Alex Murphy, damaged in an explosion to the point of death, is the ideal candidate for a new initiative to join human sensibilities to computerised and robotic peace-keeping hardware. But Murphy has his own mind, which leads to conflict with those responsible for the attempt on his life (plus others),which may stretch beyond the criminal fraternity.

The 2014 remake of Paul Verhoeven's classic 1987 sci-fi satire includes most of the story beats from the original, but has quite a different heart. This makes it into a different film, and one which I enjoyed as much as the original.

Despite being full of action, it is a much gentler film. The violence is not as sadistic, there is no profanity (imagine that!),the relationship between Alex and his family is much more important, and Gary Oldman's conflicted Dr Frankenstein - sorry, Dr Norton - is a fine character: he is the actual heart of the movie.

If you loved the 1987 version with a passion then you may hate this. If you merely liked it, you may like this version too.

It's 2028. Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) is the CEO of OmniCorp whose robots are used to patrol the streets of Tehran. Business is good except Senator Dreyfuss had passed a bill banning security robots in America. Marketing guy Tom Pope (Jay Baruchel) comes up with a PR move to sell the public on RoboCop. Police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is investigating gun runner Vallon but he and his partner get double-crossed by corrupt cops. Alex is heavily injured in a car bomb. Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) takes what's left to create RoboCop.

This is a deeper darker remake of 1987 action classic. It takes a bit more pains to lay out the process to make him a robot. It's a more in-depth look into the difference between man and machine. That does make the first half slower. The wife played by Abbie Cornish is given a bigger role. Even the people in the corporation isn't monolithic. Michael Keaton is a little bit more nuanced than Ronny Cox. This has both good and bad. The original is much more of a fun action ride with simplified characters. As a popcorn movie, the original is much more enjoyable. This one is slightly realistic and darker. The action is pretty good although I would like more real stunts. I think RoboCop is a good franchise to use real cars rather than CGI. The one undeniable thing is that I love the motorcycle. It gives the movie kinetic energy just by him riding on it. Joel Kinnaman plays a different cop than Peter Weller. Weller always struck me as a boy scout. It could be due to 'The Killing', but I see Kinnaman with more with an edge. Overall this is a remake with a slightly different tone. It's not necessarily better or worst but it does have differences.

In 2028, in Detroit, the OmniCorp has developed technology in the area of robotics and their drones have been used by different countries in military application. However the corporation does not succeed in using them to enforce the law in the United States due to the Dreyfus Act. When the detective and family man Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is lethally injured in an attempt with a bomb in his car, OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) convinces the scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) and Murphy's wife to use his remaining parts in a robot with the intention of swindling the law and make a fortune with the drones. However the cyborg RoboCop is indeed seeking justice and will not stop until he finds those that destroyed his and his family's lives.

The 1987 "Robocop" directed by Paul Verhoeven is a classic of the genre and every cinema lover certainly knows the story. This 2014 terrible remake is another example of the present Hollywood movies, with top- notch effects and nothing else. Why does RoboCop have a human hand if the intention is to be invulnerable? Prefer watching again the 1987 movie instead of this remake that is "made in China". My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "RoboCop"