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Before the new Robocop movie came out, YouTube (or at least the channels I watch) exploded. People were outraged about some of the directing choices made in the trailer but mostly that it was PG-13. For those of you who do not know the original Robocop from 1987 was rated R and for good reason.But the internet's outrage over the rating is ridiculous because first of all, a PG-13 rated Robocop would introduce a larger younger audience to the franchise. Second of all, if this is the direction they want to take, you can't blame the rating. Finally even though it is called a remake, it seems like more of a reboot because Robocop is a franchise and it is being re-imagined and taken in a new direction.
So I tried walking into the Robocop reboot with an open mind but I couldn't help being a little nervous. But before I saw the new one, I felt it was only fair that I saw the original first so I could compare the two of them. I thought it was okay. It wasn't a bad movie but it wasn't necessarily good either. It just seemed like a mindless action movie but which is all fine and dandy until Die Hard (the first among the 5 and the billions more to come) took the cake because it was the better action movie. Robocop (1987) didn't take advantage of the subject matter from a writing or a story perspective.
Now the reboot: I thought it was better than the original in many ways. First of all, it was well updated in this day and age since the last one came out a little over 25 years ago. And it brought up the interesting subject matter of 'should machines be able to enforce the law' making it more sci fi than just an action film. This film also had more of a structure than the original Robocop. This film seemed more like an origin story than the first one did. In the original, the majority of the second act was mostly just Robocop finding crimes and stopping them.
My only problems would be the original had better action sequences. In these kinds of film, practical effects makes the danger seem more real than if weapon ammunition is CGI. Although most of the dialogue is great, one of the characters keeps calling Robocop 'Tin Man' which kind of gets old after the fourth consecutive time he says it. The film also didn't leave the concept of 'robots/machines enforcing the law' as open ended as I would have hoped. They do take more of a pro stance on the machines enforcing the law but I think it would have been better to spend just as much time on the opposing argument. The antagonist was kind of just thrown in at the end of the film which through me off guard. My last problem was for a Robocop movie, I didn't really focus on Robocop as I felt like I should've. I cared more about Gary Oldman's and Michael Keaton's characters (because they kill it in their roles).
But all in all both of these Robocop movies are worth checking out once but if I had to watch another again I would have to choose the remake.
Comment below if you have any questions or suggestions for movie reviews in the future.
