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ROBOCOP (1987) Versus ROBOCOP (2014) ... How Does Old Cyborg Compare To The New Crimefighter?

Monday, April 21, 2014


 
 
Hollywood has felt the need to remake the Paul Verhoeven classic Robocop from the 80's. Whilst each one has their own value, in the end how did they fare against each other, either you love your nostalgic hero or you support the new Robocop for a new generation, either way, make or break, the two Robocops stand chest to chest in a battle that can only happen in Hollywood
 
ROBOCOP (1987)
 
BUDGET -  $13,000,000
WORLDWIDE GROSS -  $53,424,681
DIRECTED BY PAUL VERHOEVEN 
 
PLOT
Some time in the future Detroit, Michigan is a near-dystopia and on the verge of collapse due to financial ruin and rampant crime. To escape mass collapse, the city mayor has signed a deal with the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to allow them to run the underfunded police force, in exchange for allowing OCP to demolish the run-down sections of Detroit and construct a high-end utopia called "Delta City" to be managed by OCP as an independent city-state.

This move angers the police officers as they are now beholden to OCP, and threaten to strike, but OCP evaluates other options for law enforcement. OCP senior president Dick Jones (Ronny Cox) offers the ED-209 enforcement droid, but when it kills a board member during a demonstration, the OCP chairman, "The Old Man" (Dan O'Herlihy) decides to go with the experimental cyborg design titled "RoboCop" as suggested by the younger Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer), infuriating Jones, who objects to the idea of a human having robotic parts.

A recently-deceased officer is needed for the RoboCop prototype, so OCP re-assigns police officers to more crime-ridden districts, expecting officers to be killed in the line of duty. One such officer is Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller), who is teamed with Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen). On their first patrol, they chase down a gang led by the ruthless criminal Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith), tailing them to an abandoned steel mill. When Murphy and Lewis are separated, Murphy is brutally gunned down by Boddicker and his gang.

Murphy is quickly pronounced dead and his remains are chosen for the RoboCop program. RoboCop is given three primary directives: 1. serve the public trust; 2. protect the innocent; and 3. uphold the law, but the scientists are unaware of a fourth directive in RoboCop's programming. RoboCop single-handedly and efficiently cleans Detroit of crime, and Morton is given lavish praise for his success, drawing Jones' ire. Boddicker ultimately assassinates Morton, under orders from Jones. Meanwhile, Lewis finds out RoboCop displays curious mannerisms that Murphy himself once displayed and realizes that RoboCop is in fact Murphy. RoboCop himself experiences past events from Murphy's life, and at one point returns to his former home, finding his wife and son had long since moved away, believing Murphy to be dead.
 

RoboCop manages to track down Boddicker in a cocaine factory. RoboCop threatens to kill Boddicker, but Boddicker admits to his affiliation with Jones, and reminds RoboCop that he is a cop, triggering Directive 3. RoboCop finds he cannot kill Boddicker and instead arrests him. He then approaches Jones at OCP headquarters and attempts to make an arrest, but Jones reveals the fourth directive that prevents RoboCop from taking any action against an OCP executive, one that he snuck into RoboCop's programming. Jones goes on to explain his larger goal of taking over OCP, and admits to ordering Morton's murder. He then unleashes his personal ED-209 on RoboCop, who is outmatched by the larger, more heavily-armed machine. Lewis, who had tailed RoboCop, is able to help him escape and takes him to the same steel mill to repair and recover. There, Lewis learns that much of Murphy's personality still exists within RoboCop.

Meanwhile, the police force finally goes on strike, fearing their jobs to be at risk due to the RoboCop program while tiring of OCP's abuses such as canceling their pensions and cutting their pay, and crime runs rampant. Boddicker regroups his gang to take out RoboCop using anti-tank guns and a tracking device provided by Jones. They converge on the steel mill, but RoboCop and Lewis are able to fend off the attack and kill the gang, though Lewis is critically wounded in the leg. RoboCop assures medical help is on the way, and then heads back to OCP, easily taking out the ED-209 guarding Jones using one of the anti-tank guns.

He arrives in the board room where Jones is offering his ED-209 to replace the Detroit Police Department, which is still out on strike. RoboCop uses recorded footage of Jones's confession to show his duplicity to the board and explains he can't act against an OCP officer. Jones grabs The Old Man and threatens to kill him unless he's given a helicopter. The Old Man immediately fires Jones, allowing RoboCop to kill him. He thanks RoboCop for his help and asks for his name; RoboCop answers, "Murphy".

ROBOCOP (1987) TRAILER

ROBOCOP (2014)

BUDGET: $130,000,000
WORLDWIDE GROSS - $241,279,202
DIRECTED BY JOSE PADILHA
 
PLOT
 In the year 2028, multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of military "robot soldier" technology, supplying the US Military with mechanical men that are deployed overseas. OmniCorp wants to sell their products for use in civilian law enforcement in the United States but is suppressed by public opinion, as embodied by the Dreyfus Act. In an attempt to sway tepid public opinion by way of the combination of man and machine, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) tasks his marketing team, in conjunction with scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), with the creation of this new law enforcement product. They begin the search for a permanently injured policeman to act as the core of their prototype.

Police detective Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) and his partner, Jack Lewis (Michael K. Williams), attempt to arrest crime boss Antoine Vallon (Patrick Garrow), unaware that he has contacts inside the DPD. When Vallon is found he is tipped off by his dirty cops and a gun fight ensues hospitalizing Lewis. As retaliation, the two said dirty cops nearly kill Alex with a car bomb, Norton chooses Alex for the RoboCop program and, with consent from Alex's wife, Clara (Abbie Cornish), has him outfitted with the cybernetic body and software. Alex at first rejects his current condition upon seeing mostly lungs, heart, exposed throat and brain when the armor and Cybernetic components are removed, but is convinced by Norton to be strong for his wife and son. Rick Mattox (Jackie Earle Haley), OmniCorp's military tactician, is skeptical of Alex's abilities, saying he will never be as efficient as a fully mechanical robot. Alex proves this true by operating at a slower rate than the drone counterparts due to his natural hesitation when making judgements in the field. In order to improve performance, Norton tampers with his brain, making him believe that his tactical decisions are his own when he is actually executing programs.

While preparing for a public press conference to unveil RoboCop, Alex is emotionally overwhelmed and has a seizure while Norton is uploading the police database (including video of his near death) information into his brain. Pressed for time, Norton alters Alex's brain chemistry, lowering his dopamine levels until he no longer displays any emotions. Under control, Alex attends the press conference, where he ignores his waiting wife and son, and efficiently apprehends a criminal in the crowd. RoboCop is a public-relations success, and drastically reduces the crime rate in Detroit. Public opinion on the Dreyfus Act begins to turn. Norton is told to prevent Alex from seeing his wife and son.

Clara manages to confront her husband as he is leaving the station, telling him about his son, David (John Paul Ruttan), having nightmares. Alex leaves, but then overrides his programming and detours from his current case to go to his house. He reviews the CCTV video of his accident and realizes that David saw his body and was traumatized. Alex pursues Vallon for revenge. When Alex arrives at his hideout, Vallon nearly succeeds in killing him but is fatally shot by Alex. At the station Alex kills one of the corrupt cops and arrests (by stun) the other. When Alex is about to arrest the Chief of Police, who was one of Vallon's contacts, Mattox shuts him down by remote control and has him taken back to OmniCorp.

Sellars decides to spin this turn of events to his advantage, via television presenter Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson), who thanks RoboCop for revealing the fallibility of the police, and points out that drones are incorruptible. A repeal of the Dreyfus Act goes underway, with votes overwhelmingly in support of the repeal. Clara goes to the press and angrily demands to see her husband. Sellars, seeing Alex is no longer useful and fearing that the truth of what has been done to him will be exposed, orders Mattox to kill him. Norton reaches the lab first and revives Alex, telling him everything. Alex, feeling betrayed, goes after Sellars.
 

Sellars has the OmniCorp building shut down and armed with drones. Alex gains entry with the help of his former partner Lewis and other police officers. Mattox then reveals an old tactic he had hidden in Alex's programming known as a 'Red Contacts' which renders hostile acts and apprehension impossible against those identified as such. Lewis appears and shoots Mattox while Alex proceeds to the roof, where Sellars is waiting for a helicopter and has Clara and David as unwitting hostages. Alex's programming prevents him from arresting Sellars as he is also wearing a Red Contact wrist band, but he manages to overcome it with his own will and shoots, killing him.

OmniCorp's parent company, OCP, decides to review the drone and RoboCop program. Alex's body is rebuilt in Norton's laboratory, and then he waits for Clara and David, who are coming to visit him. The President vetoes the repeal of the Dreyfus Act based on the testimony of Norton, who confesses everything they had done in the RoboCop program. Pat Novak is outraged by this turn of events, and the film ends with him revealing his true alliance (to the fourth wall audience) and cursing loudly on live TV, much to the shock of his crew.

ROBOCOP (2014) TRAILER
 
ROBOCOP (1987) BABE
Nancy Allen not just a vintage pretty face!

 
ROBOCOP (2014) BABE
Abbie Cornish does it for the new Robocop!
 


 

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