Page 22 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • February 26, 2014 ‘RoboCop’ remake lacks wit and imagination of original by Dennis Seuling “RoboCop” is a remake of a 1987 action film that mixed plenty of mayhem with some clever, tongue-in-cheek bon mots. The new film is heavy-handed in its attempts to be “relevant” by connecting with current political controver- sies. Omni Corp, under the leadership of Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), manufactures robot patrolmen. Though their use has drastically reduced crime, the public and members of Congress oppose expanding the use of these cybernetic cops for fear that, because machines lack emo- tion, they can misread situations and kill needlessly. Meanwhile, Detroit cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinna- man) is nearly killed in the line of duty, and Sellars sees an opportunity to keep profits rolling in while placat- ing those who oppose machine cops. He orders engineer Dennet Norton (Gary Oldman) to combine elements of Alex’s body, particularly his brain, with technology to invent a hybrid: a cyborg that can think and reason with a veteran cop’s experience. Director Jose Padilha has attempted to recapture the premise of the original and incorporate contemporary pol- itics. The result never really succeeds at either. The tone of the current film is darker and more serious than that of its predecessor, which dehumanizes the picture just as the movie’s mechanized cops lack humanity. With one excep- tion, there are no examples of the cleverness and wit that Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman star in ‘RoboCop.’ characterized the original. Kinnaman’s range is narrow. Before Alex’s accident, and before he is transformed into RoboCop, viewers should see a warm, loving husband and father. Instead, Kinnaman portrays the healthy Murphy as being only a shade removed from the cold, eyes-front stare of his incar- nation as RoboCop. It is always nice to have at least one real actor in a movie like this. Fortunately, Oldman is on hand, creating a multi-dimensional character. Omni Corp has made Dr. Norton rich and he takes orders dutifully, but he also has a conscience and is not the mad scientist determined at all costs to create his own Frankenstein’s monster. Oldman easily rises above his material by turning in an earnest, sympathetic performance that helps enormously in keep- ing viewer interest. Keaton, on the other hand, lacks credibility as the money-obsessed, power-driven megalomaniac Sellars determined to achieve his goal no matter the cost to soci- ety. He never convinces as a corporate bigwig and often looks as if he has wandered in from a light romantic comedy. A welcome supporting performance is provided by Jackie Earle Haley as Rick Mattox, Sellars’ right-hand man in charge of the RoboCop program’s practical appli- cations in crime fighting. His Mattox is a no-nonsense kind of guy who is skeptical of the in-the-field perfor- mance of a human/machine peacekeeper. Samuel L. Jackson is a sort of on-screen narrator as Pat Novak, moderator of a conservative TV news program. Appearing intermittently throughout the film, he tracks the progress of the experiment and how unforeseen events are altering its outcome. Jackson is not known for subtle performances and, true to form, his portrayal here is over the top even for a sci-fi flick. Rated PG-13, “RoboCop” suffers from the major dif- ficulty facing remakes. The remake cannot be exactly the same, or what’s the point? Still, if the story is altered too much and its focus shifted, fans of the original will be unhappy. This new “RoboCop” is not imaginative enough to stand on its own and not witty enough to replicate the light, deft touch of the original.