15 Underrated Movie Remakes That Deserve Another Look
8. Robocop (2014)
Hot off the back of a run of Swedish films, Joel Kinnaman crashed into action as the titular RoboCop in 2014, giving José Padilha’s take on the character and universe a true modern movie star sheen. But Paul Verhoeven’s original had been so iconic, and Peter Weller so iconic in the role, that nobody was really interested, whether it was good or not.
Remaking the 1987 first film, RoboCop moves the action to 2028, where Detective Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) is critically injured and becomes a cyborg police officer who is nigh unstoppable but struggles existentially, not knowing where the man ends and the machine begins. It made enough money on release, but the reception to the film overall was lukewarm, killing ideas of a new franchise and sending this one down the back of the sofa.
Well, it’s about time to dig it out, because 2014’s RoboCop looks good; makes the best use of the CG advancements since the original to upgrade the action, weaponry, battles and chase sequences; and features Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Jackie Earle Haley and Samuel L Jackson. Nobody is aiming for an Oscar on this one, but that’s to its credit, and while it may lack the satirical bent of its source, the occasionally OTT performances keep things fun enough to make it worth revisiting.