Coming from director José Padhila (Elite Squad), RoboCop is a remake of the 1987 Paul Verhoeven classic of the same name; an action/sci-fi movie which sees near-future cop Alex Murphy killed in the line of duty, and turned into an experimental, half-man, half-machine, drone who’ll be used by the police force to clean up the mean streets of Detroit.
With great action, and an all-star cast which boasts the likes of Joel Kinnaman (The Killing), Michael Keaton (Batman), Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises), and Abbie Cornish (Limitless), there’s plenty to enjoy in this total reimagining of Verhoeven’s classic, though how much you enjoy does depend completely on how fondly you remember the original; because while it may be a decent, family-friendly, action movie, this remake doesn’t hold a candle to the original.
For more information read the full RoboCop review here.
Picture:
If you had to pick one word to describe the RoboCop (2014) Blu-ray picture quality, it’d have to be ‘stunning’; crisp, sharp, loaded with exceptional fine detail, and great textures, as well as perfect blacks, deep and well saturated colour representation, with a varied palette and strong contrast. There are also no traces of compression issues, no noise, artifacts, aliasing, or any other unsightly anomalies, and on the whole, it’s extremely difficult to fault this frankly excellent transfer.
Audio:
Similarly strong is the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that accompanies the RoboCop Blu-ray; a bombastic affair that’s sure to please any action aficionado, as it not only contains crystal clear dialogue, but smooth pans, plenty of weighty bass, and precise effects, that combine with the right amount of consistent ambient noise to create a fully engaging, and enveloping, soundfield throughout.
Special Features:
In terms of extras, RoboCop actually does a fairly decent job on delivering the goods, as we’re treated to not only a selection of deleted scenes (largely skippable), but a number of false-advertisements for Omnicorp products (an enjoyable inclusion), and a series of making of featurettes exploring the differences between the Paul Verhoeven original movie, and the new film, crafting new weapons for a new RoboCop, and the all-new suit design. Neither overwhelming in terms of quantity, or quality, but there’s enough here for fans of the remake to explore, and what’s on offer is more than welcome.
The Bottom Line:
You’ve got to love RoboCop, in one incarnation or another, and while fans of the original who’re clinging too closely to their version of, the Part Man, Part Machine, All Cop, Alex Murphy are likely to be disappointed, there’s enough here to enjoy (if you can ignore the past), and with amazing picture quality, fantastic sound, and a decent supply of bonus materials, the RoboCop (2014) Blu-ray is a solid buy (particularly if you can pick it up in a bargain bin in a couple of months time).
For more information, read our review of the RoboCop (2014) movie here.
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
