The RoboCop remake had a turbulent journey from the initial announcement that a reboot of the 1987 classic was in the works. Once production started and the marketing department tried to sell the film to the public, almost every released teaser resulted in a torrent of negativity being RSVPd back to the studio. Everything from the new suit, the story, the leaked script and RoboCops new human hand was met with internet vitriol. The public was hostile to anything that dared to change what had been established by Paul Verhoeven in the original. The biggest problem facing the studio was that no one saw any need to redo the original RoboCop, a follow up film that ignored the third sequel and TV series would have been fine. Jose Padilha had a tough job rebooting what is one of the best movies to come out of the 1980s. Hiring the credible and highly-rated director was one of the only decisions that most people agreed was a good thing. But even he was feeling the pressure if reports about his miserable time on the shoot are to be believed. Sony moving the release date back by six months didn't help, it sent out a signal that the new RoboCop was going to be a disaster. After all, if the studio is moving release dates and ordering reshoots, they cant have much confidence in it either. All in all, the chips were stacked against the remake. The expectation was that even with Padilha directing the hell out of it, RoboCop couldnt work without Verhoevens ability to marry killer satire with over-the-top violence. Many have tried, and the results are always lacklustre. The original RoboCop sequels are testament to that as is the other recent Verhoeven remake, Total Recall, that was a massive flop with the critics and the public alike. Now that its finally released, we can watch the film and pass judgment. Did it manage to escape the shadow of the much loved original? In truth, the end result is something of a mixed bag. While it is not terrible, its not great either. Padilha and some of the cast do a good job of elevating it above your standard reboot trash, but a weak script and pandering to a family audience drag it back down. So while its not as bad a people were expecting, click next to see what worked and what didnt in RoboCop, the remake that no one wanted. And beware, spoliers ahead.
