Anytime a filmmaker sets out to reboot a franchise, it's an uphill battle, and they must be willing to accept a healthy amount of skepticism from fans of the original. In the case of the new Robocop, director José Padilha (Elite Squad) isn't simply battling the overall quality of the 1987 Paul Verhoeven film, he's also contending with the biting social commentary and ultra-violence that made it an instant classic. Unfortunately for Padilha, the PG-13 rating that the studio wanted, and he agreed to deliver, automatically put him into a big hole with many fans, one that would be difficult for any filmmaker to climb out of.
Now, I enjoy a well-made, super-violent action picture as much as the next guy (or girl), but I reject the assertion that Robocop needs to be R-rated to be good. At its core, Robocop is the story of a half-man, half-cyborg who fights crime and battles big robots. That sounds cool. That sounds FUN. The thirteen-year old in me wants to see that movie, and there's no reason why the right filmmaker couldn't take that basic concept and turn it into an entertaining movie that reaches a wider audience.
