It’s the year 2028, and OmniCorp has developed war drones that have proven to be highly effective at keeping the peace on foreign soil, but Senator Hubert Dreyfuss (Zach Grenier) has created a bill preventing them from being deployed domestically. He believes that the robots are too unsafe since they lack any emotional responsibility for their actions. So CEO Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton) tasks his top scientist Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman) and head robot designer Rick Mattox (Jackie Earle Haley) to come up with a way to add a human element to the robots.

Meanwhile, family man/police officer Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is investigating corruption in Detroit when he gets too close to the truth, and an attempt is made on his life. Murphy is severely wounded in the explosion, and OmniCorp seizes the opportunity to convince his wife Clara (Abbie Cornish) to sign over her husband in order to save his life. As Murphy struggles to come to terms with his new not-so-human body, he rejoins the police force as RoboCop, and sets out to find those who tried to kill him.

This reboot successfully captures the spirit and feeling of the original 1987 film while also making it feel very modern and relevant. RoboCop himself still looks and sounds very much like the original, just a bit more polished. This new film also pays homage to many of those iconic lines and scenes that have had fans hooked on the franchise for almost 30 years.

Not only does RoboCop have a lot of great action sequences—shootouts, car chases, robot battles and more—but it also has some very interesting dramatic and philosophical stories at its core. We see Murphy struggle to come to terms with his new self and to reconnect with his family. The film raises the questions of what it means to be human, and does Murphy only have the illusion of free will.

I really enjoyed the modern take on the story, and the whole ethical question of using drones in war. The film’s opening sequence that finds OmniCorp demoing how their robots can be used to keep the peace in Tehran without risking human military lives felt very relevant to today.

Joel Kinnaman does an amazing job as RoboCop, delivering on both the dramatic side as well as the more robotic side of things. It is great to see that he has paid attention even to the tiniest details—such as how RoboCop walks and turns corners—as he takes over such an iconic role.

The film is shot using an interesting variety of styles. Many of the action sequences are filmed steady-cam style, so you feel like you are right there in the trenches, part of the action. And in other sequences, the viewer sees things from the POV of RoboCop in a video game-like feel where you see targets lock in RoboCop’s scope as he rapidly takes down the enemies.

The film looks and sounds amazing on this Blu-ray. The picture is crisp and clear and captures all of the detail flawlessly. And the soundtrack is amazing—whether it’s ships flying overhead, or the sound of gunfire, the audio presentation makes you feel like you are right there in the middle of the action.

This bonus features in this release include a DigitalHD copy of the film, a pair of trailers, five short deleted scenes, some OmniCorp product announcement videos, and about a half-hour of behind-the-scenes featurettes/interviews with the cast/creators. I found the third of these three featurettes to be the most interesting as it gave a look at the whole process of designing and creating the iconic RoboCop suit. Overall, the bonus features were a bit slim—it would have been great to at least get some kind of gag reel or audio commentary.

That said, I highly recommend picking up this Blu-ray!

What’s Included:

Film: (1:57:29)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1, French DD 5.1, Castillian DTS 5.1, Italian DTS 5.1, Portuguese DD 5.1, Hindi DD 5.1, Urdu DD 5.1, Thai DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Castillian, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese.

DVD:

• 480p / Widescreen 2.40:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Surround DD 2.0, French Surround DD 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 6/3/2017):

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Flixster, Google Play or Vudu

Extras (Blu-ray Only, except for those marked with *):

• Deleted Scenes* (3:59)
  A collection of five short deleted scenes. These scenes are not really integral to the film, and contain some incomplete visual effects. Play All or select from “Pentagon”, “Right Hand”, “Helicopter”, “Lewis and Dean” and “Norton Confesses Dreyfus”.
• OmniCorp Product Announcement (3:27)
  A collection of OmniCorp product announcement videos—a female voice rattles off the specs of each product as the video provides a detailed look. Play All or select from “Exo-Skeleton”, “EM-208”, “ED-209”, “XT-908”, “Cuiser 1”, “TSR-66”, “M2 Battle Rifle”, “RC-2000 V1”, “RC-2000 V3”, and “Next Generation RoboCop”.
• RoboCop: Engineered For the 21st Century
  A collection of three behind-the-scenes featurettes with the film’s star and creators. Play All or select from:
  • “The Illusion of Free Will: A New Vision” (7:46)
    How the film came about, how it differs from the original, and the research they did to make sure the science was sound. Includes interviews with director José Padilha, producers Eric Newman and Marc Abraham, and production designer Martin Whist.

  • “To Serve and Protect: RoboCop’s Weapons” (6:05)
    A discussion of RoboCop’s weapons and motrorcyle, and the evolution of their design. Includes footage from the gun range and the filming of the motorcycle scenes, as well as interviews with producer Eric Newman, tactical training consultant Scott “Uncle Scotty” Reitz, star Joel Kinnaman (“Alex Murphy”/”RoboCop”), production designer Martin Whist, and art director David Scott.

  • “The RoboCop Suit: Form and Function” (14:54)
    A look at redesigning the iconic suit from the original film, including the evolution of the new design, creating the suit, and fitting it to the actor, while ensuring his safety and comfort. Star Michael Keaton (“Raymond Sellars”) compares his Batman suit to the RoboCop suit, and talks about how he gave star Joel Kinnaman a hard time. Includes some original suit test footage along with interviews with stars Joel Kinnaman (“Alex Murphy”/”RoboCop”) and Michael Keaton (“Raymond Sellars”), Legacy Effects staff Jeff Himmel, Mike Manzel, and John Rosengrant, producer Marc Abraham, art director David Scott, production designer Martin Whist, and director José Padilha.
• Theatrical Trailer 1* (2:12)
• Theatrical Trailer 2* (2:12)
• Sneak Peek* (8:34)
  Play All or select from trailers for MGM 90th Anniversary, RoboCop The Official Game, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, “3 Days To Kill”, Sons of Anarchy Season 6, and Homeland Season 2.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I really enjoyed this reboot of the RoboCop franchise. It did everything a good reboot should do—it kept the spirit, look and feeling of the original, while adding a new, modern twist to the source material. The film is a great mix of action, drama and even a bit of comedy. The bonus features are a little slim, but the Blu-ray presentation of the film itself is great. I highly recommend checking this film out—I’m looking can’t wait for the sequel!