On Monday, 20th Century Fox hosted a worldwide live Q&A with ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL’s producer James Cameron, director Robert Rodriguez, producer Jon Landau, the star Rosa Salazar and fans across the movie’s official social and YouTube channels.
During this live Q&A at Lightstorm Entertainment, the studio that brought you TITANIC and AVATAR, the film’s new trailer and a additional image for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL were released.
The movie also stars Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson.
This trailer debut and live chat were shared across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube in 30+ markets worldwide, localized in multiple languages in real time: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL will arrive in theaters everywhere on December 21, 2018 in 3D & IMAX.
From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY), comes ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment.
When Alita (Rosa Salazar) awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past. As Alita learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield her from her mysterious history while her street-smart new friend Hugo (Keean Johnson) offers instead to help trigger her memories. But it is only when the deadly and corrupt forces that run the city come after Alita that she discovers a clue to her past – she has unique fighting abilities that those in power will stop at nothing to control. If she can stay out of their grasp, she could be the key to saving her friends, her family and the world she’s grown to love.
Visionary filmmakers James Cameron (AVATAR) and Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY) create a groundbreaking new heroine in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, an action-packed story of hope, love and empowerment.
20th Century Fox has debuted an amazing first trailer for ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL starring Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley and Keean Johnson.
An ambitious film from the studio, ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL will be in theaters everywhere on July 20, 2018 in 3D & IMAX.
In May 2006, Variety reported that Cameron had spent the past ten months developing technology to produce the film and it looks like he suceeded with the melding of live action and a CGI rendered character. From this first look, the main character in ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL is reminiscent of 2001’s FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN.
Set several centuries in the future, the abandoned Alita (Rosa Salazar) is found in the scrapyard of Iron City by Ido (Christoph Waltz), a compassionate cyber-doctor who takes the unconscious cyborg Alita to his clinic. When Alita awakens she has no memory of who she is, nor does she have any recognition of the world she finds herself in. Everything is new to Alita, every experience a first. As she learns to navigate her new life and the treacherous streets of Iron City, Ido tries to shield Alita from her mysterious past while her street-smart new friend, Hugo (Keean Johnson), offers instead to help trigger her memories.
A growing affection develops between the two until deadly forces come after Alita and threaten her newfound relationships. It is then that Alita discovers she has extraordinary fighting abilities that could be used to save the friends and family she’s grown to love. Determined to uncover the truth behind her origin, Alita sets out on a journey that will lead her to take on the injustices of this dark, corrupt world, and discover that one young woman can change the world in which she lives.
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, with a screenplay by James Cameron and Laeta Kalogridis and Robert Rodriguez and based on the Graphic Novel (“Manga”) Series: “Gunnm” By Yukito Kishiro, the film produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, who’ve worked previously together on TITANIC and AVATAR. They are producing the upcoming 2020 American epic science fiction film AVATAR 2.
Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
Starring Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Junior, Aja Naomi King, Gabrielle Union, Roger Guenveur Smith, Dwight Henry, Penelope Ann Miller and Jackie Earle Haley, THE BIRTH OF A NATION opens in St. Louis on October 7th.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of THE BIRTH OF A NATION on OCTOBER 3 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
While a number of revered films have explored the contours of slavery, from 12 YEARS A SLAVE to GLORY, AMISTAD and LINCOLN, Nate Parker’s motivation is to renew the past and to seek illumination from it, rather than turn the same blind eye that kept people in the dark for so long.
Which one of the films listed above was a Best Picture winner?
Which film was awarded a Best Actor win?
Which film garnered an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role?
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OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
Devastation of a world capital and a revenge plan against an American president fuel the high-octane London Has Fallen, coming to Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on June 14, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit Olympus Has Fallen raises the stakes with non-stop action and suspenseful plot twists. The Blu-ray™ and Digital HD versions also include exclusive bonus features about the can’t-miss thriller.
In London Has Fallen, the stellar cast of Gerard Butler (300), Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight), Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), Robert Forster (Jackie Brown), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black), Sean O’Bryan (Vantage Point), and Morgan Freeman (Lucy) reprises their original roles from Olympus Has Fallen, joined by Alon Moni Aboutboul (The Dark Knight Rises), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), Charlotte Riley (Edge of Tomorrow), and Waleed F. Zuaiter (Homeland). Babak Najafi directs London Has Fallen.
When the British Prime Minster dies unexpectedly, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) knows it is his duty to prep with Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett) for them to accompany U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) to the state funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. With every powerful world leader set to attend, the funeral should be the most protected event on Earth. Yet within moments of arriving, heads of government are assassinated and London landmarks are attacked. Asher, Banning, and Jacobs are ambushed and retreat amidst a hail of gunfire and explosives. The devastated British capital goes into lockdown. Banning will stop at nothing to secure Asher’s safe return home. Back at the White House, Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) races against time brainstorming with top advisors in the Situation Room to get those trapped in London a lifeline of support and a way out. Outnumbered and outgunned, Banning reaches out for help to an English MI6 agent (Charlotte Riley) who rightly trusts no one. Failure is not an option as they attempt to stop the criminals from carrying out the final phase of their revenge plan.
WAMG is giving away copies of the film to celebrate the Blu-ray/DVD release.
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The Making of London Has Fallen– An inside look at the massive undertaking of shooting such a large-scale film in London. Featuring interviews with cast and crew, this piece shows the unique challenges encountered on-set, director Babak Najafi’s process, and the cast’s inspiration for their characterizations.
Guns, Knives & Explosives – Delve deeper into Gerard Butler’s iconic character of Mike Banning, and the extensive training and preparation the actor needed to play a Secret Service agent.
The film will be available on Blu-ray™ with DIGITAL HD and UltraViolet™ and DVD.
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FILMMAKERS: Cast:Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Sean O’Bryan, Charlotte Riley, Waleed F. Zuaiter Directed By:Babak Najafi Written By:Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt and Christian Gudegast and Chad St. John Story By: Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt Based on Characters Created By: Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt Produced By:Gerard Butler, Alan Siegel, Mark Gill, John Thompson, Matt O’Toole, Les Weldon Executive Produced By:Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, Christine Otal Crow, Heidi Jo Markel, Zygi Kamasa, Guy Avshalom Director of Photography: Ed Wild, BSC Production Designer:Joel Collins Edited By:Paul Martin Smith, GBFE, Michael Duthie Costume Designer:Stephanie Collie Composer: Trevor Morris
TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAY™: Street Date: 6/14/2016 Copyright: 2016 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selection Number: 62171340 Layers: BD-50 Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2.40:1 Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout. Languages/Subtitles: English, DTS Spanish/English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles Sound: DTS: X Master Audio 2.0 Run Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
TECHNICAL INFORMATION DVD: Street Date: 6/14/2016 Copyright: 2016 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Selection Number: 62171339 Layers: Dual Layers Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1 Rating: R for strong violence and language throughout. Languages/Subtitles: English, DTS Spanish/English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Run Time: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
Fox Searchlight Pictures has released the first trailer for director Nate Parker’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION.
Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner, accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities – against himself and his fellow slaves – Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom.
In his Sundance Film Festival review, The Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy says the film, “offers up more than enough in terms of intelligence, insight, historical research and religious nuance to not at all be considered a missed opportunity. Far more of the essentials made it into the film than not; its makers’ dedication and minute attention are constantly felt, and the subject matter is still rare enough onscreen as to be welcome and needed, as it will be the next time and the time after that.”
The drama is also written and produced by the film’s star Nate Parker.
In March, Mitch Neuhauser, Managing Director of CinemaCon announced that Parker would receive the “CinemaCon® Breakthrough Director of the Year Award”. CinemaCon, the official convention of The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) was held April 11–14, 2016 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
“Following its Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance film festival, Nate Parker’s ‘The Birth of a Nation’ will surely bring movie-going audiences to their feet when it is released October 7th,” noted Neuhauser. “A pure labor of love and a film that shows the true passion necessary to craft it, we are honored to present such an outstanding filmmaker with this years ‘CinemaCon Breakthrough Director of the Year Award.’”
Parker first received critical attention in 2007 for his role in “The Great Debaters” receiving an NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He followed that up with such critically acclaimed films as “The Secret Life of Bees,” for which he received a Best Supporting Actor NAACP Image Award nomination, “Red Tails,” “Arbitrage,” and “Red Hook Summer.” He has also appeared in “Pride,” “Dirty,” “Felon,” “1968 Tunnel Rats,” and “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints,” among many others. Most recently Parker received his third NAACP Image Award nomination for his performance in “Beyond the Lights.” In addition to his feature film credits Parker has written and directed multiple shorts including “#AmeriCan,” which won the Black Reel Award for Outstanding Independent Short and has appeared onstage in “American Voices” at the Broad Street Theater.
THE BIRTH OF A NATION’s cast includes Armie Hammer, Penelope Ann Miller, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith and Gabrielle Union. The score is from composer Henry Jackman.
All right action fans, you won’t have to wait for Spring and Summer for a noisy, big body-count, big-screen bonanza. That’s because “Mr. Movie Mayhem” is back, yup Gerard Butler. Wait a minute, back? He was here just last week, starring in the CGI-heavy, fight-fest GODS OF EGYPT! Well, in that one, he’s not truly the star, but a (gasp!) villain! His Set is almost an inverse of his big break-out role in 300 (ten years old now?) and GODS is a kind of a mash-up of the Spartan epic with the (unnecessary) remake of CLASH OF THE TITANS. But it’s not really a sequel and it’s a near-bloodless PG-13. Not the case here. Just three years ago Butler scored again with the bloody and bombastic (almost a non-puppet companion to TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE) OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN. This is not to be confused with that other DC under siege thriller WHITE HOUSE DOWN that arrived in the multiplexes just a few months later (kinda’ like those dueling Snow White flicks the previous year). Though similar in subject and setting, DOWN had a self-aware sense of its own absurdity (thanks perhaps to the casting of Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum as president and protector) that may have turned off many action film fans. And so Butler beats them to the punch once more for a follow-up (maybe the cost of DOWN’s higher profile cast is a big reason), that finds him and the Prez across the pond to discover that now LONDON HAS FALLEN.
The film doesn’t begin in that jolly old burg, but rather in Pakistan two years ago. Infamous arms dealer Aamir Barkawi (Alon Aboutboul) is taking a break from his HQ in Yeman where he sells weapons to terrorists across the globe to attend a wedding. He’s enjoying himself until an unexpected wedding present arrives via US strike drone. KA-BLOOEY! Guess that’s the end of him eh? Riiight. Jump cut to the present day as secret service agent Mike Banning (Butler) shadows his boss (and bud) President Ben Asher (Aaron Eckhart) on his morning jog. Later, at the home he shares with wife Leah (Radha Mitchell), Mike prepares his resignation letter (there’s a baby on the way). But before he sends off the email, Mike decides to tell Ben in person the next day. But before they can have a “man-to-man”, news arrives from Britain that the Prime Minister has passed. Ben’s must attend the state funeral, so he’s got to have Mike at his side along with Service director Jacobs (Angela Bassett). Not long after touching down in England, planned attacks take out nearly all the world leaders (yes, London Bridge is indeed falling down). Just outside the memorial cathedral, Ben’s and his protection team are under attack. After several near-escapes, he and Mike are on their own, navigating through deserted streets and evading deadly assassins. Back in the states, ex-Speaker of the House, now VP Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) meets with his staff in the crisis room where they watch a transmission from Barkawi’s family claiming responsibility for the London attacks and vowing to find the Prez and execute him on live TV. Can Mike and Ben fend off their foes and survive till help finally arrives?
Once again Butler easily slips into action hero mold (as opposed to “rom-com” lead), his perpetually squinting eyes constantly darting about in search of threats. At times he fights a losing battle to keep his Scottish brogue muzzled, which often makes the “killing quips” tough to grasp, although he has no trouble dropping the stream of obligatory “f-bombs” (perhaps to guarantee that “R” rating). His Banning is close to a human “punch ball” , bouncing back onto his feet no matter what befalls him. When he opens his eyes after his car flips, we almost expect to see an animated “birdie” imploring him, “Get up and git’ em’, Mike!”. His brief bits of levity with the Prez and his spouse seem forced and stilted (he appears to have more rapport with Ben than Leah). Eckhart doesn’t have as much to do this time out (he refers to his son, but there’s no real reunion). He endures abuse with barely a flinch, and gets to join in the battle, but for much of the time, he’s the human football that Mike must prevent the other team from intercepting. Freeman spends much of the film staring at monitors in between getting updates from other vets of the first flick Melissa Leo (healed from the brutal beatings three years ago) and Robert Forster (still a dapper general). Jackie Earle Haley joins them at the table, but has little to add when he’s not averting his eyes from the carnage. After some baby banter, Mitchell is regulated to screaming into useless phones and gazing with great worry at the TV news feeds. Bassett is also underused as Mike’s boss. She’s voices big concern over the hasty funeral trip, then never gets much of a chance to test her own survival skills (she could be a great action hero all on her own). Aboutboul threatens and scowls, but he and his crew come off as third-rate Bond baddies.
The carnage isn’t quite as brutal as in the first flick (so many pulpy head shots it almost became “target practice at the tomato farm”), but the producers foot the bill for lots of CGI “disaster porn”, as many London landmarks bite the dust, much as in the recent SAN ANDREAS. Director Babak Najafi takes the reins from Antoine Fuqua this time out, and keeps the film moving, although several of the later scenes are confusing. Much of the third act is either set in dingy tunnels or deserted streets (perhaps to disguise Bulgaria doubling for Britain), and it’s difficult to make things out in the smoke, dust, and dirt. Once again, there are moments of gleeful sadism and jingoistic fervor (Mike must deliver a patriotic lecture while pummeling another darn’ swarthy “furriner”). The final blow to the baddies is a tad unsatisfying, but rabid action flick junkies will have more than their fill of blood, bone crunching, and noise. But for discerning thriller fans, let’s hope that President Asher’s term ends soon and we’re spared a potential travelogue/franchise. Watching Butler’s Banning trash two world capitals is plenty. LONDON HAS FALLEN should be more than enough cause to revoke his passport.
Check out the explosive new trailer for LONDON HAS FALLEN.
The huge cast includes Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Jackie Earle Haley, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Sean O’Bryan, Charlotte Riley and Waleed Zuaiter.
The sequel to the worldwide smash hit OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, a non-stop, suspenseful action thriller that delivers high-octane excitement through a heightened sense of authenticity. The visceral intensity springs from a timely premise: after the British Prime Minister passes away, his funeral becomes a target of a terrorist organization to destroy some of the world’s most powerful leaders, devastate the British capital, and unleash a terrifying vision of the future.
The only hope of stopping it rests on the shoulders of the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) and his formidable Secret Service head (Gerard Butler), and an English MI-6 agent (Charlotte Riley) who rightly trusts no one. Morgan Freeman also stars as the Vice President of the United States.
Directed by Babak Najafi, the movie is written by Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt and Christian Gudegast and Chad St. John.
LONDON HAS FALLEN opens in US theaters on March 4, 2016, in cinemas across the UK in March 5, 2016.
Here’s your first look at the poster for LONDON HAS FALLEN – the sequel to the worldwide smash hit OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN, a non-stop, suspenseful action thriller that delivers high-octane excitement through a heightened sense of authenticity.
The visceral intensity springs from a timely premise: after the British Prime Minister passes away, his funeral becomes a target of a terrorist organization to destroy some of the world’s most powerful leaders, devastate the British capital, and unleash a terrifying vision of the future.
The only hope of stopping it rests on the shoulders of the President of the United States (Aaron Eckhart) and his formidable Secret Service head (Gerard Butler), and an English MI-6 agent (Charlotte Riley) who rightly trusts no one.
Morgan Freeman also stars as the Vice President of the United States.
Directed by Babak Najafi and the film is written by Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt, Christian Gudegast, Chad St. John.
From Focus Features, LONDON HAS FALLEN opens on October 2nd.
Principal photography has begun on Millennium Films’ and Focus Features’ LONDON HAS FALLEN, the sequel to the worldwide smash hit OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN.
Gerard Butler again stars as Secret Service agent Mike Banning, alongside Aaron Eckhart as the President of the United States. Also returning are Academy Awardwinner Morgan Freeman, as Vice President Trumbull, Academy Awardnominee Angela Bassett, as Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs, and Academy Awardwinner Melissa Leo as Defense Secretary Ruth McMillan.
Focus Features will release LONDON HAS FALLEN theatrically nationwide on October 2nd, 2015.
OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN
Babak Najafi (“Snabba Cash II”) directs the thriller from a screenplay by Creighton Rothenberger & Katrin Benedikt (“Olympus Has Fallen”), Christian Gudegast and Chad St. John.
The story begins in London, where the British Prime Minister has passed away under mysterious circumstances. His funeral is a must-attend event for leaders of the western world. However, what starts out as the most protected event on Earth turns into a deadly plot to kill the world’s most powerful leaders, devastate every known landmark in the British capital, and unleash a terrifying vision of the future. Only three people have any hope of stopping it: the President of the United States, his formidable Secret Service head (Gerard Butler), and an English MI-6 agent who rightly trusts no one.
Reprising their roles in support are Academy Awardnominee Robert Forster as General Edward Clegg, Sean O’Bryan as NSA Deputy Director Ray Monroe, and Radha Mitchell as Leah Banning.
Joining the returning cast members are Academy Awardnominee Jackie Earle Haley, Alon Aboutboul (“The Dark Knight Rises”), Charlotte Riley, and Waleed Zuaiter (from the Academy Award nominated film “Omar”).
We’re just a few weeks into 2014, and it’s already time for film goers to encounter the dreaded “r word”. Or could it be a trio of words? Alright, let’s fully address the controversial threesome: remakes, reboots, and re-imaginings. The oldest is the first one, the now-spurned remake. They were commonplace particularly in the early sound era as many silent films were revisited in order to utilize the new sound technology. Then a few years later these early “talkies” were done once more in full, blazing Technicolor (and 3D and stereophonic sound, Cinerama, etc.). THE MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM was remade in color and 3D as HOUSE OF WAX. But soon remakes were getting a “bad rap”, perhaps spurred in the mid-1970’s when the dismal Dino DeLaurentis produced KING KONG flopped with critics and the public. Maybe cable TV and the burgeoning home video market had a hand in this. The public had greater access to the originals (back then, your only chance was “The Late, Late Show” or at revival theatres and college film programs). This brings us to the second word, the reboots, which often applies to film franchises. The Daniel Craig CASINO ROYALE was a reboot of the long-running Bond series, for example. For individual one-shot films, the re-imagining term is usually tossed about instead of remake, especially newer US movies based on classic novels or lauded foreign films. This was the case with last year’s new screen version of Stephen King’s nearly 40 year-old novel, CARRIE which landed at multiplexes with a load thud.
But that certainly hasn’t deterred Hollywood. Opening today is a new screen incarnation of ROBOCOP, which could be considered a reboot and re-imagining. The much beloved 1987 original spawned two follow-up feature films and a TV min-series sequel. And, amazingly, despite its R rating (which was achieved after several edits to avoid the abhorrent NC-17), the film was marketed to kids with a comic book series, a toy line, and even an animated TV show! But besides the science fiction elements and action sequences that film provided an element that set it apart from the 80’s “shoot-em-ups”: satire. This may be one of the reasons it’s recalled so fondly today (it even got a classy Criterion DVD edition a few years back). It was set in a world not that many years from our own, and like the very serious NETWORK, many of its digs and predictions about the media came true. Now finally after many years of legal wranglings (the former Orion Pictures property was scooped up by MGM), that cyborg is ready to hit those mean streets once more. Despite having tremendous affection for that nearly 27 year-old classic, I tried to approach this telling with an open mind. Although as it started to unspool, I could hear that electronically enhanced voice of Peter Weller delivering one of his many quoted lines of dialogue: “Your move, creep!”.
As it opens we’re planted right on the set of 2028’s most popular media pundit, Pat Novak (Samuel L Jackson). On his nightly program/soapbox he sings the praises of defense contractor Omnicorp and its founder Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton). A remote report from Iran shows the village streets being patrolled by two of the company’s cybernetic products, the huge hulking ED-209’s and the man-sized robots the ED-208’s. All seems to be peaceful until some locals launch a suicide attack on the machines. After the skirmish is quickly contained, the report is cut short. Novak decries the fact that these products are not used in stateside law enforcement thanks to a bill spearheaded by Senator Dreyfus (Zach Grenier) that bans the police from using robotics. Sellars is determined to find away around the bill in order reap huge profits from selling his creations to American police stations. What if there was a human being inside the machine. Sellars calls in his robot prosthetics expert Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) to vet a test subject for the new product. Meanwhile in Detroit, undercover police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is gravely injured by a car bomb while investigating an arms merchant and drug kingpin who may have some of Murphy’s fellow cops on his payroll. The heroic officer seems to be the perfect candidate for Omnicorp, so after Alex’s wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) gives permission the project goes forward. The result is Robocop, an unstoppable cyborg lawman. But there are complications as Omnicorp tries to keep Alex away from his wife and ten year-old son. When he makes his own attempted murder priority one, the company tries to adjust his body chemistry in order to comply with their demands (and inspire the Dreyfus bill to be rescinded). Can Murphy fight them and retain his humanity?
Kinnaman (best known for AMC TV’s “The Killing”) spends most of his screen time before his cyber-upgrade glowering and snarling as “the one cop that won’t be bought” (well the same goes for Michael K Williams as his pal/partner Jack). We get some brief moments of tenderness with the family leading to the big change. Unlike Weller in the 87 model, the visor covering the top half of the face only goes down during combat, so Kinnaman is able to emote more as he adjusts to his new armored self (even shedding tears as he pleads for termination). This helps us better get inside Murphy’s head and Kinnaman adds to our sympathy for him by using his expressive eyes. Unfortunately there’s perhaps greater chemistry between him and Williams than with Cornish as his long-suffering wife. She keeps out of much of the main action, mainly showing up sporadically to cry and become a thorn in Omnicorp’s side until she needs to be rescued in the film’s final action-filled finale. Oldman does what he can with the under-written role of noble man of science tethered to the heartless, greedy company. He wants to help Murphy while fending off and arguing with his creepy bosses. We see that he’s conflicted, but his priorities seem to be muddled. We have a tough time figuring out his real loyalties. It’s great to see Michael Keaton in a major role here as a twisted spin on his Bruce Wayne turn from over two decades ago. His affable nature hides his greed and power lust. He eschews finely tailored three-piece suits so as to look like an “average Joe” (he leaves that attire to his two main lackeys played by Jay Baruchel and Jennifer Ehle), but he never hesitates to deceive and destroy anyone in his way. Another of his aids is a tough military man played with steely swagger by Jackie Earle Haley. He believes in machines, not men (especially the very human Murphy). Jackson brings his usual energy to his role as the pompous, pontificating pundit but this gas-bag isn’t that different from the character that Stephen Colbert has perfected for that last few years on late night TV.
The thing that ‘s most striking about this “re-doing” is the lack of anything very striking about it. In order to appeal to the broadest audience possible the makers have gone for the “safe” PG-13 rating and have rendered everything almost toothless, a lot less bark and very little bite. Murphy’s just a jet black Iron Man with fewer gadgets (he can’t fly, but dig the cool cycle!). There’s a touch of subversive satire in the opening Iran sequence as villagers trying to go about their business must stop, raise their arms, and allow the ominous machines to scan them and access them as a threat (like going on a flight several times a day). But that’s soon ditched for another “pile on” the one percenters. Yeah, we know “Mr. Businessman is an evil guy” already. Sure we had company creeps in the original, but they also had a terrific sleazy gang led by Kurtwood Smith (the Dad from “That 70’s Show”?). Now, besides the sinister Sellars there’s a generic, vaguely European colorless crime boss named Vallon. There’s almost an attempt for all-out revenge mayhem when Murphy overrides the system and goes after the corruption at the police station. But he (and the film’s burst of momentum) is quickly shut down. The only other time the new film can get a rise from the audience is when someone reuses a classic line from the original or the great Basil Poledouris theme is briefly heard. And this Detroit doesn’t seem like such a scary, crime-ridden place (I’m sure several cities were standing in for the much-maligned burg). In the earlier tale we rooted for Murphy to reclaim his humanity (he’s thought to be dead and slowly awakes to his earlier life), but here his memories are still complete after his reboot, then he loses them, and tries to regain them which causes the film to lose its thrust and actually come screeching to a halt in some of the domestic drama scenes. Brazilian director Jose Padhila tries to keep the story flowing, but the action set pieces are merely different levels on a “first person shooter” video game (there’s 50 points, and a bonus point). Thanks to CGI we can see Murphy out of the suit more, and the heaving lungs and exposed brain are impressively gruesome, but the film seems to be many steps backward from the smarter and more gleefully gory (and funny) original. The 1987 model is a classic with no need of an upgrade, The 2014 is shinier and faster, but I guess I’m still too fond of that bulky, clunky armored lantern-jawed lawman. As he would say, “Thank you for your co-operation”.
