Short Attention Span Review: RoboCop (1987)

Earlier today I posted a review of the new RoboCop (I gave it a C) that you can read below.  It only seemed logical to follow that up with a look at the original 1987 smash hit from visionary director Paul Verhoeven.  Rest assured, good people, this one gets an A+.  RoboCop is one of the best sci-fi/action mash-ups ever to grace the screen and I can't think of anything that it doesn't do well.  Peter Weller leads an amazing cast that boasts wonderful performances from Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer.  Many of these talents offered up what was likely their best work in this excessively violent and riveting shoot 'em up with a lot of heart.  It also benefits from a wealth of black humor and tremendous effects work.  The story is engaging and provocative in equal measures and heightens the impact of all the bloody mayhem unfolding onscreen.  Basil Poledouris provides the piece with what may be his second-best score (I'm hoping that no one reading this needs to be told what his finest score was) and the production team nailed every aspect of bringing this wild and visionary tale to life.  I'm frequently amazed that this was such a major success, but that gives me hope for mankind.  Apparently, there are lot of people out there who dig dark humor, gratuitous voilence, and buckets of gore.  RoboCop is a true one-of-a-kind and it remains just as potent and daring now as it was then.  Perhaps that's the biggest reason that I was so unimpressed with the reboot--RoboCop didn't need a paint job, and there was surely no need for a PG-13 RoboCop Lite.  If you're in the mood for a badass movie about a badass cybernetic policeman cleaning up the mean streets of Detroit, look to 1987.

Final Grade: A+

The original RoboCop is a special effects masterpiece.
If you don't believe me, just ask this guy.

Short Attention Span Review: RoboCop (2014)

The original RoboCop from 1987 is a classic.  Incredibly violent, incredibly funny, and incredibly distinct, its enduring popularity made it ripe for a reboot.  So now we have the 2014 version of RoboCop, which is a decent action movie.  In a way, it's a bit of a shame, because if I had sit down to watch this movie without ever having seen the original, maybe I would have been a bit more impressed.  As it is, this loose interpretation of the Paul Verhoeven blockbuster hits a lot of the same beats, sports an impressive cast, benefits from stellar effects work, and still manages to fall a bit flat.  It doesn't have the same heart and it doesn't have the same acidic wit--though it tries really hard on both counts.  Now, to be fair, the lack of an R-rating probably makes it damn near impossible to compete with a legendary picture that is as violent and as gory an action film as you're apt to see.  There are certainly times when this 2014 RoboCop feels more than a little watered-down, and some of the performers involved could have made a lot more noise if they had been working without boundaries.  Yet it emerges as a serviceable thrill ride and the original was built on a strong enough concept that even a RoboCop Lite packs a bit of a punch.  In the end, I was entertained by this one, but I wasn't as moved by it and I certainly didn't feel like I had just watched something fresh and exciting--though, to be fair, I don't know if that's even possible with these reboots that are so en vogue.  Would I recommend it?  I guess, but I would certainly recommend the original first.

Final Grade: C

The new RoboCop certainly looks cool.