eidolonse

Lacking the gritty over-the-top violence and dark subversive humor of the first two Robocops, this third installment disappoints on pretty much every level. Horrible dialogue and acting litters every minute of Robocop 3 - that's not too say the first two were better, but at least they made the viewer smile rather than cringe. Most disappointingly of all, Robocop 3's PG-13 rating also fails to deliver heart-pounding extravagant action that was always present in the first two films.

The movie moves slow - it doesn't bother to excite the viewer by providing fast paced story telling or explosive action. Severely lacking in this department, you shouldn't expect any exciting firefights or boss battles. In fact, the Kanemitsu cyborg which is sent to destroy Murphy in what we expect to be an exciting and action-packed finale ends with no cathartic explosive climax, but rather a whimpering premature ejaculation of listless fighting scenes. Murphy spends half the movie disabled from a fusillade of gunshots that have never left a scratch on him in the past. No fake commercials or newscasts that touch upon our cultures corrosive mentality makes you nostalgically pine for what you remembered to be a whacky, funny and ridiculously over-the-top movie franchise.

The terrible story, the boring unfolding of the events, the lack of action and violence, and the missing element of subtle humor and comedy makes Robocop 3 an epic failure in all departments.

We can finally see Jackie Chan and Jet Li together in an action packed adventure movie, and for the most part it doesn't disappoint. Although the story, reminiscent to early 80's adventure films about an unlikely hero who overcomes great adversity, was overly predictable, the end result was a visually beautiful and engaging journey through feudal China riddled with the culture's interesting mythology. Jackie Chan and Jet Li, as always, delivered an action packed performance of ballet-like battles that have become popular due to movies like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon." Unfortunately, this made the fights lack the essence of suspense. They were entertaining, yes – but there were no moments of trepidation or concern for what will happen to the characters. At the same time, the soft and poetic fight scenes rarely made you feel any intensity in the punches or kicks that were often being thrown. For a PG-13 film, however, there was enough mild violence, blood and death that the storyline wasn't overly sugar-coated.

The films fast pace, only briefly slowing down near the middle, as well as the accentuating music, breathtaking visuals, and a simple but effective story-line was able to create a fun filled adventure film that younger and older audiences can both enjoy. In the end, however, because the movie lacked well-formed character relationships and any empathy for our group of heroes, the adventure film will beg us to wonder if this was the best that Chan and Li could fester up.

Although the title suggests an epic action film, the story is more or less about corrupt internal politics of local thugs – which is not necessarily a bad thing because of the interesting story, good soundtrack, and visual appearance of the movie.

From start to finish, the cinematography projects a very classy appearance backed by the equally suitable music score; with both elements channeling retro aesthetics without appearing outdated. The film is also visually and auditory reminiscent to classics like Kill Bill and Lupin, while a nostalgic arch in the story makes you think about Stand By Me.

The story, as often is the case, focuses on an explosive derelict in search of his friend's killer, which somewhat sluggishly develops into a more complicated story about gang politics. Fortunately, the film benefits from a malevolent napoleon-complex driven villain who you truly love to hate because of his fear tactics and interrogation techniques.

There are times where the film tries to be comedic, but because of poor execution, it doesn't work very well. The action scenes were also pretty sparse and usually revolved around one or two guys managing to fend off a gang of 100 while over-using flying kicks the way you never see them used in real-life fights. The worst aspect of the battles was not their scarcity but their lack of distinct breath-taking choreography – no remarkable fights or memorable strikes. Although the fight scenes were non-intuitive, the visuals remained top notch through the whole film. The disappointing knife scene, which resembled interpretive dancing drivel with lots of flying kicks and people taking an unbelievable amount of punishment, none the less, still looked visually appealing.

The strong points: good music, great visuals/cinematography, well developed characters and a decent story. The weak points: somewhat sluggish plot development and forgettable fight scenes.

5 or 6/10