The 2014 remake of Joel Kinnaman tried to explain why RoboCop 2014 was a failure.

There are plenty of reasons why RoboCop was a bad remake, but one of them unfortunately proved that the movie could have been great. There's usually a wide range of factors that turn a good idea into an underwhelming final product. Everything from difficult developments to outside influences like poor marketing and a bad release date can help undermine a movie that started out well. Studio interference is one such factor, and it tends to be one of the most common. RoboCop suffered from it, and the studio's interference limited a director who could have perfectly modernized the original movie's social commentary and satire.

Director José Padilha’s Previous Work Made Him Perfect For A RoboCop Reboot

Padilha's Previous Work On Elite Squad Made Him Perfect To Turn RoboCop Into A Biting Social Critique

The director of the RoboCop remake, José Padilha, was a perfect pick for the film, at least on paper. Padilha was largely chosen to direct RoboCop because of his previous work on Elite Squad and Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within, both of which were massive hits in Brazillian cinema. Both Elite Squad movies were also incredibly reminiscent of the original RoboCop: they provided extremely grim social commentary about the corruption of the police in Rio de Janeiro, and the brutality of the city's criminals. Elite Squad seemed like a proof of concept that Padilha could nail RoboCop, but that isn't what happened.

RoboCop (2014) Clearly Went Through A Lot Of Studio Meddling

RoboCop's Development Was "The Worst Experience Of His Life" For Padilha

One of the many reasons RoboCop failed to be a hit was because MGM, the studio behind the remake, got overly involved in Padilha's creative process. City of God director Fernando Meirelles said that Padilha had called him and described the production of RoboCop as "the worst experience of his life," and that 90% of his ideas for the film were shot down by studio executives (via Folha de S. Paulo).

For anything he wants, he has to fight. He said: 'This is hell, Fernando. The film will be good, but I've never suffered so much and I don't want to do it again'. He's bitter, poor thing, but he's a fighter.

RoboCop's budget also helps explain why Padilha's creative freedom was cut off at the knees. At $100 million, with some sources saying as high as $130 million, RoboCop was a massive expense. MGM likely wanted to ensure it could recoup its money, which essentially precluded it from being an R-rated movie like the original. The problem is that a lot of what made the original RoboCop great wouldn't have been possible without an R-rating. It, like the reboot, would have had no intense body horror, no close examination of corporate greed and corruption, and just a general lack of edge.

It seems like MGM took away all of Padilha's and RoboCop's bite in favor of starting a franchise to rival the MCU.

The original RoboCop feels, in many ways, like something you're not supposed to watch. It feels raw, angry, gritty, grimy, and 100 other counter-cultural adjectives. The RoboCop remake, however, feels overly sanitized and polished to a shine, like someone in a suit put their seal of approval on every frame. There are a few moments in Padilha's movie that have the punch of the original RoboCop, such as the reveal of Murphy's body, but they just don't live up to the 1987 version's edginess. It seems like MGM took away all of Padilha's and RoboCop's bite in favor of starting a franchise to rival the MCU.

The RoboCop Reboot Wasted A Great Director And A Star-Studded Cast

RoboCop Starred Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, & More But Wasted Them All

The most disappointing thing about the Robocop remake wasn't the great story and characters it had to work with, but the great director and cast it wasted. Robocop starred some of the finest actors in Hollywood, including Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, and more. Padilha was also clearly the right pick to recapture the grittiness and edge of the original film, yet Robocop wasted both him and its actors. The Robocop remake could have been a hit with so much star power attached, but it all just fell flat.

While RoboCop 2014 certainly had its problems, there were also a few bright spots in the film that hinted at just how good the reboot could have been. Padilha made some excellent critiques of the news media that Samuel L. Jackson's character delivered perfectly, and there were inklings that the film would criticize the United States' involvement in the Middle East. Unfortunately, there were also a lot of moments that seemed blunted in comparison to the original, and the 2014 remake of RoboCop couldn't overcome its behind-the-scenes drama.