RoboCop (2014)(Minor Spoilers Review)

**This review contains MINOR spoilers. No major character deaths, or reveals.**

I'll do a more thorough compare and contrast review with the original and the remake in the future, because I'm planning on a review series for every RoboCop film. It's similar to my Night Of The Demons and Silent Night, Deadly night review series, if you're wondering. Let's get to it. 

It’s 2028, and OmniCorp is on a mission to change the world. As the world’s largest supplier for robot soldiers and drones in the US military, OmniCorp launches a plan to use robots for crime fighting in the US, but strict laws prevent crime fighting robots in America. Senator Hubert Dreyfuss (Zach Grenier) dedicates his life to fighting OmniCorp, and their plans to use robots in the US. Senator Dreyfuss believes emotionless machines are untrustworthy in the field of battle, and the risk of a malfunctioning product will endanger the lives of innocent US citizens.

At OmniCorp’s headquarters in Detroit, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) devises a plan to fight Senator Dreyfuss, and erase the stigma for dangerous robots. Sellars is making money overseas in wars and occupied countries, but he’s missing out on a big payday with no crime fighting robots on US soil.

Sellars pushes his team to come up with a solution. Liz Kline (Jennifer Ehle) is the head of OmniCorp’s legal affairs, and Tom Pope (Jay Baruchel) controls marketing, but OminCorp’s top sceintist, Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) doesn’t like the idea of crossing moral boundaries. Sellars plans to exploit a loophole in America’s robot laws (or the “Dreyfuss Act”)? Sellars wants to put a man inside a machine, but OmniCorp needs the right candidate, someone wholesome, a victimized hero for the people to rally behind and idolize. But Sellars and his team run into a serious of problems for the right candidate after a thorough search on a list of wounded soldiers and police officers.

Meanwhile, two Detroit detectives named Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) and Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams) form an undercover team to infiltrate Antoine Vallon‘s (Patrick Garrow), a ruthless crime boss, empire. But Jack is stuck in a hospital bed after a fierce shootout with Vallon’s thugs. Alex is motivated by revenge, but Chief Karen Dean (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) warns Alex about the consequences for pursuing Vallon without the proper evidence to convict Vallon.

One night, Alex leaves his house to shut off the alarm on his car, but Alex triggers an explosion from a bomb, when he opens the door. A disfigured Alex has one shot at survival: OmniCorp. During his coma, Alex’s wife, Clara (Abbie Cornish) signs an agreement for Alex’s once in a lifetime procedure with Dr. Dennett leading the way. Alex has trouble adjusting to his new as a half-man, half-machine crime fighter, but more money is the  top priority for Sellars, and using Alex to change American public’s perception for robots. And Alex needs to sharpen his skills as an elite crime fighter, so he receives training from Rick Mattox (Jackie Earle Haley), OmniCorp‘s combat expert.

Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) uses his show (The Novak Element) to push pro robot propaganda, and Novak is an important supporter for Sellars and his never ending mission to use robots in the US. Alex’s new life as a living, breathing crime fighting machine is full of obstacles. Alex is trying to balance his crime fighting duties, and his responsibilities as a father and a husband, and Alex honors his promise to Jack. During Alex’s search for a location on Vallon, Alex exposes corruption at the police station with a few tips from Detective Andre Daniels (K.C. Collins) and Detective John Lake (Daniel Kash), and Alex uncovers the truth behind OmniCorp’s plans for the future…….

Joel Kinnaman is solid in the leading role, and he deserves credit for a strong effort. The new look for RoboCop? Kinnaman sports a sleek look as a modernized version of RoboCop. He’s faster, and Kinnaman’s movements are more fluid. That’s a big difference, when you compare Kinnaman’s RoboCop to the clunky Robocop (i.e. Peter Weller and Robert John Burke) from the originals, but you have to expect some big changes for a modernized version.

Using black as a new color didn’t bother me at all, and you’ll see the original color, but vintage (using that word loosely) RoboCop‘s screen time is very limited. Also, don’t worry about the exposed human hand for Kinnaman. I’m mentioning the hand, because I vividly remember a lot of complaints for the human hand in various places on the internet. Trust me, you’ll barely notice the hand after a while, and it’s not a big deal.

Abbie Cornish is believable as the supportive wife. Jackie Earle Haley delivers an entertaining performance, as the tough and uncompromising trainer, and you’ll see a few funny moments during the little feud with Alex and Rick.

No real complaints about the veterans. Michael Keaton is a decent antagonist, as the greedy and two-faced corporate tycoon. Gary Oldman maintains a streak of reliable consistency  with another quality performance, and Samuel L. Jackson is a nice fit for the Pat Novak character. Novak is this obnoxious loudmouth (“Why is America so Robo-phobic?!?!”), who will do and say anything to push the robot movement, and Jackson delivers another one of his classic tirades during the finale.

Of course, the remake tries to explore the “Man VS Machine” dilemma, and the dangers of trusting an emotionless machine over a rational human being with feelings and reasoning. But the quandary never reaches thought-provoking levels, because the remake favors action and CGI, so the Man VS Machine stuff takes a backseat.

RoboCop is a harmless remake, but they stay in a safe zone here. You won’t see an effort to take any real risks, because RoboCop 2014 never reaches an embarrassingly awful low point. On the flip side of that, there’s no real attempt to create a different film with a bold vision. RoboCop 2014 is a safe and modernized version of the 1987 original, and the remake avoids a nomination for a spot in the Hall Of Shame for terrible remakes (i.e. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010).

Die hard fans of the ‘87 original will nitpick and tear this one apart, but RoboCop 2014 is a decent action/sci-fi film. Director Jose Padilha deserves credit for a handful of slick and hard hitting action sequences, and the cast is rock solid, featuring a few noteworthy performances from the veterans (Jackson, Haley, and Oldman).

Is RoboCop 2014 perfect? No. Ten years from now, will RoboCop 2014 join a lengthy list of forgettable and harmless remakes? Yeah, there’s a good chance that’s going to happen. Still, RoboCop 2014 could’ve been a lot worse. I set the bar low for this one, but RoboCop 2014 earned a spot on my list of pleasant surprises for 2014, so I‘ll go with a positive score.

Rating: 5/10

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RoboCop (2014)(Spoiler Review)

**This review contains spoilers**

I'll do a more thorough compare and contrast review with the original and the remake in the future, because I'm planning on a review series for every RoboCop film. It's similar to my Night Of The Demons and Silent Night, Deadly night review series, if you're wondering. Let's get to it. 

It’s 2028, and OmniCorp is on a mission to change the world. As the world’s largest supplier for robot soldiers and drones in the US military, OmniCorp launches a plan to use robots for crime fighting in the US, but strict laws prevent crime fighting robots in America. Senator Hubert Dreyfuss (Zach Grenier) dedicates his life to fighting OmniCorp, and their plans to use robots in the US. Senator Dreyfuss believes emotionless machines are untrustworthy in the field of battle, and the risk of a malfunctioning product will endanger the lives of innocent US citizens.

At OmniCorp’s headquarters in Detroit, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) devises a plan to fight Senator Dreyfuss, and erase the stigma for dangerous robots. Sellars is making money overseas in wars and occupied countries, but he’s missing out on a big payday with no crime fighting robots on US soil.

Sellars pushes his team to come up with a solution. Liz Kline (Jennifer Ehle) is the head of OmniCorp’s legal affairs, and Tom Pope (Jay Baruchel) controls marketing, but OminCorp’s top sceintist, Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) doesn’t like the idea of crossing moral boundaries. Sellars plans to exploit a loophole in America’s robot laws (or the “Dreyfuss Act”)? Sellars wants to put a man inside a machine, but OmniCorp needs the right candidate, someone wholesome, a victimized hero for the people to rally behind and idolize. But Sellars and his team run into a serious of problems for the right candidate after a thorough search on a list of wounded soldiers and police officers.

Meanwhile, two Detroit detectives named Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) and Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams) form an undercover team to infiltrate Antoine Vallon‘s (Patrick Garrow), a ruthless crime boss, empire. But Jack is stuck in a hospital bed after a fierce shootout with Vallon’s thugs. Alex is motivated by revenge, but Chief Karen Dean (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) warns Alex about the consequences for pursuing Vallon without the proper evidence to convict Vallon.

One night, Alex leaves his house to shut off the alarm on his car, but Alex triggers an explosion from a bomb, when he opens the door. A disfigured Alex has one shot at survival: OmniCorp. During his coma, Alex’s wife, Clara (Abbie Cornish) signs an agreement for Alex’s once in a lifetime procedure with Dr. Dennett leading the way. Alex has trouble adjusting to his new as a half-man, half-machine crime fighter, but more money is the  top priority for Sellars, and using Alex to change American public’s perception for robots. And Alex needs to sharpen his skills as an elite crime fighter, so he receives training from Rick Mattox (Jackie Earle Haley), OmniCorp‘s combat expert.

Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) uses his show (The Novak Element) to push pro robot propaganda, and Novak is an important supporter for Sellars and his never ending mission to use robots in the US. Alex’s new life as a living, breathing crime fighting machine is full of obstacles. Alex is trying to balance his crime fighting duties, and his responsibilities as a father and a husband, and Alex honors his promise to Jack. During Alex’s search for a location on Vallon, Alex exposes corruption at the police station with a few tips from Detective Andre Daniels (K.C. Collins) and Detective John Lake (Daniel Kash), and Alex uncovers the truth behind OmniCorp’s plans for the future…….

Joel Kinnaman is solid in the leading role, and he deserves credit for a strong effort. The new look for RoboCop? Kinnaman sports a sleek look as a modernized version of RoboCop. He’s faster, and Kinnaman’s movements are more fluid. That’s a big difference, when you compare Kinnaman’s RoboCop to the clunky Robocop (i.e. Peter Weller and Robert John Burke) from the originals, but you have to expect some big changes for a modernized version.

Using black as a new color didn’t bother me at all, and you’ll see the original color, but vintage (using that word loosely) RoboCop‘s screen time is very limited. Also, don’t worry about the exposed human hand for Kinnaman. I’m mentioning the hand, because I vividly remember a lot of complaints for the human hand in various places on the internet. Trust me, you’ll barely notice the hand after a while, and it’s not a big deal.

Abbie Cornish is believable as the supportive wife. Jackie Earle Haley delivers an entertaining performance, as the tough and uncompromising trainer, and you’ll see a few funny moments during the little feud with Alex and Rick.

No real complaints about the veterans. Michael Keaton is a decent antagonist, as the greedy and two-faced corporate tycoon. Gary Oldman maintains a streak of reliable consistency  with another quality performance, and Samuel L. Jackson is a nice fit for the Pat Novak character. Novak is this obnoxious loudmouth (“Why is America so Robo-phobic?!?!”), who will do and say anything to push the robot movement, and Jackson delivers another one of his classic tirades during the finale.

After a flashback from his bombing accident, Alex uses his new equipment to track down and kill Vallon and his men at Vallon’s secret hideout. But there’s something fishy about Vallon’s last stand. Vallon was ready and waiting for Alex, because someone warned him, so Alex returns to the police station for more answers.

Eventually, Andre and John reveal their secrets as dirty cops. They’re on Vallon’s payroll, and both men sabotaged Alex’s attempted murder case and Jack’s shooting to erase any suspicions for Vallon as the prime suspect. And Chief Dean joins the growing list of informants for Vallon, because she’s the one, who warned Vallon about Alex’s raid. Alex forced a confession out of Dean at gunpoint, but Rick pulled the plug at the last second with the shutdown (whenever Alex crosses any lines, OmniCorp uses a shutdown button to stop him) button for Alex to prevent Chief Dean’s certain death.

But it’s not ever yet. Alex fights OminCorp’s mind control, and Sellars jumps into damage control mode. Sellars orders Alex’s death, because Sellars fears the repercussions for the American public knowing the truth about OmniCorp. Sellars wants to kill Alex, and Sellars will use the legacy of a “dead hero” to push his propaganda for robot soldiers on US soil. But Alex escapes his execution with some help from Dr. Norton.

Sellars is holding Clara and David hostage on the roof at OmniCorp. Alex is a broken mess after taking one too many bullets from Sellars’ drones. To make matters worse, Alex struggles to fight Sellars and his mind control device. Long story short, Alex’s programming influences his decisions, and Sellars is wearing a bracelet that prevents any harm. Sellars is about to pull the trigger to kill Clara and David, but Alex’s love for his family overcomes the odds. Alex’s fights Sellars and the mind control device, and Alex shoots and kills Sellars on the roof.

The corrupt dirty cops stuff feels so clichéd and redundant, and there’s no shock value for Andre and John as employees for Vallon, because RoboCop reveals the alliance in the early stages of the movie. But I’ll give RoboCop credit for the Chief Dean twist, because that’s a surprise I didn’t see coming.

The standoff on the roof? The sequence with Murphy fighting off the drones at OmnicCorp to save Clara and David features its fair share of thrills, but the standoff is predictable. You can see the happy ending with Alex fighting Sellars, and Alex’s reunion with his family coming from a mile away, but it’s a passable feel good moment.

Of course, the remake tries to explore the “Man VS Machine” dilemma, and the dangers of trusting an emotionless machine over a rational human being with feelings and reasoning. But the quandary never reaches thought-provoking levels, because the remake favors action and CGI, so the Man VS Machine stuff takes a backseat.

RoboCop is a harmless remake, but they stay in a safe zone here. You won’t see an effort to take any real risks, because RoboCop 2014 never reaches an embarrassingly awful low point. On the flip side of that, there’s no real attempt to create a different film with a bold vision. RoboCop 2014 is a safe and modernized version of the 1987 original, and the remake avoids a nomination for a spot in the Hall Of Shame for terrible remakes (i.e. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2010).

Die hard fans of the ‘87 original will nitpick and tear this one apart, but RoboCop 2014 is a decent action/sci-fi film. Director Jose Padilha deserves credit for a handful of slick and hard hitting action sequences, and the cast is rock solid, featuring a few noteworthy performances from the veterans (Jackson, Haley, and Oldman).

Is RoboCop 2014 perfect? No. Ten years from now, will RoboCop 2014 join a lengthy list of forgettable and harmless remakes? Yeah, there’s a good chance that’s going to happen. Still, RoboCop 2014 could’ve been a lot worse. I set the bar low for this one, but RoboCop 2014 earned a spot on my list of pleasant surprises for 2014, so I‘ll go with a positive score.

Rating: 5/10

Michael Jordan had another run with the Wizards after winning six championships. Brett Favre was one step away from earning a second ring with the Vikings.

As the world's definitive multi-talented superstar athlete, Trisha Bunrastar is taking an unexpected and shocking leap into a new career path. Assuming the identity of Freechelle Fantabulous, Trisha vows to fight crime and battle evildoers as a superheroine. Will she conquer her new mission? Find out more here! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFLI6VK

Or take a trip into my special world of madness that includes comedy, horror, and the supernatural in this collection of short stories- http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EFMYZ0U

Remember Amazon offers free Kindle App downloads for various platforms. Follow this link to find out more- http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

And don't forget to follow me on Twitter here- https://twitter.com/LQuigleyFan1

Paranoia (2013)

**This review contains spoilers**

Fed up with being an entry level scrub at the Wyatt Corporation, Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) puts all of his eggs in one basket with a presentation, that could change his ordinary life. With his teammates and friends by his side, Adam gives it his all with a pitch about a new technology for social media, but Adam’s presentation doesn’t impress Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman), the owner and boss of the Wyatt Corporation. The failure of the presentation and a smart remark costs Adam and his friends their jobs, but Adam decides to get a little payback by using a company credit card to run up a sixteen thousand dollar bill at a night club with his friends.

The very next day, Adam is taken back to the Wyatt Corporation against his will by Wyatt’s enforcer and personal bodyguard, Miles Meechum (Julian McMahon). Threatening to press charges against Adam for credit card fraud, Wyatt gives Adam a choice: he can either go to jail, or he can accept a mission from Wyatt to become a spy and infiltrate the Eikon Corporation, Wyatt’s top competitor, so he can learn about and eventually steal a prototype that will change the landscape for technology, and give US soldiers a better fighting chance in the battle field. Using jail time and the hopes of providing a better life for himself and his ill father, Frank (Richard Dreyfuss) as motivation, Adam accepts the offer.

Courtesy of Wyatt’s team and his top assistant, Judith (Embeth Davidtz), Adam receives a makeover, so he can look the part of a hot shot executive with new suits and a lavish apartment. After his first presentation, Adam catches the eye and gains the trust of Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford), Wyatt’s former mentor turned rival and the owner of Eikon. But to pull of the heist, Adam must deceive, Emma Jennings (Amber Heard), Eikon’s Director Of Marketing, and Adam will have to fight his feelings for Emma after a one night stand with Emma before his mission started.

Adam has second thoughts about his promise to Wyatt after receiving a warning from an FBI agent named Gamble (Josh Holloway), but Wyatt uses Frank’s life as collateral, if Adam decides to pull out. Adam is given a deadline to steal the prototype after Wyatt senses betrayal, but at the last possible second, Jock pulls a trump card, that will alter the course of Adam’s mission.

Make no mistake about it. Liam Hemsowrth is the biggest problem here, because the entire story revolves around his character. Hemsworth is such a dull, boring, and uninteresting leading man. And I’m sorry, but he’s not believable as this suave and crafty businessman/whiz kid, who’s one step ahead of everyone else. I have no real complaints about Amber Heard’s performance, but her character is so clichéd (more on that later). Julian McMahon is just there, and he could’ve been replaced by anyone else. And I wish Josh Holloway had more screen time. He had so much potential, as the hard ass FBI agent, but his character is limited to sporadic appearances (in fact, I only counted three: the one at the bar, the one at the house, where Gamble goes to warn Adam about Wyatt, and at the end during the big arrests).

So yeah, the veterans take the cake here. Richard Dreyfuss steals every scene he’s in, making Hemsworth look more inferior in the process. Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford are fantastic here. Oldman is so slimy and detestable throughout the movie, as the rich and power hungry corporate asshole. Ford has his moments as a vulnerable old man, but towards the end, when Jock shows his true colors, Ford does a wonderful job of transforming himself into a villain, who’s just as (if not more) despicable than Oldman.

The rivalry between Jock and Wyatt is the driving force behind Paranoia. Oldman and Ford really sold the hatred and bitterness between both men, and their face to face duels are the highlights of this film. I’m pretty sure you’ve all seen this part in the trailers and TV spots, but it’s a lot more intense, when you actually see it in the film, and the events leading up to it. Jock and Wyatt are going at it, and the heated part of the argument concludes with this:

Wyatt: “YOU STOOD ON MY SHOULDERS!”

Jock: “And now I’m standing on your neck!”

Unfortunately, Paranoia is suffocated by too many clichéd characters. Adam is the typical Average Joe, who wants a better life, and he’s willing to do anything to get it, until he realizes he went too far and made a mistake. Amber Heard’s Emma is a horribly bland “strong woman in the business world, who outworks all the men to prove her worth.” Yeah, Ford and Oldman’s characters are power hungry business men, but they get a pass from me, because their performances are the backbone of this film.

And the predictability? Yikes. Paranoia deserves some credit for a handful of genuinely shocking twists at the end, but the through the motions story before the big finale almost put me to sleep. Adam wanting to back out of Wyatt’s deal, Emma giving Adam a second chance, and falling in love with him after the one night stand, Adam wanting a second chance with Emma after he betrays her, Adam setting the wheels in motion to turn the tables on Wyatt and Jock, and of course, when Adam tries to steal the prototype, everything goes wrong. Oh, and giving away a lot of the major plot points in the trailers didn’t help anything.

Plus, Paranoia is loaded with “Big Brother” material. Adam is being monitored by Miles and other Wyatt associates at his apartment with surveillance cameras, and the Big Brother paranoia (no pun intended) is a reoccurring theme throughout this movie. My reaction to the Big Brother themes and social commentary? Meh. It’s nothing you haven’t seen before in other mainstream mystery suspense thrillers, and the fancy technology and cool graphics couldn’t help Paranoia stand out amongst the pack. 

With all that said, I didn’t hate Paranoia. As a thriller, yeah Paranoia is a snoozer and pretty generic (you can see the dramatic big arrests scene and downfall of empires aftermath/ending coming from a mile away), but it’s hard to take your eyes off of Ford and Oldman (Richard Dreyfuss deserves credit too), especially when they’re on screen together. Paranoia definitely had the potential to be a better thriller. With a different director (Robert Luketic‘s style is very bland, and for a thriller, Paranoia is severely lacking in the suspense and thrills department ) and a better leading man, Paranoia could’ve been one of the better summer films this year, easily.

Rating: 4/10

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