Movie · 2014 · Action, Adventure, Crime, Science Fiction, Thriller · 1h 58m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.8/10 (393.9K ratings)
Crime has a new enemy.
Overview
In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.8/10
IMDb: 6.1/10
Letterboxd: 2.38/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Metacritic: 52
TMDB: 5.9/10
Director
José Padilha
Production
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, Strike Entertainment
Cast
Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Kenneth Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Samuel L. Jackson, Aimee Garcia, Douglas Urbanski, John Paul Ruttan, Patrick Garrow, K.C. Collins, Daniel Kash, Zach Grenier, Maura Grierson, Stewart Arnott, Matt Cooke
Curator Review
Verdict
A slick, competent remake with a strong cast and a few smart ideas about privatized policing and corporate control, but it’s too cautious to deliver the bite or propulsion the premise needs. It works better as a glossy techno-thriller than as a savage satire, which makes it feel respectable rather than essential.
Best for
Viewers who want a polished studio sci-fi action movie with corporate-conspiracy themes
Fans of restrained, PG-13 cyberpunk and police-procedural framing
People who like strong supporting performances from heavyweight character actors
Skip if
You want the savage satire and gore of the 1987 RoboCop
You need big, memorable action set pieces
You’re allergic to remakes that feel more earnest than electric
Overview
This remake has a solid concept at its core: a wounded cop turned into a corporate product, with the film pushing harder than expected on surveillance, militarized policing, and the illusion of choice. The cast helps a lot, especially when the movie slows down enough to let the corporate and political machinery breathe.
Worth noting
But it never fully finds a sharp identity of its own. The original was outrageous, funny, and vicious; this version is more serious, more streamlined, and much less memorable. That tradeoff makes it feel less like a reinvention than a cautious modernization.
Bottom line
There are flashes of body-horror unease and a few decent ideas about what remains human inside a weaponized system. Still, the movie mostly settles for being competent when it needed to be fearless. If you’re curious, it’s watchable; if you’re hoping for a classic, this isn’t it.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ghostsmut (4★) · 616 likes
If you watch this film expecting it to be some retelling of the original you'll be disappointed. This remake is a completely different flavour to the original. No hyper violence and it's a 12a.
If that concerns you then I have news for you: Congratulations. You are now your parents. Shall I turn the music down too?
RoboCop is the definition of why you remake a film. Not to do exactly the same thing but to spin the story to… more
Joe A (1.5★) · 448 likes
The scene where Gary Oldman’s character disassembles Alex Murphy until he’s just a floating head and lungs is something out of a Cronenberg movie. Gives me nightmares.
Bad movie though, which is a shame because I think there’s a reality where this could have worked
matt lynch (3★) · 247 likes
more openly politically critical than a cutting satire, the faults here are narrative rather that subtextual. Verhoeven's film, stripped of its ideas, would still be a kick-ass action film about a murdered police officer who gets turned into a robot and avenges his own death. this isn't particularly funny or all that exciting. but it's not stupid, either.
Evan (1★) · 206 likes
Admittedly, I'm not a die hard fan of the original. I really liked it (4/5), but by no means am I in love with it. So I was pretty open minded toward this remake.
I really wish I hadn't been open minded because this totally sucked. I was seriously bored out of my mind! With 25 minutes left, I was saying to myself: ok there's going to be some awesome action sequences coming up. But it literally never happened. Honestly… more
Matt Singer (1.5★) · 199 likes
This movie is making me rethink everything I believe about remakes. I appreciate that this is not just the original film redone in 2014. Although it has plenty of connections to its source, it takes some chances and definitely does things differently. If you've seen Paul Verhoeven's ROBOCOP, you haven't automatically seen Jose Padilha's ROBOCOP. I like that.
AND YET! Almost everything about this is disappointing. I enjoyed some of the effects, particularly in disassembling and reassembling Joel Kinnaman as… more