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Film review: RoboCop (2014)
/ February 11, 2014
Rating: M
Release date: February 6th, 2014.
It’s always a risky move to remake a cult-classic of the 80’s, given most of their appeal is that era-driven ‘cheesy charm’, but director Jose Padilha has taken on the task, bringing Robocop into the 21st century.
Set in 2028, today’s picture emulates the story of the ’87 flick, with injured Detroit police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) becoming a part-man part-robot law enforcer after an injury in the line of duty. Multinational conglomerate OmniCorp take over his well-being, and act as overseers to this futuristic development.
RoboCop does have a hint of summer blockbuster about it, with the action, gadgetry, and explosions you’d expect, but sets itself apart from popcorn-crunching money-makers like Iron Man or Captain America, in the way it serves as a platform to discuss American political policy and its ethical boundaries.
Opening with a spot from fictional news analysis show ‘The Novak Element’, media mogul host Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson), takes us to Iran where American soldiers are using robot-like military machines to keep the peace. Civilians are complying, no shots are being fired – it’s a very sterile display of political intervention…until a group of suicide bombers interrupt the broadcast with an explosive display, sparking ‘technical difficulties’ and the end of the live feed.
Unrelenting in his bias toward the supposed ‘clean combat’ of a machine-led future, Novak carries on with the story, and returns throughout the movie anchoring various discussions that arise around OmniCorps invention, and the way they sell it to the American people.
When you buy your ticket you may not being expecting much depth from the next potential film franchise, but RoboCop is riddled with cultural insight.
From media’s role in society, to questioning the division between man and machine – who takes responsibility for its choices? Can technology be held liable for murder? At what point does the machine take over and the human mind give in? – RoboCop does explore the answers; They’re wrestled with as characters wonder about the notion of ‘soul’, and recognise the inability of science to explain away this place where despite all hypotheses, and attempts to manufacture ‘free will’, humans seem to be able to defy the rules.
Simlar to The Source Code, audiences will find themselves thinking about about what ‘life’ is. What are the elements that make up human existence? Are we more that just our biological functions?
As you can tell, a lot of questions are posed, and the conclusions we each come to I’m sure will be different, but undoubtedly they’ll come back to how you view Intelligent Design, humanity’s purpose, and your understanding of ‘spirit, soul, and body.’
For seekers and film buffs alike, RoboCop‘s value is in its ability to make you think, and in propelling you onto a path of finding answers (…and also giving us some pretty sweet suits and shiny ‘tech-nitry’ to enjoy along the way as well).
6.5/10
