Harefooted Halloween: Curse of Chucky

What I Liked: Pretty good atmosphere despite it being heavy handed.  Thunder and lightning constantly crackle outside, the power goes off in the house with Chucky loose, the house is decorated like a haunted mansion, the attic has all the usual junk a movie house has like a mannequin and a rocking horse, etc.

Strong performance from lead Fiona Dourif (yes, Brad Dourif’s daughter) who has to not only deal with her shitty family, a murderous Chucky but she also plays a disabled person in a wheelchair.  It seems random but there’s a reason for this (that’s spoiler territory though).  Anyway Fiona carries the picture with a strong will and likeable disposition.

The best aspect of the film is probably the cinematography (Michael Marshal (Locke & Key)) and editing (James Coblenz (Streets of Fire)).  A lot of the shots are nicely composed to give a sense of grandiosity to the house and also to make the scenes more weighty than normal.  That combined with the editing gives an almost dreamy veneer to the whole piece.  Like is this really happening or am I imagining a doll coming life and killing people?

What I Didn’t Like: I alluded above that the production design is kinda ham fisted.  The main setting is an old house and I don’t know who would design a place to be so dreary with doors painted almost to look like they have water damage and wallpaper from the nineteenth century and an old timey iron cage elevator and ornate chandeliers and so on.  If the people who lived there were goths or into Satanic shit or something that would be fine but these are regular Joe type folks.  In my opinion the house should look unassuming during the day and turn creepy at night or when the power goes out.

This is a bit of a slow burn which I’m always on the fence about especially in a horror film.  It sounds good in theory but tends to frustrate me more than satisfy.  While the pacing isn’t that bad really it could’ve been sped up a touch.  Maybe they could’ve added another death earlier on or maybe Chucky could’ve revealed himself sooner?  I dunno.

Overall Impressions: Polar opposite of the previous film, Seed of Chucky.  They went for a serious movie that’s a straight up slasher, it takes place in one location, uses a limited cast and relies heavily on the eerie surroundings and mood to carry the audience until the finale.  I’m not even sure if Chucky makes a single joke.

This is sorta more my speed compared to the campy Bride and Seed.  I like the idea of making a small Chucky film that doesn’t completely hinge on him trying to transfer his soul to a human body.  He made peace with being a doll forever in the last picture and it’s cool they stuck to that notion here.  This is about what’s lurking around the corner rather than devising a creative kill joined with a bad pun.

With that said the pacing drags a little and Chucky’s connection to the family he’s knocking off is really contrived.  It’s good to get back to the character flying solo and being less goofy but the results end up being a mixed bag.  This story might’ve worked better as an awesome short film.

The Child’s Play franchise continues to evolve and keep up with the era.  A decade earlier when Seed came out audiences dug some humor in their horror like Van Helsing, House of 1,000 Corpses and Freddy vs. Jason.  By 2013 they were looking for something more on the serious side with popular releases like The Conjuring, The Purge and World War Z.  It’s impressive that so far the keepers of the Chucky flame have managed to make this killer doll never feel out of time.

Harefooted Halloween: Seed of Chucky

Look I’m gonna skip the usual format for this one and go straight to…

Overall Impressions: Seed of Chucky is supposed to be campy and outrageous and goofy so to simply say “I didn’t like it, it’s stupid” is doing the movie a disservice.  Sure, it’s wacky as shit but that’s also sort of the point.  To give you an idea of what you’re in for John Waters plays a paparazzo who takes pictures of Chucky masturbating through a window.  If that sounds like your cup of semen then the ball’s in your court.  If not then you’re not gonna have a good time.

We start out with Chucky and Tiffany’s offspring running away from a miserable traveling sideshow to go look for his/her/their parents (I’ll elaborate on the multiple pronouns in a moment).  When they’re found they’re in an inanimate state.  So through Damballa they’re magically brought back to life and the killing begins all over again.  The other major part of the plot is a meta reality bending twist on Hollywood and the Child’s Play franchise.  Jennifer Tilly, the real life actor, is fed up with being associated with Chucky and attempts to branch out into more diverse roles.  Redman, the famous rapper, is making a new Jesus biopic and Tilly plans to sleep with him to secure the part of the Virgin Mary (funny irony there).  Chucky and Tiffany decide to transfer their souls into Redman and Tilly but they need another body for their newly reunited kid.  So the plan then morphs into impregnating Tilly with Chucky’s semen to produce a vessel.  As you can see it’s like a lot.  And it’s like pretty fuckin’ weird.

Ok, I just wanna quickly comment on the blurring of the line between film and reality that they went for.  If Wes Craven hadn’t already done this same exact premise ten years prior of people making a new Nightmare on Elm Street film while simultaneously and unwittingly being in a new Nightmare on Elm Street film this would’ve come off a lot fresher.  New Nightmare is great too (until the finale) so Chucky treading the same territory is an uphill battle.  They don’t do that bad of a job with it but ultimately the idea comes across kinda lazy and like they were taking shots in the dark.

The part that’s an actual Chucky movie continues down the horror comedy path the previous installment set up.  But they double down on silly here.  Like Chucky and Tiffany treat their bloodlust as an addiction and she reads a twelve step book and they try to abstain from murdering.  Or Chucky runs Brittany Spears off the road and her car explodes with the quip “oops, I did it again!”.  Sometimes it’ll turn into a spoof movie like that except the jokes aren’t very clever.

One interesting aspect is the picture was ahead of the curve when it comes to gender identity.  Chucky and Tiffany’s kid doesn’t know if it’s a boy or a girl and goes back and forth throughout the movie with the dilemma.  Should the name be Glen or Glenda (a nod to Ed Wood, one of many nods to other films)?  They designed the doll in an androgynous manner as well as leave out any genitalia when Chucky pulls his/her/their pants down.  In the end Chucky and Tiffany accept their child for who he/she/they are which is touching.  Some of this subplot is played for laughs but at times it’s certainly taken seriously too.  Never would’ve expected something like that from this movie.

What this sequel is all about though is Jennifer Tilly.  It’s her film.  She plays multiple leads (including herself) and is in almost every scene.  The roles don’t offer quite enough emotional range to really call this a showcase exactly plus the material is exceptionally ridiculous, but there’s no doubt she carries the whole thing.  She has to go through being typecast as a ditzy actor, attacked by maniacal dolls who want to get her pregnant, charm Redman into casting her in his upcoming movie, give childbirth, debate prostituting herself to advance her career, see people get killed in front of her and etc.  I think she does a nice job here.  She also ends up screaming a helluva lot.

So I mean I dunno.  The picture’s kinda messy in that it’s two totally different and very bizarre ideas mashed together.  None of it makes a lick of sense, the horror elements feel tired and while there are a couple of amusing tidbits none of the humor I found to be laugh out loud funny.  At the same time I can’t get all that mad at the film because it’s meant to be outlandish, twisted and perverse.  This and Bride don’t work great for me.  I still prefer the original trilogy to this version of Chucky.

Harefooted Halloween: Bride of Chucky

What I Liked: Chucky’s stitched together face, stapled on hair, ragged overalls and bloodshot eyes look great.  Frankenstein is used as a loose theme for the movie including giving the doll a quasi undead monster overlay.  Now I’ve never found Chucky threatening solely by his appearance when he’s brand new out of the box.  It’s when he gets a knife hand or half his face sliced off that he takes on a frightening appearance.  So I dig that in this one he’s fucked up from the top.  This is his most gnarly design yet.

Some cool imagery sprinkled throughout.  There’s a scene where Chucky transfers his old girlfriend’s soul into a doll and the room is filled with bubbles and strobing lights because she’s killed while taking a bath.  Someone gets a bunch of nails blasted into their face.  Shards of glass fall on a couple in a waterbed and there’s an explosion of bloody water and sparking lights.

The dolls are kept totally practical without the aid of CGI.  This was a bad era for CGI and some is employed in other areas of the film but thankfully they remained committed to keeping our main characters animatronics, puppets, little people in costumes, etc.

What I Didn’t Like: Gotta be honest here, I’m not really into the concept of this installment.  By film four I understand the desire to change shit up but going in a decidedly comedic direction with Chucky having a lot more screen time doesn’t work all that well.  If you step back for a moment the idea presented actually makes more sense than at first glance.  Throwing another possessed doll into the mix is a device you sometimes see in sequels where you add more of the creature from the previous film (Aliens, Predators, Terminator 2).  The new doll is inhabited by Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly (Let It Ride)) who is Charles Lee Ray’s girlfriend from ten years prior so that checks out in terms of her being a potential bride.  They then team up to transfer their souls to human bodies and cause a lot of destruction along the way.  The thing is one doll is fine but two just comes across too silly.  The tone instantly becomes lighter due to their cutesy relationship, whether it’s playful bickering or genuine affection (and yes, the doll sex scene is as awkward as you’ve heard).  When the focus turns to Chucky and his new partner in crime the menace is diminished in this case and not multiplied.  The two are inseparable for the entire duration and so there isn’t the creepy notion of a killer lurking around the corner, hiding under the bed or any other small space.  The camera is always on them.

Having Tiffany be the same type of doll as Chucky was a missed opportunity.  It would’ve been visually cooler if Tiffany was unique and not simply a girl version of a Good Guy.  They could’ve had fun with her features and dimensions by playing off Chucky’s.  Maybe she’s taller or shorter, made of different materials, has an unusual shape to her head or whatever.  Perhaps the filmmakers didn’t go this route because they feared the audience wouldn’t be ready for a mixed doll couple.

Unfortunately there are a lot of dated references.  The term “the 90’s” is said numerous times plus the Rob Zombie opening credits song, an obvious Marilyn Manson rip off looking dude who becomes a victim, mentions of Boogie Nights, Jerry Springer, Christian Slater and there’s a running joke about Martha Stewart.

Our main human characters are a pair played by Katherine Heigl (Under Siege 2: Dark Territory) and Nick Stabile (The Beach Boys: An American Family) and they’re bland as shit.  They’re there to transport Chucky and Tiffany to New Jersey (where Charles Lee Ray is buried (he was killed in Chicago though, sorta confusing)) and to be vessels for a soul transfer.  There’s nothing interesting or compelling about these two.  They keep thinking each other is responsible for the string of grisly murders that follow them everywhere and the misunderstanding goes on for a little too long.

For some reason Chucky and Tiffany’s movements are stiffer and not as convincing as the previous two films.  Kevin Yagher returned to do the effects so I don’t know if it was lack of resources because they have two dolls to work now (it takes at least seven people to operate each animatronic) or time constraints or what.

Overall Impressions: I respect director Ronny Yu.  Legacy of Rage and Freddy vs. Jason are fucking awesome (I know, I know I need to see The Bride with White Hair and Fearless).  And he does as good of a job here as you can expect.  Broadly speaking it’s a well made movie and as I said earlier the script isn’t far fetched.  They just opted for a tongue in cheek attitude.  It’s not that terrible of a picture really.  However, while I’m all for trying out new ideas this core concept isn’t that exciting to me.  I much prefer Chucky solo with a less goofy tone.

Harefooted Halloween: Child's Play 3

What I Liked: The opening credits show a new Good Guy doll forming by reversing footage of the doll’s head melting.  A neat idea that’s made even cooler by flipping the image upside down so the goopy plastic interspersed with blood streaks looks like it’s dripping upwards.

Most of the film takes place at a military academy but the finale goes down at a nearby carnival.  The bulk of the action takes place in a haunted house/indoor roller coaster and man, it makes for a visually awesome set piece.  Admittedly this change of location kinda comes out of nowhere but they make good use of the gimmick.  The coaster cars whizzing by are constant threats, other props including a gigantic grim reaper statue are menacing, there are different elevations used like a mountain of fake skulls and etc.  This ending is colorful, fast paced and kinetic.  It casts such a striking difference compared to the dull and somewhat lifeless military school.

This is a silly item but Andrew Robinson (Cobra, Dirty Harry, Hellraiser) as the whacked out barber obsessed with all the cadets’ hair is very entertaining.  He gets so much damn joy out of his job I can’t help but be impressed with his dedication.  Make no mistake though, he’s a miserable fuck who relishes making others squirm in his chair.  In fact this guy is so into this shit that when he finds Chucky hidden in his cabinet (no clue why or how he got there by the way) he decides to give the goddamn doll a trim!  He just wants to cut hair, real or fake, human or dummy, he doesn’t care.

When Andy sees the head of the school carrying a Good Guy doll across the campus it’s a huge moment because for the past eight years he thought he was rid of Chucky.  Can you imagine?  Andy, now a sixteen year old (Justin Whalin (Serial Mom)), who’s been through some horrific shit directly linked to the doll can’t escape this fucking toy.  No matter what he does or where he goes Chucky finds him.  He has an absolutely terrified look of disbelief on his face.  It’s shot in glorious slow motion as well to give that scene the weight it deserves.

What I Didn’t Like: I know it’s stupid to complain about how they bring Chucky back but the toy factory fucks up yet again and reuses the remains of the destroyed doll from the previous film to make an all new one.  Now it was an accident this time with a few drops of blood getting mixed into the fresh liquid plastic but c’mon guys, you gotta implement better practices.  You’re like fifty percent responsible for the deaths and trauma in at least parts 2 and 3.  Arguably all installments aside from the first.

Something about the military academy setting is rather drab.  This is just a personal preference thing but films like this, Damien: The Omen II and The Substitute: Failure is Not an Option that involve kids running through drills and dealing with strict disciplinarian sergeants (as opposed to a regular high school situation) isn’t all that interesting to me.

Unfortunately we get basically the same plot as part 2 except Chucky sorta switches targets by going after a young cadet named Tyler (Jeremy Silvers) to transfer his soul to.  By this point it’s comical how he keeps getting interrupted during the voodoo magic ritual.  Simultaneously he also goes after Andy simply for revenge.  Kinda dumb since he can enact that at any time.  He should be laser focused on moving his soul out.  Once that’s done he can do whatever he wants.

Speaking of focus Chucky kills some people just for the hell of it.  Again, he doesn’t have time for this.  His soul is gonna get trapped in the doll if he dawdles.  I get it, we’re in a slasher so we need a decent body count but it would’ve been nice for the filmmakers to come up with motives behind some of the deaths.  He’s not Michael Myers or Jason Vorhees that more or less kill randomly.  Chucky doesn’t have much room for error.

Overall Impressions: While not as well constructed as part 2 it’s still a fun time.  As a sort of bridge they manage to incorporate Chucky murdering someone using toys at the top but then after that he uses whatever he finds around the academy like knives and grenades.  Chucky is still Chucky here though and that’s key.  He spits his one liners, insults everyone, gets a kick out of gruesomely dispatching his victims, sneaks his way out of most situations by going limp into inanimate doll mode and etc.

On a technical level the Chucky effects keep improving.  By this time the filmmakers had a complete handle on how to shoot him and incorporate him into scenes.  His movements are still a bit jerky due to the animatronics and puppetry involved but that’s simply become a character trait.  The scaling always feels right, like if he needs to emerge from a doorway or lunge towards someone it’s now all done pretty seamlessly.

I like this one.  It’s not incredible or anything but solid.

Harefooted Halloween: Child's Play 2

What I Liked: Even though Chucky was essentially the fully formed character we’ve come to adore over the years in that first film it’s part 2 where he really comes into his own with the insults and twisted sense of humor.  With all the maniacal laughing he does during murdering he more or less has turned into the Joker.  Charles Lee Ray didn’t expect to come back to life let alone resurrect as a two foot doll yet again so all he can do is cackle at the absurdity.

They lean heavily into the toy angle which is a natural.  Chucky uses jump ropes to tie up his victims, a little plastic shovel to bury another Good Guy doll, the finale takes place in the factory where they make the dolls and etc.  Thankfully they don’t go overboard with it.  They throw in enough to highlight the theme of a killer doll without winking at the camera.

While the first movie played with more of the creepy doll idea, where he might suddenly appear on the couch when you’re sure he wasn’t there before, this time they went full blown slasher.  Chucky stalks his victims and when he pounces he attacks more ferociously and openly.  He only has a small window of time to transfer his soul to Andy (played by a returning Alex Vincent) so the urgency he exhibits makes sense.

Andy becomes an orphan because his mother got locked away in a mental institution between movies.  No one believes a doll came to life and wreaked havoc so the mother is deemed unfit to take care of a child.  It’s a harsh dose of reality for a film a bit lighter in tone than the previous one.  Andy’s foster parents are also looking after a teenager named Kyle (Christine Elise (Beverly Hills 902108)) and I like the relationship she and Andy form.  Kyle’s been kicking around in the system for a long time and decides to take Andy under her wing.  They have heart to heart talks that they can’t have with anyone else and they lean on each other more as the story progresses.  Kyle is painted as rebellious with her cigarette smoking and sneaking out at night to see friends but really she’s a kind person who doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Andy.  It’s nice to see these two team up to battle Chucky.  Andy still isn’t old enough or big enough to fight him head on so introducing a new teenaged character who’s closer to his age, as opposed to another adult like his mother, is a smart move.

Instead of relying on as large of an array of techniques to bring Chucky to life like the prior installment special effects master Kevin Yagher (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2, 3, 4) and his team seemed to iron out the animatronic and puppetry movements.  This allows Chucky to be filmed closer to how you would with any other actor.  Although certain tricks still had to be used like dropping the camera speed to help sync up his mouth movements.  In turn he feels more lifelike to a greater degree than before.  I thought way less about the different setups and effects employed because Chucky just...is…here.

*Spoiler for this paragraph* I really like that towards the end Chucky fully completes the ritual that should transfer his soul into Andy’s body.  It only fails because too much time has passed and now he’s stuck in the doll.  Clever.

What I Didn’t Like: You have to accept a certain amount of bullshit with these movies like that the toy company that makes the Good Guy dolls would obtain and fully restore the burnt to shit doll from the previous picture including reusing the one eyeball that was undamaged.  The eye is placed in a new doll and that’s what brings Chucky back to life.  I guess that’s fine but it’s still kinda dumb.  Look, I don’t know how else you bring him back though.  We’re dealing with supernatural shit as it is so having Chucky’s eyeball be sufficient to bring him back is something you simply have to roll with.

Overall Impressions: This is mostly the same as part 1 but amped up in typical sequel fashion.  More kills, more blood, more Chucky.  Andy’s psyche isn’t delved into that much but he appears fairly well adjusted considering how much trauma he went through.  The mythology and universe are expanded upon slightly with the Play Pals toy company playing a major role and how Chucky can be brought back to life.  All splendid stuff.

And of course setting the finale in the Good Guy factory is genius.  Andy and Kyle are trying to escape Chucky and then find themselves surrounded by a maze of dolls, imaginative machinery like something out of Barry Levinson’s Toys (which came out two years after this) and a colorful paint scheme that somehow makes the place more unsettling and not less.  The dangerous equipment and chemicals are all utilized to wonderful effect with Chucky being put through the goddamn wringer.  He gets seriously fucked up here and it’s exquisite.

For me Child’s Play 2 falls into the same category as Aliens (among others) of being not as good as the original but I’d rather watch this one most times.  The combination of a brasher Chucky, incorporating other toys into the plot and Andy not being afraid to fight back makes for a worthy follow up and really fun watch.

Harefooted Halloween: Child's Play

What I Liked: Fantastic simple premise that’s executed wonderfully, a killer doll is on the loose.  While straight forward on paper it’s the details that make or break a picture like this.  The look of the doll can’t be too twisted or innocent, its movements need to be convincing, the actors’ interactions with the doll need to be plausible, the spooky shit the doll does needs to make sense with the story and etc.  Sure, every film is a tightrope but this type in particular can come off extremely silly and nonthreatening if not handled right.

Alex Vincent as Andy and Catherine Hicks (Peggy Sue Got Married) as his mother, Karen, give nice natural performances.  It’s a risk to have a seven year old carry a movie but Vincent pulls it off.  The filmmakers managed to find someone who’s not annoying or awkward.  And the relationship he has with his mother is touching and very believable.  At first Karen thinks Andy is making shit up about his doll but then realizes he’s telling the truth and does everything in her power to protect her son.  They land in a crazy situation and go from worried to confused to terrified in a relatively short period.

And of course Brad Dourif (Halloween (2007)) is perfect as the voice of Chucky.  He’s one of the all time great character actors and delivers one helluva performance.  This is the character he’s undoubtedly best known for and for good reason.  He exudes such rage in his voice over resorting to hiding his soul in a doll and then having to chase down Andy to take over his body next.  He’s also manipulative and cunning making him very dangerous.

They used a ton of tricks to make Chucky come alive.  The fear is the actors will look like idiots wrestling with a lifeless puppet Hobgoblins style.  But through the use of closeups, POV shots, animatronics, a little person dressed in a Chucky costume and yes, puppets, they breathe life into the plastic vessel.  It’s actually very compelling which is kind of the crux of the whole movie.  If that doesn’t work then you’re screwed.  And it definitely works here.

Coming in just under ninety mins the pacing is damn good.  Thankfully the film doesn’t waste your time with scenes that don’t move the plot forward.  It’s all economically told and shit escalates quickly so there’s good tension building.

The sparse soundtrack from Joe Renzetti (Poltergeist III) adds magnificent atmosphere.  Some reverbed harpsichord swipes succeed in creating a brilliant sense of anxiety.

What I Didn’t Like: The rule they setup is serial killer Charles Lee Ray can only transfer his soul out of the doll into the first person he reveals his true identity to.  That’s why he goes after Andy.  And honestly it’s a weird flimsy Gremlins-like rule (that only gets murkier with the sequels).  What if he told a room full of people he was the Lakeshore Strangler or wrote someone a note or started to tell someone but got interrupted or any number of other scenarios?  Look, the rest of the movie is well done so this doesn’t really bother me.  I mean you sorta need this rule to prevent Chucky from constantly hopping from body to body.  Then your possessed doll concept goes out the window.  Keeping Chucky trapped in a toy and focused on a specific target is necessary even though they didn’t come up with a great explanation as to why.

This is a minor one but the brand name of the doll is Good Guy.  Get it?  ‘Cause this particular one ain’t a good guy.  Matter of fact he’s a pretty bad guy.  Too on the nose.

Overall Impressions: It had been a long time since I saw this and damn it’s a fair amount better than I remember.  It’s just so perfectly tightly told.  This first outing is a little more serious than the rest of the series but that’s not a bad thing at all.  I like that while Chucky is less Jokey here than he would be in later films he still comes out of the gate as the scurrilous scamp we all love.

What I’m most impressed with is how incredibly smart the filmmakers were with shot choices, tone, the effects, the performances and what they felt they needed to explain to get the concept off the ground.  For example the wide shots or quick shots of someone in a Chucky outfit running around or getting up from the floor are amazingly convincing.  For my money these are the creepiest moments in the entire series because he moves like a real person and not a somewhat stiff animatronic.

I respect how the material is approached.  The story could’ve been told in a different way where the audience is kept in the dark for most of the film about an infamous murderer’s soul inhabiting a doll and we’re trying to determine if Andy is a mentally insane killer or not.  Apparently an earlier version of the script went down this road.  However, I think knowing from the start what the deal is with the doll works better.  Keeping it vague with the possibility of Andy being a killer would’ve led to a bonkers twist that probably would’ve been too much to ask of the viewer.  Would’ve made the part where Karen discovers the doll’s been functioning without batteries a truly holy shit moment instead of “well yeah, we already know he’s alive”.  Ah, who am I kidding?  That scene’s still cool as hell regardless.

Everything came together for this one.  They managed to turn a very Twilight Zone-ish idea into an effectively eerie feature.  They don’t overdo it with the doll moving around in the background or showing up suddenly in a chair when you know he wasn’t there before or shit like that.  There are only a couple of those moments because they push the piece along and ratchet up the situation efficiently.  I can’t praise enough how clever the filmmakers were in every area of production.  And as I mentioned earlier this is a tough assignment.  From having a little kid be the main star to the magic trick of making Chucky feel like a living evil doll.  They traversed a minefield to knock it out of the park.  If you haven’t seen the one that started it all you definitely should.  Without hesitation I can say it’s a goddamn classic.

RoboCop 3

Don’t pay attention to those jokers out there, RoboCop 3 isn’t nearly as terrible as its reputation.  Although I don’t think I’d go as far as to call it good exactly.  Look, the first RoboCop is an undisputed masterpiece.  No one’s gonna argue with that.  The second film gets a bunch of flack but is generally liked for exploring the humanity vs machine angle and keeping up the spirit of its predecessor.  It’s goofier (all the delinquent kid enemies, Robo programmed against his will to be comically genial and less violent, the dotted eyeballs and brain floating in a test tube that represent what’s left of the main villain before he’s turned into the next gen man-machine police officer, etc.) and at the same time nastier (killing someone by slicing their chest open with a scalpel, showing the removal of the top of someone’s skull during surgery, etc.).  For part 3 though the powers that be went for a middle of the road strategy.  They had a cartoon series, action figures, an upcoming live action TV show and stacks of other shit aimed at making this creation and universe more appealing to a wider audience.  I genuinely believe they could’ve come up with something decent that would’ve fit within this new framework.  This is one of the most compelling characters ever conceived after all.  Instead what we got was a sorta blah film.

One of the biggest issues is that it doesn’t delve into any new territory.  Once again Robo/Murphy grapples with balancing his previous life and memories as a bona fide human being with being a corporate tool that must obey whatever’s been programmed in his CPU.  But ok, in all fairness they do introduce two new ideas and both deal with RoboCop accessories.  He can now detach one of his arms and lock on a machine gun/mini rocket launcher/flame thrower combo.  Kinda neat actually.  He gets to use it a few times throughout the movie justifying its existence.  The other is a strap on jetpack so he can fly.  The thing is he’s already so powerful though being able to withstand most gunfire, small explosions and high falls.  Plus the new arm cannon is a weapons upgrade so also giving him the ability to fly is a touch too far in my opinion.  However, I’ll give credit to the filmmakers for incorporating its use well enough towards the end of the film that it feels natural and not the crutch it could’ve been to get RoboCop out of every sticky situation.

The flying special effects on the other hand, eeh not so hot.  Interestingly the effects overall are arguably the best in the series with spectacular car crashes, smoother stop motion on ED-209, Robo’s face with his helmet off where it’s stretched over his mechanical cranium looks as seamless as ever, there are these samurai sword wielding androids and their jaws and faces get knocked out of place and it looks fantastic and etc.  Just Robo flying around where they use a mixture of models, green screen and wire work is ragged as hell.  Oh well.

Another considerable complaint folks have (the most egregious it seems) is the reduced carnage and PG-13 rating.  A hallmark of the series is ultra-violence and lewd characters.  And while this installment is certainly more violent than most remember (the body count is less than the other two pictures but still racks up an astonishing 78 according to the wiki fan page) the thing that can’t be missed is the lack of blood and brutality in general.  Almost every death is by gun and all we see is the clothing flare up where the bullets enter the body (with a couple of exceptions).  This was sufficient for some to write off the film entirely which I think is a shame.  Honestly I’m fine with this easing up as long as the story and characters are well done.

Story-wise it ain’t there though.  As mentioned above it’s way too similar to part 2 involving Robo wrestling with his human emotions and programmed orders, fighting with his corporate maker/overlord OCP and eventually going up against a seemingly more powerful battle droid.  He does join an underground resistance who use guerilla tactics to try to stop OCP from bulldozing their neighborhood so they can build a city of the future in its place.  I mean sure, why not?  He regains a little more of his humanity with each outing so I guess that tracks.  But aside from a lot of rehash the plot just feels kinda small for a part 3.  The stakes haven’t been risen to a proper level and Robo doesn’t get pushed to a new low where he has to fight back harder than ever to see that justice is served.  In part 2 he gets completely dismantled at one point and you wonder how the hell he’s gonna recover from that while in this one the worst that happens is his power gets drained and he needs to be recharged.

Sloppy script work and filmmaking don’t help either.  For example the main villain is confronted by RoboCop in a hotel he’s hiding out in and jumps out the window to escape.  At that moment a henchman happens to be driving by in a van loaded with weapons and gear ‘n’ shit so they can combat each other.  Or there’s this little kid in the resistance who’s a computer hacker and somehow knows where RoboCop’s tracking device is hidden on his body so OCP can’t find them immediately.  You know, stupid plot convenience stuff like that.  Or there’s a secondary villain that the movie takes the time to setup as being a big threat but then he ends up killing himself offscreen half way through.  No comeuppance or satisfaction with how the character is handled.  You know, shoddy storytelling stuff like that.  Or in one scene we see RoboCop breathing through his suit which is wrong.  I don’t believe he has any lungs.  You know, careless technical stuff like that.

I said this one isn’t truly god awful though, right?  Ok.  Peter Weller couldn’t return in the lead role cause he had other shit going on but they cast an excellent replacement in Robert John Burke (Safe, Oz).  Not only does he look like Weller but he puts on a great stoic performance and hints at the churning of feelings beneath the surface he’d liked to gain more access to but simply can’t due to his condition.  He moves in an angular fashion like a RoboCop should and delivers his lines in a mostly dry monotone with the right bit of humor when required.  The only real issue is the sound of his voice is pretty different than Weller’s.  It’s more rounded and not as throaty.  And I don’t believe it’s related to the processing they had to do in post production to layer on the metallic shimmer.  Burke’s natural voice is so dissimilar that it becomes an unfortunate constant distraction.  Weller established the timbre of RoboCop’s speech so anyone else isn’t going to sound totally right.  That aside it’s a miracle they got someone as perfect as Burke to fill the role because the filmmakers were forced to reuse the same suit from the previous films so whoever they cast had to have damn near the same exact dimensions as Weller in order to fit in it.  Even still it quickly became painful for Burke after being strapped in for a short while.

Another aspect that’s done well is the pacing.  The story never drags or becomes tedious.  There aren’t superfluous sub plots or tangents that distract from the main plot and I for one really appreciate that.

And yea, it’s shot and edited perfectly fine.  The action and everything that’s going on is completely followable.  Again, I appreciate that and wanna give the film points for things that some others might take for granted.  These baseline qualities aren’t givens for any picture.

So there it is.  The story isn’t exciting but serviceable, the characters aren’t advanced any further but they’re still the familiar ones we know and love, the effects aren’t groundbreaking but definitely well done (except the flying stuff), Burke taking over the lead does a bang up job and the violence isn’t quite as scaled back as people like to complain about (there’s actually a really horrific scene (that I think is supposed to be funny) of one OCP employee who commits suicide by jumping out of a window while on the phone with his wife and then we cut to a shot of ground level where he lands behind a barrier thankfully sparing us the awful impact).

Yes, they teamed up Robo with a little kid in a blatant move to mimic T2 (and get a younger audience on board), the arm gun and jetpack come across as a way to make the film more toyetic (similar to Batman and Robin), there isn’t a true finale, the script needed a few more rewrites, an R rating would’ve been preferred and so on.  But despite all that this still feels like the world of RoboCop.  Detroit is still an incredibly dangerous warzone, Robo still murders bad guys and OCP is still an evil organization that basically runs the city.  It’s not unrecognizable or even that drastically altered.  The pieces are all there.

And for shits let’s take this one step further.  How does this one stack up against other action franchises that went PG-13 with one of their sequels?  While not as fun as Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome or The Expendables 3 I think RoboCop 3 is better than Terminator Salvation, Terminator Genisys, Speed 2 and Conan the Destroyer (in fact rated PG).  Maybe it’s tied with Live Free or Die Hard.