Robocop (1987) vs Robocop (2014)

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a huge fan of the Robocop series. I do have some fixation on the first one as it was one those movies that as a child I knew I wasn't supposed to watch, and yet we always found a way to sneak in some R rated movies at my uncle's house over Christmas, with his surround sound, and ginormous 60 inch TV. Oh, those days of VHS.

So, I decided to revisit this movie of my childhood and compare it to the remake that recently came out. Admittedly, I had no desire to really see the remake, but thought it would be fun to see what the differences are between these two versions just for the heck of it.

First off, the cast of the new one is definitely better. Michael Keaton?!?! He's not dead! Gary Oldman is always a welcome addition to any movie. The other actors are pretty crappy, but I can't say any of the performances are incredibly memorable from the first Robocop, except for the actor who plans Boddicker, Murphy's killer.

I also like the way they brought the story for the remake into present day issues, dealing with drone strikes, and occupying foreign territory, with the help of these contractor type companies like Omnicorp. However, some of the political implications are so trite, or underdeveloped that they go missing later on, or they have obvious parodies of the right wing establishment, particularly with the The Novak Factor...whoops...I mean the Novak Element. Samuel L. Jackson actually makes for a decent O'Reilly if I do say so myself. Other elements of the remake also aren't written so well, with a very cliche family storyline that veers off of the original wildly. Dialogue is pretty bad throughout the movie with tough guy talk between cops and bad guys, and incredibly generic boardroom discussion taking place between the evil corrupt businessmen.  Plot devices are pretty transparent, and character motivations become a little murky throughout the movie. Although these weren't really strengths of the original to begin with. They're just worse than the original.

I do have to give the remake some props on the action scenes at least. They're not great, but they do have some quality, like a massive gun fight in pitch black, and a fight between Robocop and several giant robots, not unlike the one used in the original. There's something about the style that's not quite up to par with the original though. I remember watching Total Recall and Robocop at an early age, and being shocked at how violent, but stylistic the movie was. I'd never seen gun fights like that before, and they somehow managed to be realistic, artistic, a bit surrealistic, and yet not that disturbing at the same time.

Speaking of style, this is where the two separate the most. There's a tone to the original that is completely lost on this remake. Perhaps the director was purposely avoiding the winking satire of the original, but the remake is so self-serious, as to remove much of the fun of the original. Which begs the question, why remake it then? I know what you're thinking...for money, of course. That's what makes the remake so funny to me. Remakes are always made for money, and yet the message of the original and this one is the antithesis of the corporate Hollywood structure that produced this remake.

Whatever. Hollywood will do its thing I guess.

The Amazing Spider Man 2

What can be said about the new spider man?

That it was Amazing?

Well that is in the title.

                It takes a special sort of a movie to cause someone to walk from the theater carrying a little bit of the characters burdens. Undeniably, this movie was great- it had those punchy one liners, great acting, amazing special effects, killer romance, connections that were so real. It was what a comic book movie should be-with a dash of a little unbelievable. But even that I can reconcile with. But it’s the feeling I’m still carrying from the theater. A feeling that stayed with me as I paid for parking, drove home and took a few moments to sit and think about the movie before sitting down to write about it.

I think Gwen Stacy had it right when she spoke of hope. That is one of the reasons people love these movies, outside of the grand special effects. Peter and Gwen, portray that youthful, hopeful, exuberance and chemistry throughout the movie. In fact, when it came down to the majority of the main cast I never once questioned their character or believability. But it was the hope all the characters carried and fought for, even Harry.

Dane DeHaan, being new to the on-set main liners, started and stayed strong. He found a niche for himself and made his character really come to life. He is different from the Harry Osborn I remember from reading the comics and the last classes (James Franco) portrayal. But I found I liked this Harry better. I enjoyed his story better. And over all I enjoyed Harry’s and Peter’s relationship better. It was more complicated and darker. Desperate. Desperate from both sides. And I loved that. It doesn’t hurt that both Garfield and DeHaan are quite the lookers comparatively.

Now I could wax on about how amazing the movie is, how Garfield and Stone create this aching sweet romance that rips at your innards, how DeHaan brings a surprising bit of empathy to the table, how Field brings out a protective streak and yet makes you want to give her a trophy for being one tough ol’ bird. Or even how the occupants of New York make you really want to stop and tell them that are incredibly idiotic for standing in the middle of a special powered show down. This movie really does it all to bring a little bit everything out, the good and bad, in all of us. The selfish, unselfish, friendship, love, family, extreme loss- coping. There is definitely a recurring theme of how people cope in this movie. And none of the characters are the same, and it’s so refreshing.

But I’m sure, since I have seen some of the titles of other blogs and reviews out there- the question comes to, where did they go wrong? And honestly. There was really only one disappointment for me. And that was in Jamie Foxx’s performance. His character, his story line, the acting- it feel flat. Which is ironic due to the fact that Electro and his electricity is what makes a lot of the sound track music. (Great idea -think the Sorcerer’s Apprentice circa 2010). When the movie started, I was digging the character. Not really completely buying the actor portrayal but definitely willing to ride the fence for a bit before making a decision. In the end, despite strong writing and characterization for the rest of the cast, Electro feel short. Now I will say there were gems amongst all that electricity. His first scene and his last scene as Max- the last scene does cause some resonance. But it’s lost with what becomes of the character later on. If I could change anything of the movie- it would be that portion.

I recommend this movie. I recommend Andrew Garfield. He is my favorite Spider Man and that was firmly cemented with this film. And I can only hold my breath waiting for the next one and hope it will be just as good, especially with all the changes it will need to carefully write in.