Three things the new ‘RoboCop’ reboot really could have used

The long-awaited 'RoboCop' remake arrives in theatres on February 12.

Early reviews of the action film have been mixed at best, with some critics praising the movie as a commendable effortand others banishing it "reboot scrapheap." Either way, it seems that 2014's "RoboCop" is sure to divide fans of the 1987 original and new viewers alike. Here are three things the "RoboCop" reboot really could have used.

A new vision

The 2014 version of “RoboCop” is a remake in every sense of the word. Sure, there are some new characters and plot twists here and there, and yes, the titular cyborg police officer now has a shiny new motorcycle and sleek black get-up, but the basic premise of the reboot is identical to the 1987 movie: Cop gets killed. Cop becomes robot. Cop who is part of the system tries to fight the system and has a hard time.

Studio executives, producers, filmmakers, and actors involved in remakes often talk about being respectful to the source material, and they often include Easter eggs and winky references for franchise fans to chew on. But reboots are rarely intended for fans of those original properties, so why bother reminding those fans that what they’re watching is, in 99 per cent of cases, an inferior knock-off? A new spin and a new vision of "RoboCop" is what everyone could have got behind. Instead -- no what the intentions of the filmmakers -- the movie can't help but be a rehash of a classic.

Phil Tippett

Phil who? Best known as the Dinosaur Supervisor on “Jurassic Park” (you had one job, dude!), legendary movie FX wiz and creature designer Phil Tippett is the man responsible for bringing the original ED-209 robot to life through a technique called stop-motion animation.

His robo-effects in the 1987 “RoboCop” were essentially a highly-advanced version of the same techniques that brought King Kong to the big screen in 1933. Tippett works as a visual effects supervisor and filmmaker these days, but he’s recently lent his creature creation expertise to films like “Starship Troopers,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” and the upcoming “Jurassic World” (again credited as Dinosaur Supervisor).

The VFX in the new “RoboCop” look fine, but it’s hard to imagine that the film couldn’t have benefited from Tippett’s considerable talents and familiarity with the franchise.

An R rating

The original ‘RoboCop” is an incredibly violent movie. The violence, a staple of director Paul Verhoeven’s work, earned the film a hard R-rating, but the action movie simply wouldn’t have been the same without all that blood and gore. Verhoeven’s use of violence in the first “RoboCop” (along with its darkly twisted tone and hilarious dialogue) was particularly effective for satirizing the ruthless corporate culture of the 1980s and what he saw as a gun-crazy society.

So what about the “RoboCop” remake? It’s rated PG-13. In a 2012 interview with Collider, remake star Joel Kinnaman said that making a PG-13 “RoboCop” would be a bad idea.

“I sincerely hope they’re going for R ‘cause I can’t imagine how ‘RoboCop’ could be PG-13.” Kinnaman said. “That would be a huge mistake.”

Now, that’s not to say that the new “RoboCop” won’t have something to say, or that a movie needs to be rated R to be considered a biting social satire. But it’s fair to guess that a PG-13 movie designed for mass market appeal probably won’t be as edgy as the original.

Are you looking forward to the "RoboCop" remake or are you happy with the first movie? Let us know in the comments.