In this re-boot of the Paul Verhoeven cop-turned-robot dystopian classic, the producers have tapped a number of actors from hit TV series: Joel Kinnaman (The Killing), Michael K. Williams (Boardwalk Empire), Aimee Garcia (Dexter), and sprinkled in a number of big-name veterans to give the film greater weight: Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton, and Gary Oldman.

As usual, the villains steal the show, with Jackson playing the media stooge for the global colossus OmniCorp, Keaton its slimy, sociopathic CEO, and Oldman, the doctor who sells his soul to fulfill his scientific vision, a la Dr. Frankenstein.

This movie is technically excellent, with its fast-paced computer-game graphics and imaginative CGI effects.  But it lacks the humanity of the original, and has sacrificed much of the first movie’s grittiness and wickedly dark humor for the sake of a PG-13 rating.