In 2028 Omni Corp starts to develop countless robotic technologies. For the time being Alex Murphy takes upon him to keep his city protected from ill-reputed criminals. Once on a task Alex becomes injured and Omni Corp comes to his rescue and revives him. Now back to policeman duties, Alex realises that even though he has much better abilities he has to fight against odd things.
Most older viewers will probably feel that RoboCop cannot match Verhoeven's satirical originality, but the computer age has made the core ethos more relevant to contemporary society.
What is Robocop? He's a quadriplegic Ironman without the rocket-booster. And both Robocop and Ironman are basically Terminators. Robocop 2.0 has better armor, but less fun.
Neither Alex Murphy's internal moral conflict nor the larger, vaguely satiric portrait of a global culture dependent on high-tech law enforcement seem to be the main point of this Robocop remake, which raises the question of what is meant to be the point.
It's well made, polished, and hits every mark - but is it crazy to want a futuristic sci-fi action flick about a motorcycle-riding metal supercop to be just a little more fun?
Surveying the peculiar array of 1980s retreads clustered into release this week, I'm reminded of Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II, traveling forward in time 30 years to discover that everything is still the same, only worse.
