NMR: Retro-grade

Here's a handful a films that are (hard to believe) now over 20 years old...

The Abyss: I've continued to be on a James Cameron kick recently, so I wanted to check out this underwater adventure from him. From a visual standpoint, this earns a major wow from me. Back there, he was already doing things way ahead of everyone else and ended up being rewarded with the Best Visual Effects Oscar as a result of this. It's interesting to see some of elements of Avatar already seen both here and his Aliens film. The primary characters are not the most interesting, but the acting is solid enough to keep the story moving. I watched the original theatrical cut, but after reading about what was included in the extended edition, it seems like it's one of the few cases where more was needed. You get a much better sense of the the aliens' inclusion in the film with the added scenes. Regardless of which version you watch though, this is an engaging film. It's not yet available on Blu-Ray and given how strong the visuals are here, I might suggest you wait for that version to come out and then watch this if you have never seen it before. Rating: ****

Robocop: I initially wrote this off as a cheesy 80s action thriller, but once I gave it a chance, I was very impressed. The action and violence in this film is excessive, but done in a way that delivers a message with it. It's overblown in a way to make a commentary on the type of violence that is typically seen in these type of films. You also have director Paul Verhoven's signature satirical take of the media on display here. On top of all that, Robocop is a hero without being corny and the villains are evil without being cool. You're actually rooting for the protagonist and you really enjoy seeing him emerge victorious. Having watched this, I rescind my cynicism and complement everyone involved here on a very entertaining action thriller. Rating: ****

Robocop 2: After enjoying the first and seeing that this was available instantly on Netflix, I gave this sequel a shot. Sadly, this one pales in comparison to the original. What makes it more depressing is that it seemingly didn't have to be that way. This film is a mess because it keeps introducing interesing story ideas and then abandoning them halfway through. Ideas like Robocop reconnecting with his wife, the relationship between him and his partner Lewis, being controlled by the evil corporation, and a child drug dealer are all started but are not developed properly. Instead, the film builds to an uninteresting battle between Robocop and a another robot that has an apparent ending and is not set up properly to make the audience invested in the outcome. While some of Verhoven's touches remain, it's clear that he would have needed to stick around and actually direct this for it to have any chance of being good. Instead, this is just a lazy cash grab that fails on all levels. Given how far the quality dropped here, along with some reviews I've read I don't think it is even worth my effort to watch the third one in this series. This one did enough damage on its own. Rating: **