Remaking and rebooting classic ‘80sactionmovies has become a worrying trend in Hollywood. Occasionally, this formula pays off, with the likes ofTop Gun: Maverickbeing resounding hits, both critically and commercially. However, more often than not, these remakes/reboots/legacy sequels fall flat on their faces, and make us yearn for the magic of the (occasionally outdated) originals.The A-Team,Fame,Firestarter,The Karate Kid, andConan the Barbarianall tried and failed to recapture what made the original films so great. In 2014, the most divisive remake of an ’80s classic so far was released in theaters. It might not have been a massive box office hit, nor did it wow critics, but the film is finally finding success on streaming.
The 2014 remake ofRoboCopis currently streaming on Prime Video, and it’s finally finding the success it (maybe) deserves. The film is 9th on Prime Video’s weekly streaming chart.Wickedis currently dominating at the top spot, with the recently released action comedy,Heads of State, in second, and the Tom Holland-led video game adaptation,Uncharted, in third.
Original ‘RoboCop’ Star Wants to Power Up the Franchise in Amazon’s New Reboot
“If the script is good and the money’s right.”
Directed by José Padilha, the film features an all-star cast that includes Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jay Baruchel, and the late Michael Kenneth Williams.Kinnaman leads as Alex Murphy,a cop who is critically injured and has his surviving organs transplanted into a state-of-the-art machine, turning him into a part-man, part-robotic police officer. Murphy is the prototype RoboCop, and, during his trials, he uncovers the dark truth behind OmniCorp. The official synopsis reads:
“In 2028 Detroit, when Alex Murphy, a loving husband, father and good cop, is critically injured in the line of duty, the multinational conglomerate OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer.”
What Made ‘RoboCop’ (2014) So Divisive?
TheRoboCopreboot sits in the strange gray area of completely failing to revitalize the classic 1980s franchise, but standing moderately tall as an action film in its own right. TheoriginalRoboCopis one of the most beloved sci-fi action films of the 80s, with Peter Weller’s cybernetic character becoming a pop culture icon. The 2014 remake followed the 2010s trend of making everything as dark and brooding as possible. RoboCop’s classic gray suit was swapped out for a sleek, black design with a haunting red helmet.
However, as a film in its own right,RoboCop(2014) isn’t that bad.The plot is passable, if not anything remarkable. And the performances are exactly to the level you’d expect from such a lauded cast, even with the underwhelming script. But it’s the action scenes that are the highlight of the film. It might not retain the slight campiness of the original, butRoboCopis a decent action film.
When it was released in 2014, the film received mixed reviews from critics. It holds a perfectly divided Rotten Tomatoes score of 50%. Audiences were almost equally split over the remake, as it holds a 49% audience rating.
