Monday, February 17, 2014

Now Playing: Robocop

A few caveats: I've never seen the orignal Robocop and I actually have no idea what it's about (other than the obvious cop who is robot aspect).  So, I settled into my traditional anti-VDay movie (more on this later) on Saturday Night, pretty much a blank slate.

Robocop, starring one of my favourite Swedes (Joel Kinnaman) and whole host of other famous faces, was pretty good.  Special effects are what you would expect in this movie.  Although, in trying to retain its PG-13 rating, a lot of the violence is completely sanitised.  I always question this move - I mean, just because there's no blood, doesn't make the acting of killing (en masse!) less violent.  If anything, I'd think that would be reason for a ratings hike, not the size of your Kensngton Gore budget. 
 
The plotline of having a LockheedMartin-esque company who wants to grow its market share by putting drones on American streets seems very believable.  The opening scene of "cooperation" is pretty much my favourite.  I also liked the grotesquery that is Alex Burphy's body.  A lot of philosophical questions occurred to me while watching: what makes us human?  how much of ourselves do we need to make us human? (I'm also watching Almost Human and it routinely deals with human/cyborg relations).  Can Alex Murphy ever be Alex Murphy again (will he play catch with his son/ snuggle with his wife?)... and where does that leave his wife/son?  It's macabre thought: to lose your beloved only to have him walk the streets and be a hero.

For allowing such discussions in the first place, I have to give Robocop 3 out of 5 stars

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