RoboCop (1987) vs. RoboCop (2014)

 

So it's been a long couple of months since I did one of these. Thankfully I've finally found a spot in my schedule to do so. Now enough of this intro, let's get into the showdown.

Contender #1 - RoboCop (1987)

Director - Paul Verhoeven

Writer(s) - Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner

Release Date - July 17, 1987

Production - Orion Pictures

Distribution - Orion Pictures

Budget - $13,700,000

Gross - $53,400,000

Contender #2 - RoboCop (2014)

Director - José Padilha

Writer(s) - Joshua Zetumer, Edward Neumeier, and Michal Miner

Release Date - February 12, 2014

Production - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, and Strike Entertainment

Distribution - Sony Pictures Releasing

Budget - $100-130,000,000

Gross - $242,600,000

Story

The stories for both films are, Alex Murphy was not only a good father but a damn good cop as well. Then his life was changed when his body was destroyed seemingly beyond repair and he was on death's door. But fate had other plans when the Omi Consumer Products chose him to be their newest weapon against crime and his given the name RoboCop. Where they differ is in the 1987 story is Alex's memories come back to him and seeks vengeance towards the people who turned him into RoboCop. While the 2014's story is Alex is trying to solve his own murder while still trying to the family he once was.

Round #1 - Visuals

Much like my "vs." for the two True Grit films, this seems unfair because Paul Verhoeven didn't the same new technology that José Padilha had for his remake. But after watching both movies I gotta give it the original 1987 film. The visuals had a harsher lighting and much dystopian look to a crime ridden Detroit. Now unlike many I'm not gonna completely dismiss the 2014 remake. But I do admit the remake's visuals are clean, but in doing so it really doesn't have much going for it. Which doesn't make it bad. I've seen films with far worst cinematography than the 2014 remake. What I'm saying is the remake looks good, but lacks a lot of memorability.

So it goes without saying, but the winner is the original 1987 film.

Round #2 - Characters

Now I'm mainly gonna focus on the villains here because I've got something else planned for the story of Alex Murphy/RoboCop. So let's get to with the bad guys. With the 1987 movie you had villains like Clarence Boddicker and his gang. These guys pretty much got off on all the violence and destruction they were inflicting on to others and the city itself. They were especially despicable when they were killing Alex Murphy. So they were easily villains who you're just rooting for to get killed by RoboCop. But what about the villains in the remake? Well, Raymond Sellars and his henchmen like Rick Mattox are definitely bad people. And while there were times when they clearly loved the fact they had control over Murphy/RoboCop, I found they didn't have the same exact menace as Boddicker and his buddies.

So when it comes to villains, the winner is the 1987 movie.

Round #3 - Action

Once again, I almost found myself struggling here, because much like how the visuals were different because how what the crews had to work with, the action was hard because of the different ratings. RoboCop '87 is rated R while RoboCop '14 is rated PG-13. Now I can already see you rolling eyes saying how this should be an easy win because PG-13 isn't nearly as violent. But sometimes folks, violence doesn't always equal better.

So the undisputed winner is the remake!

I'm kidding. Sorry, I just had to get that joke out of the way. But for real let's dive in. Now as I said before the 1987 movie is rated R. So violence is much more intense and can leave you shocked. With the 2014 remake, well it is fun, the problem is the '14 RoboCop is mainly just fighting other machines. He gets a fight with the classic ED-209, drones, and other robots. Sure he does get into shoot out with other human characters, but those scenes are over in seconds or minutes, so when remake RoboCop fights other humans it doesn't feel as personal.

So while, the remake does have it's moments when it comes to action, I do believe that missing human element drags it down a bit. So once again, the winner is the original movie.

Round #4 - Story

Alright, now we have the big one and this is what I was saving for the character of RoboCop. But first let me get into something. This is gonna be a hot take but, I don't think either RoboCop films have clever satire. The original 1987 film was obviously making fun of Regan era capitalism and with the remake they have a character named Pat Novak, who's a conservative who angrily voices his opinions on his talk show [The Novak Element] regrading America and the politics surrounding the country. Oh wow, I wonder who the remake was poking fun of? *cough Bill O'Reilly cough*. So yeah, both films aren't very subtle with their satire.

So with that out of the way, let's get into the real story. That being the story of Alex Murphy aka RoboCop. Now while both suffered in very different but were still near death experiences and then become well you know who. Both the Murphys have different storylines.

The original 1987 Alex Murphy had him being a good cop and loving father to his son and being a great husband to his wife. But his story is more about him struggling between man and machine. Then once he has his own free will, he goes to seek revenge on those who turned him into what he is now. The story arc for the 2014 Alex Murphy follows some similar beats. Cop, father, husband, the near death experience, and then becoming RoboCop. Where the difference comes is this Alex wants his brain to be put on drugs to not only not feeling anything anymore because he hates what he has become, but also become Omni wants something with less feelings when it comes to missions. But once Alex stops being doped and finds out just how traumatized his family has become, he goes on his own mission to find out who tried to kill him and see if he's still capable of being the father/husband he once was.

And honestly, I like both stories. They both of how title character going through a huge struggle and fighting to come out on top. So while some of you might find this to be quite shocking, I'm calling it a draw.

Winner - RoboCop (1987)

So that's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Nov 8th, for my review of Predator: Badlands. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.