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[tab title="Movie Review"]

Robocop - Movie Review

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4 stars

“Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.”

When first receiving the news of a new Robocop film, I was a bit skeptical. Reasons being that the original was so cheesy, and so “eighties,” shall we say, that a new film seemed an odd venture. However, upon viewing the fresh release, I must say, the skepticism was unneeded. However, I am still a little indecisive in what I should title this new release as, for purposes of clarification, I will call it a new-age adaptation, meaning, in my eyes, the studio kept the man inside of a robot idea, however newly furnished it with fresh installments, characters, and themes.

Brazilian director Jose Padilha (Elite Squad, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within), in his first ever English language film, ventures quite nicely in the world of appeasing cinema. Opening in 2029 Detroit, television host, and very pro-patriotism Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson), is raising the question of the un-interest of the American government via the Dreyfuss Act, in allowing artificial intelligence weapons into the mainstream of society, in hopes of protecting the American people.

Enter Alex Murphy. Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), fresh off an attack from local crime boss Antoine Vallon (Patrick Garrow), in hopes of bringing him to justice, must deal with the anguish of suspecting two cops in his own department are in coherence with Vallon, and are responsible for the hospitalization of Lewis, Murphy’s partner. As Murphy tries to close in on Vallon, he is the victim of attack, in which the only hope of his optimistic survival is that of assistance via Omnicorp, and robotic form.

In hopes of manipulating the American mind into the repealing the Dreyfuss Act, and promoting central welfare in the community, Omnicorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), with the help of Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), give Murphy new meaning and life in transforming his being into Robocop. However, in all elements of transformation, the idea of the human emotion, does not relinquish.

The transition from systematic machine to high functioning police officer is a difficult venture for Murphy, who in turn, directs his sights on solving his own murder case. Murphy’s decent into the underworld of corruption, makes for one shaky and emotionally gut-churning ride.

Driving homes themes of corporate manipulation, conscious moral decision making, corruption and parenthood, the film delivers quite satisfyingly. With performances that are nothing less than duly accepted, Oldman, Kinnaman, and even Abbie Cornish (Clara Murphy), accompany the film with nice surprises.

If you venture into this film, comparing it the 1987 version, yes you will be disappointed, because it just doesn’t have the originality. However, if you do so, you are idiotic, and foolish for not imagining a film made 27 years later hasn’t made some major overhaul. One thing can be said though; I don’t imagine that Samuel L. Jackson can go one film without saying f**k.

“I’d buy that for a dollar!”

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[tab title="Film Details"]

Robocop - Movie ReviewMPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material.
Runtime:
108 mins
Director
: José Padilha
Writer
: Joshua Zetumer, Edward Neumeier
Cast:
Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton
Genre
: Action | Sci-fi| Crime
Tagline:
Your move
Memorable Movie Quote: "The human element will always be present! Compassion, fear, instinct, they will always interfere with the system!"
Distributor:
Columbia Pictures
Official Site:
www.robocop.com/site
Release Date:
February 14, 2014
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
June 3, 2014

Synopsis: In 2028 Detroit, when Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) - a loving husband, father and good cop - is critically injured in the line of duty, the multinational conglomerate OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer.[/tab]

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Robocop - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - June 3, 2014
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles
: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Traditional), Thai, Vietnamese
Audio:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit); French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps); Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps); Spanish: DTS 5.1; Italian: DTS 5.1; Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1; Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1; Urdu: Dolby Digital 5.1; Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; Digital copy (as download); DVD copy
Region Encoding: Region free

The 1080p transfer is presented in 2.40:1 widescreen and it looks very good as a big budgeted flick ought to.  Details are gorgeous and contrast is sharp.  The image is very bright and crisp, with a wide palette of colors, which varies from location to location.  Browns and earth tones fill some segments and lush greens fill others.  And, of course, there are lots of chrome and blue-tinged hues.  Black levels are solid, while shadows still yield plenty of visual info.  The DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix is enveloping.  Every element of the detailed sound design leaps forth in a satisfying way.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

While many wrote off this reboot, the film is actually quite smart and does not disappoint.  Neither do the special features.  You get five deleted scenes that seemed trimmed for time only.  Several fake commercials from OmniCorp accompany the supplemental materials and a 20-minute making of the film which is very informative, complete with behind the scenes footage.  Two theatrical trailers round out the collection.  The package includes a standard DVD and UltraViolet digital copy.

  • Deleted Scenes (4 min)
  • OmniCorp Product Announcement (4 min)
  • RoboCop: Engineered for the 21st Century (30 min)
  • Theatrical Trailers

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[tab title="Trailer"]

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