RoboCop

Technology has improved by leaps and bounds in the past 27 years. Hollywood creativity? Not so much. So we’re left with RoboCop, a big-budget remake of the 1987 science-fiction thriller about an injured officer who is transformed into a rogue law-enforcement cyborg.

However, this version feels more slick and calculated than gritty and provocative, and it lacks the freshness of its predecessor despite attempts to update various story elements.

The story takes place in Detroit about 15 years into the future, with the city besieged by crime and economic collapse. As a response, the city’s police department wants to partner with a technology firm that supplied military robots used in Middle East peacekeeping missions. But Congress won’t approve the drones for domestic duty.

So the OmniCorp CEO (Michael Keaton) decides on a different marketing strategy, one that would rehabilitate a fallen officer by incorporating his brain into a robotic exterior. After a near-fatal explosion, Alex (Joel Kinnaman) is chosen as the guinea pig, with the reluctant blessing of his wife (Abbie Cornish).

Soon afterward, RoboCop is put on the streets despite objections by the scientist (Gary Oldman) who worked on the project, but it isn’t long before a programming mishap causes a conflict between his feelings and his intended mission.

The film marks the stylish Hollywood debut of Brazilian director Jose Padilha (Elite Squad), who skillfully weaves together the requisite special effects and other visual elements, even if the video-game mentality of the film’s action sequences seems like hyperactive mainstream pandering.

Rookie screenwriter Joshua Zetumer places the futuristic story in a context that doesn’t seem too far-fetched today, dealing with social issues including technology run amok, government overreach, military imperialism, corporate greed, media influence and police tactics.

But any serious exploration of those topics feels secondary to the shootouts and explosions. Plus, the film takes itself too seriously, save for a handful of segments featuring Samuel L. Jackson as a cable television political pundit.

Like the one played by Peter Weller in the first film, this RoboCop character is more about action than words, which means Kinnaman (Easy Money) basically just has to look the part. The suit, of course, has also been modernized, with a sleeker body design and a more menacing helmet.

The problem is that the film as a whole too closely resembles its title character — all muscle and no heart.

Rated PG-13, 118 minutes.