RoboCop

Normally I’d cry foul at a remake that waters down the hard-R original to a softer PG-13 (because I loved my RoboCop bloody) but the strong cast and a visually sound presentation make for a movie that is, at the least, worth watching even if it pales in comparison to Paul Verhoeven’s insane 1987 incarnation. In the original, after blown-up regular cop Alex Murphy is brought back to life as RoboCop, he starts his crusade against crime not really knowing who he is, with his memories suppressed. The new film drastically diverts from the original, having its Murphy freak out upon waking up as a robot, fully cognizant of who he is. It’s only when his emotional stability comes into question that he’s shot full of dopamine and turned into a robot zombie. It turns out the idea of a man knowing full well that he has been turned into a cyborg is a relatively scintillating cinematic topic, and it’s handled well. In the end, the remake amounts to a decent enough curio, but it won’t be a classic. Cinemark 14 and Feather River Cinemas. Rated PG-13