The streaming era has become the new Wild West of cinema. We can no longer predict which movies will become hits, or even when a film might breakthrough to become a mainstream hit, even years after it left theaters or fell out of relevance. It’s kind of made film fandom fun again, as there are moments where generations collide in hype over an old film that’s become new again. Today is one of the more elborate cases, where an old remake of an even older cult-classic film is suddenly climbing the streaming charts, thanks to recent announcements that the franchise is moving forward with a TV spinoff.
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According to the latest streaming ratings from Paramount+, the 2014 remake of Robocop is seeing a surprising surge in viewership, worldwide. As of writing this (September 1st), Robocop (2014) is sitting in the No. 5 slot for “Top Movies on Paramount+”. It seems fans of the franchise are giving the remake another look, before the next Robocop project comes to the screen.
The Robocop Remake Released At the Wrong Time
Sony Pictures released the Robocop remake on February 12, 2014. Starring Joel Kinnaman (The Suicide Squad) in the lead role of Alex Murphy/Robocop, the film attempted to be a high-octane blockbuster version of the Robocop story, reflecting the “modern technology” and “digital era” of the 2010s. To his credit, director José Padilha (Narcos, Narcos: Mexico) did achieve the feat of creating a modernized Robocop who was formidable and fuly in line with the era of digital technology. In that sense, Robocop (2014) was a successful update of the character and cinematic experience; unfortunately, it was everything else surrounding those elements that didn’t work. Still, the film did okay, earning $242 million; however the budget was estimated to be as high as $130 million, and the small profits made Sony end the reboot attempt after that one film.
Robocop‘s franchise history has always been a curious one: Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has become infamous for his string of 1980s and 1990s cult-hit films, which all present themselves as pulpy, genre B-movies when, in fact, they are actually cleverly subversive works. That ist includes Total Recall (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), Starship Troopers (1997), and of course, Robocop (1987). Robocop might be Verhoeven’s most subversive film, to be honest; as decades have passed, audiences have become much more savvy about everything that Verhoeven was satirizing about American culture.
It imagined a future where coporate capitalism has run rampant, and the city of Detriot – once the symbol of America’s industrial might – became a privatized and gentrified elitist stronghold. While coporations warred with one another, the rest of the populace is increasingly suffering through the desparate circumstances of poverty and crime, leading to the creation of a privatized police force, and development of robotic peacekeepers. However, the machines aren’t up to par yet, so the corporation OCP uses an officer critically wounded in the line of duty, Alex Murphy (Peter Sellers), as a cybernetic test subject. Murphy is turned into “Robocop,” and spends the film trying to escape the programming leash of his corporate overlords.
Like with every Verhoeven film, the success of the original inspired the studio to crank out a sequel (or two), but those additional installments always missed the deeper subtext, becoming superficial reflections of the original. At the very least, Robocop (2014) tries to get the social commentary back into the story, with an updated premise that “OmniCorp” is using robotics for advanced drone warfare it wants to sell to the US military, only to veer into cybernetics when the drone program get the backing it needs.
Kinnaman’s Robocop spends a lot of the film as a zombie-like figure, whose thoughts and emotions are controlled by the company; it’s only in the final act that Kinnaman gets to cut loose and create his own version of the character, while José Padilha got to cut loose and put his prowess for action films on display. Too litte, too late. However, audiences watching today probably think the film is a lot more relevant with its thematic concerns. It also helps that the film has a stacked cast of some of the greatest actors, with Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson all making appearances (Jackson in one of his wildest roles ever), while Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Jennifer Ehle (Lioness), Jay Baruchel (This is the End), Michael K. Williams (The Wire) and Abbie Cornish (Sucker Punch) all play supporting roles.
Robocop Is Ready For His Big Comeback
In the end, Robocop (2014) came when there was anxiety about where technology and geopolitics were headed, but that anxiety was nowehere near the levels we’re at today. With AI spiraling out of control, geopolitics at some of the highest tension levels ever, corporate monopolies and oligarchies slowly taking shape and the world’s first trillionaire imposing his own views and will on so many lives…
Now was the time for Amazon/MGM to move ahead with the Robocop TV series. Hopefully, watching the remake will provide all the juxtapostion needed to guide the new series to greatness.
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