Joel Kinnaman has been talking to SFX about what we can expect from the new RoboCop , and is quick to stress that the film is more than just a retread of the original adventure.
“When I first heard there was gonna be a RoboCop remake, I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll see that somewhere down the line, but it’s nothing I’m interested in pursuing myself,’” explains Kinnaman, candidly.
“Then when I heard it was José Padilha that was gonna direct it, I became very interested. José has fought very hard and succeeded in making something that has a point of view, and a political and philosophical perspective.”
And as for the film’s relationship with the original, Kinnaman says it will contain respectful nods rather than wholesale plagiarism...
“It’s a great responsibility,” says the actor. “Especially in a world where there’s a lot of remakes being made for cynical economic reasons. But having José as a director washed away those fears.
“The biggest respect you can pay to the original is to acknowledge it as a very intelligent movie, and try to make something intelligent to follow it up with, and not just replay old catchphrases. We kept one or two as a wink to the fans, but we did not try to remake the movie.”
RoboCop will open in the UK on 7 February 2014.