WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers
Interesting fact alert! The idea for the original Robocop film was conceived while one of the writers was working on the set of Blade Runner. How cool is that? However, with any good concept someone somewhere has to decide that they feel they could do it better – or that it is no longer good enough for the current audience. Well, they do say there’s no such thing as an original idea but I think doing the SAME thing is taking that saying at little bit too far.
Life and Death of Murphy, Alex J
There are a few differences between the two versions of this character. For example, the original film opens on Murphy’s first day at the precinct due to the increase of deaths amongst the police. However, in the remake it seems that he has been there for a while – especially as he already has such a developed relationship with his partner, Lewis.
It is on this first day that the incident that causes Murphy’s death happens. Technically, Murphy is attacked for the same reason in both films (you know, these things happen when you cross the wrong guy) but it is the incident itself that actually changes. Now, I would say this was done because they may have felt the original death was too gruesome in comparison to blowing him up but once they reveal what is under the suit (or lack thereof), I changed my mind. Maybe it was a ploy to get the film rating down, and I only say this because it’s very rare for Samuel L. Jackson to be bleeped when he uses the word “motherf*cker”.
Family Ties
This is possibly the biggest difference between the two films. The fact that we get to meet Murphy’s wife and son in comparison to just seeing them through memories may have been done to evoke more emotion into the film but clearly in a less subtle way than in the original. What I mean by this is that the original film helps the viewer empathise with the character as he rebuilds his memories following a dream about his attempted murder, instead of us seemingly empathising with his family.
The Suit
What I like about this is that they did not go over the top in trying to recreate the RoboCop ‘suit’. Yes, it’s more polished than the original and comes across a lot more state-of-the-art but the important thing is, it looks the same. The only real change that has been made that he is able to raise and lower his visor. At least it starts off this way. In the end, they actually decide to make it black instead of silver and it almost feels like the director making an open statement that they wanted to make this their own – and as they didn’t change too much, I see nothing wrong with this.
The one thing I will say is that I prefer the way they introduce the suit in the original. The fact that the first time we see what Murphy looks like is through a segment of video when he fully awakens for the first time.
In the Public Eye
Back to a difference between the two films. Throughout the first film, no one knows who is inside the RoboCop suit, and that’s including Murphy himself. The public and his family believe him to be dead. In the remake however, everyone knows who he is to the point that Murphy even taking part in press conferences. If I’m completely honest, this doesn’t actually add anything to the story for me and it almost stops the development of the character as there is no realisation for him of who he is because he has always known.
ED-209
If you’ve read my article about Clash of the Titans, you’ve already heard me wax lyrical about the use of stop-motion animation. Well, I’m going to do it again anyway. I feel it is much easier in this day and age, with the assistance of CGI technology, to create mechanical monstrosities such as ED-209 so for a stop-motion version to look just as good as the version we are shown in 2014 is a real feat.
Rise of the Machines
Talking of the ED-209, it’s interesting to say that they decided, in the remake, to make this machine a fully established part of the American military ensemble. For me, introducing this idea removes the reason for the death of Morton, vice-president of OmniCorp, because it is his one-upmanship of Richard Jones by introducing the RoboCop programme in the original film that causes him to be murdered. In fact, they removed the character and this whole part of the story from the 2014 remake.
Lewis is a Man
If I’m honest, I would have expected the gender switch to have been the other way around. What I mean is, you would have assumed that Lewis would have been male in the original 1980s film and changed to a woman in the 2010s remake because, truthfully, it has been a trait of recent remakes for exactly that to happen. I’m not saying that I am an advocate for the current trend of making some male characters female because in certain circumstances I’m not but there just seems something really strange about suddenly doing the reverse. Maybe it wasn’t a conscious decision and Padilha felt that he could not find a strong enough female actress to taken on the role.
Homage to the Original
Unless you’ve seen the original film before, there’s a little comment made in the remake that you may not pick up on. There is a recurring theme in the 1980s film of a sitcom called That’s Not My Problem (it isn’t real, in case you watch the original and try to find the sitcom itself) being shown on the majority of TV screens shown throughout. There is a line that is repeated several times along with this of ‘I’d buy that for a dollar’. This sentence is reworked in the remake when Mattox states ‘I wouldn’t buy that for a dollar’.
In addition to this, Joel Kinnaman’s Robocop uses the same line as Peter Weller’s; ‘Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.’ However, it doesn’t feel as powerful as when it is said in the original film – at least in comparison to the second time it is said as you get to watch the pin drop in the criminal’s head when this line makes him realise who Robocop is.
In Conclusion
I feel that if there had been no RoboCop film prior to the 2014 version, it would be really good stand-alone film. However, because this isn’t the case the flaws of the remake really do stand out, especially as I feel they have forgotten about the main crux of the story. Again, as I always say, just because I enjoy the original over remake doesn’t mean I am sitting here at my laptop telling you what to watch. I hold the position that no matter what I tell you, watch both for yourself as your opinion matters too.
