Robocop (2014) parents guide

Robocop (2014) Parent Guide

On premise alone, "Robocop" makes for an engaging couple of hours.

Overall C

The marketing geniuses behind OmniCorp, inventors of military droids, want to expand their products into the USA. When golden cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is critically injured, the company offers to save him by using robot parts to rebuild his body. But their financially motivated mercy mission doesn't take into account what Murphy's mind may do to the machine.

Release date February 12, 2014

Violence D+
Sexual Content B
Profanity D+
Substance Use B+

Why is Robocop (2014) rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Robocop (2014) PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material.

Run Time: 121 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

It is no surprise Robocop is a franchise ripe for a reboot. The 1987 release spawned a couple of sequels, live action and animated TV series, video games, comic books and even kids toys (yes, we’ve been marketing R-rated violence to children for a very long time). And all this from a movie that only cost $13 million to make—a mediocre sum even by late 1980s standards.

The new Robocop brings officer Alex Murphy (now played by Joel Kinnaman) back to the streets of Detroit to retell the original story of how a man becomes a crime fighting cyborg. After sustaining a targeted bomb attack from a criminal, Alex is fighting for his life with what little body he has left. The timing, however, couldn’t be better for Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton), owner of OmniCorp.

Sellars’ has been executing a plan to sell robots around the world and eliminate crime. His success can be seen in the number of these monstrous minions walking the streets of virtually every country. (This point is further demonstrated in a vivid scenario involving suicide bombers and children in the Middle East). Yet ironically, the U.S. entity hasn’t managed to sell to its own. The political climate in America still favors a human trigger finger, as opposed to a mechanical one that makes life and death judgments based on mathematical algorithms.

However Mr. Sellars has his fare share of supporters at home. One of the most vocal is conservative talk show host Pat Novak (Samuel L. Jackson) who acts as both foil to the opposition and narrator of the story. Riding the fine line between playing an aggressive talk show host and spoofing America’s litany of right-wing pundits, Jackson’s character fawns over the prospects of a perfectly safe society patrolled by emotionless droids incapable of falling prey to situation bias. His popular commentary adds fuel to a rising public acceptance of robocops and OmniCorp’s growing profit potential. All OmniCorp needs to do is find a poster boy for its cause—and that’s where the near-dead Alex Murphy comes into the marketing strategy.

A first-rate policeman, caring husband and father, Alex is the perfect specimen for Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman), the head of robotic development at OmniCorp. Dr. Norton has been doing “good” in the world using the company’s know-how to make high tech prosthetics. But what if he could take Alex’s mind and torso and integrate him into the body of a robot? After convincing Alex’s wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) that this is the only way she’ll be able to see her husband survive, she gives the go ahead. Soon Alex has a new body of whining hydraulics covered in a near-bulletproof skin. But will this infallible protector, with perfect logic and a human soul, manage to convince Congress to repeal an act that prohibits the use of robots to fight crime on the streets of America?

On premise alone Robocop makes for an engaging couple of hours. Considering governments’ embrace of drones and other autonomous technology in the military theater, the concept is even less farfetched than it was three decades ago. Undoubtedly the idea will set the stage for an interesting discussion afterward.

Sadly this conversation will occur only after you’ve seen more flying bullets than there are popcorn kernels at the concession stand. Scene after scene has robots and humans battling one another with countless deaths, including onscreen shootings with blood effects. However, compared to the 1987 version (which was rated R in the U.S. at that time) the gore and carnage aren’t nearly as explicit. You will also hear a single sexual expletive, along with a moderate amount of other cussing and scatological slang. Sexual content is contained to a moment shared by a married couple that is cut short when it is interrupted.

Depending on your concerns about violence, Robocop may pass muster for the oldest of teens. If they do work their way through the action, make sure you take the opportunity to discuss the deeper ethical situations this movie presents.

Directed by José Padilha. Starring Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Douglas Urbanski. Running time: 121 minutes. Theatrical release February 12, 2014. Updated

Robocop (2014)
Rating & Content Info

Why is Robocop (2014) rated PG-13? Robocop (2014) is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material.

Violence: Robots patrol a neighborhood (depicted in Iran) and scan citizens’ eyes and bodies to confirm identification and check for hidden weapons; Men with explosives covering their bodies launch an attack on the machines and one of their young sons approaches a droid with a knife and is shot off screen. In other scenes we see robots and humans battling with many presumed deaths; some shootings are seen on screen with limited blood effects. Some characters are shot with Taser weapons, one within a comedic context. A character threatens another by wrapping his hands around his neck. A few people are seen lying in hospital beds or wheelchairs with injuries that include missing limbs. A man who has lost most of his body is depicted with just his head, and his internal organs encased in a transparent enclosure.

Sexual Content: A married couple embraces and begins removing their clothes (we see her in a bra) but they are interrupted prior to any further sexual activity. Some brief sexual innuendo is heard.

Language: One sexual expletive in a non-sexual context is used. Moderate amounts of scatological and other profanities are included.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Minor references to drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

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Robocop (2014) Parents' Guide

This movie poses some interesting ethical considerations in the use of robots for protection. What do you think is more effective—A machine that acts without feelings or emotion or a human that can assess more complex scenarios? Are machines/computers always perfect? If not, where might their imperfections come from?

Do you feel differently about the use of robots in military applications in other countries than in your own? Why might there be a difference of opinion? What are the benefits to our society in using robots elsewhere? What are the benefits of using them to patrol our own neighborhoods?

How close are we to seeing Robocops on our streets? Check out this company that has been marketing robots to the military for some time: http://www.irobot.com/us/learn/defense.aspx

Now take a look at Boston Dynamics, another developer with military connections, and one of many robotics companies recently purchased by Google. (Remember, this is what we are allowed to know about: http://www.bostondynamics.com )

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Robocop (2014) movie is June 3, 2014. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: RoboCop

Release Date: 3 June 2014

Robocop releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following bonus features:

- Deleted Scenes

- Omnicorp Product Announcement

- Robocop: Engineered for the 21st Century

- Theatrical Trailers

 

Related home video titles:

Mechanical police officers and servants are part of the society depicted in I, Robot. A machine talks on human qualities in Bicentennial Man.

This movie is a remake of the 1987 movie Robocop staring Peter Weller.

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