destroy Alex. Norton reaches Alex in the lab first
and has him brought back to consciousness, telling him everything. Alex,
feeling betrayed, goes after Sellars.
Sellars has the OmniCorp building shut down and armed with
drones. Alex manages to gain entry with the help of his former partner, Jack
Lewis (Michael K. Williams) and other police officers. Alex reaches the roof,
where Sellars is waiting for a helicopter and has Clara and David as hostages.
Alex's programming prevents him from arresting Sellars, but he manages to
overcome it just long enough to shoot Sellars, killing him.
In the closing scenes, OmniCorp's parent company, OCP,
decides to review the drone and RoboCop program. The President vetoes the
repeal of the Dreyfuss Act based on the testimony of Norton, who confesses
everything they'd done in the RoboCop program. Alex's body is rebuilt this time
back to the original Robocop body as he was given initially in Norton's
laboratory, and then he waits for Clara and David, who are coming to visit him.
CAST.
Joel Kinnaman as Alex
Murphy,
Gary Oldman as Dr.
Dennett Norton,
Michael Keaton as
Raymond Sellars
Samuel L. Jackson as
Patrick "Pat" Novak, host of The Novak Element
Abbie Cornish as
Clara Murphy
John Paul Ruttan as
David Murphy, Alex and Clara's son.
