RoboCop

It does not seem possible that a PG-13 remake of Paul Verhoeven's ultraviolent 1987 sci-fi action masterpiece RoboCop could retain any of the original's mordant multimedia satire, much less its gleefully bleak vision of a near-future urban hell. So, perhaps this shiny new RoboCop is the best RoboCop we could possibly expect at this moment. Director José Padilha's gift for stylizing boot-level action scenes; a game, supporting cast; and an updated special-effects shimmer are almost enough to forgive that the film crumbles in the second half. The most disappointing aspect is the cleanliness of Padilha's moral lines, nothing like the schizophrenic satire of Verhoeven's film, which blurred the boundary between decrying sadism and psychotically reveling in it. This RoboCop spends so much time exploring the sensitive-dad side of its cyborg-peacekeeper protagonist that we're practically into the third act before the story starts.