GunnerX Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Did any of our fellow MWers in Malaysia and Singapore watch this movie yet, as it premiered there last Thursday? Went to watch this not expecting much, but man, thoroughly entertained! It's not the classic Robocop, and i don't think it tries to be, but it's a good enough movie on it's own! No spoilers, but when you catch it on screen, there's a scene which will show you what robo is deep down... *wink* Prefer the old ED-209 still tho. Although this version is ok. Quote
azrael Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Someone already wrote up the synopsis on Wikipedia and since it's out in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia, guess it's time to enforce spoiler policy. Quote
Graham Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 It is NOT out in Hong Kong yet. It opens here on 13th February. Graham Quote
areaseven Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 IGN gave the film a rather high score despite the flaws they mentioned. Quote
Gaijin Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Bought the new remaster of Robocop on Blu-ray on Amazon for $7.99 and got $7.50 in movie cash towards the new film. Such a deal. Quote
mikeszekely Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Bought the new remaster of Robocop on Blu-ray on Amazon for $7.99 and got $7.50 in movie cash towards the new film. Such a deal. Have you watched it yet? Do you have an opinion on whether or not it's worth if you already have the 2007 Blu-ray release? Quote
Knight26 Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 So I read the synopsis of the new Robocop, I am not impressed. Quote
Guest davidwhangchoi Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 Bought the new remaster of Robocop on Blu-ray on Amazon for $7.99 and got $7.50 in movie cash towards the new film. Such a deal. i was thinking the same as mike i have the first bluray but thinking if i should get this remaster from the 4k upconvert. Quote
nexxstrait Posted February 6, 2014 Posted February 6, 2014 It is out in Italy too, starting today. I just came back from the cinema. As Gunner X said, it is not the old Robocop nor does it try to be. Heavy stress on the human-side of Murphy (excellent Joel K. performance). Don't expect much flashy action. It was quite a surprise, I liked it. Quote
Gaijin Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Have you watched it yet? Do you have an opinion on whether or not it's worth if you already have the 2007 Blu-ray release? The transfer is 10 times better. A major improvement on all of the released versions so far. I'm quite pleased. Quote
Hikuro Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 I'm going to see it at the very least, even if i gotta go by myself which'll be a drag. But everything I'm reading says it's a fairly decent flick, but like IGN said, forgetable. And if yous ee it a second time, you notice the flaws a lot more. Quote
Graham Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Looking forward to this. As much as I love the original movie, I do like what I see in the trailers so far for the new version. Graham Quote
taksraven Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 Still have to go and see it, but I like this review. It really highlights the problems with a lot of Hollywood entertainment, especially straight-faced remakes of subversive satires like the ones Verhoven once made..... Quote
Guest davidwhangchoi Posted February 7, 2014 Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Bought the new remaster of Robocop on Blu-ray on Amazon for $7.99 and got $7.50 in movie cash towards the new film. Such a deal. i just ordered it. hopefully i get 7.50 movie cash as well. (found the movie cash is being offered @ bestbuy as well) Edited February 7, 2014 by davidwhangchoi Quote
Hikuro Posted February 8, 2014 Posted February 8, 2014 oh yeah i actually got an email over that. Hmmmm I dunno where I wanna see it or if I wanna see it on imax. Quote
nexxstrait Posted February 9, 2014 Posted February 9, 2014 Looking forward to this. As much as I love the original movie, I do like what I see in the trailers so far for the new version. Graham The scene when Murphy realizes he is in a suit and has lost his body is genuinely heartbreaking. Kudos to Joel K. Quote
PetarB Posted February 9, 2014 Posted February 9, 2014 (edited) Saw this yesterday. There's actually a lot that the movie does right. The special effects and production design are fantastic. The opening scene - cutting to a middle-east country being patrolled by US drone technology - was awesome. Some of the scenes with Alex Murphy realising what he has become - due to the direction and effects - were awesome. Gary Oldman as Doctor Norton was predictably fantastic, and really the cornerstone of acting in this movie. But this contrasted the issues with the movie. The lead actor, at least for me, had no charisma, and not much in the script to work with either. The actual plot in the last third of the movie seemed aimless, and without immediacy. The social commentary was obvious, and never subtle. There were no connections between the issues at the start of the movie and at the end. Murphy's partner here was unmemorable and could have almost been written out, whereas his partner in the original one was integral to the plot in many ways. The villains in the original were wonderfully evil creations, ultimate corporate villainy and criminality. Here they were completely forgettable. Even Keaton seemed restrained. The original wins hands down. Murphy's transformation was certainly less spectacular in the first but much more emotionally effecting due to the contrast between Murphy before, and Robocop. With the new movie - apart from a key few minutes - there's no such transformation. The Murphy at the beginning is completely the same as the Murphy at the end, except physically. I feel this would have been a better movie if it recast the lead and had absolutely nothing to do with the original - then they could have explored a lot more of the effects of robotics in the world we live in. Edited February 9, 2014 by PetarB Quote
electric indigo Posted February 9, 2014 Posted February 9, 2014 I feel this would have been a better movie if it recast the lead and had absolutely nothing to do with the original - then they could have explored a lot more of the effects of robotics in the world we live in. Yes, leave the robot movies to Blomkamp, at least then they'll look like robots and not like B-grade action figures. I'd watch a feature-length Tetra Vaal. Quote
PetarB Posted February 9, 2014 Posted February 9, 2014 Won't that be Chappie? Anyway, I'm glad I saw Robocop 2014 but I won't need to see it again - unlike Verhoeven's version which I'm looking forward to watching again soon. Quote
renegadeleader1 Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 I'm just going to leave this priceless gem here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqQWkB0kn9Y Quote
wm cheng Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Saw it yesterday at the crew screening... it was much better than I thought it would turn out. I can actually recommend people to see it, its not award winning, but it has its moments. (I designed his lab - not the bed though...) Quote
Knight26 Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Hmm, well if WMC worked on it I suppose I will have to go see it. But this weekend we can go to a free screening of the lego movie, decisions, decisions. Quote
reddsun1 Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 Meh. Not interested. All I can think when I see pics of the "new" Robocop armor is: the hell? you sure this ain't some LA Silverhawks movie? Quote
Guest davidwhangchoi Posted February 11, 2014 Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) i just ordered it. hopefully i get 7.50 movie cash as well. (found the movie cash is being offered @ bestbuy as well) i got my movie cash yesterday from amazon. i'm going to go and try and see it with some friends. i never watched a movie by myself and prob will pass if everyone is too busy. Edited February 11, 2014 by davidwhangchoi Quote
PetarB Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 Saw it yesterday at the crew screening... it was much better than I thought it would turn out. I can actually recommend people to see it, its not award winning, but it has its moments. (I designed his lab - not the bed though...) The special effects and production design were a standout. And I didn't mind his suit except for the un-helmeted head - I feel Verhoeven's team did the head a lot better. In this one the actor still looked like he was in the suit, with a skullcap on. In Verhoeven's his skin clearly 'ends' and delivers a much better sense of inhumanism. Quote
Guest davidwhangchoi Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) i just finished watching the bluray remaster and i can say the audio track is much better than the older release and the picture was clean with absolutely no NR. you can see the film grain but the picture is not blurry (from NR) much purer and clean (at least in my eyes). i'm really wanting to watch the reboot now. Edited February 12, 2014 by davidwhangchoi Quote
taksraven Posted February 12, 2014 Posted February 12, 2014 I really thought I might like this more than I did. I came away from it with an even *greater* appreciation of Verhovens film. Things that were OK. * The special effects. Duh. but then again. The original had a budget of 13 million bucks and they did outstanding things with it. The main shot in the original film that *really* doesn't work is Dick Jones falling from the building. I can even forgive some of the clunky stop-motion for ED-209. This new film had 130 million buck to blow so of course the effects had to be better.* The cast - generally a great cast, but were they put to the best advantage in this film? Thngs that were NOT OK. * A lot of the camera work. Just pick up the camera and shake shake shake shake shake shake. C'mon. A shaky camera does not make things more exciting. * Little was left to the imagination and the film suffered for it. In the original, you never saw exactly what was left of Murphy inside the suit, in this film they had to show us exactly and I don't think it was so great to do so. * The way Murphy wakes up with full consciousness and memory. Once again, the way it was done in the original, with Murphy having to struggle to regain who he was intellectually and only really getting back to his normal self by the end of the movie, was much more effective. I wonder why they chose to do the new movie the way they did. It certainly didn't help with pacing. * PG13 Robocop - Once again, the level of violence in the original served as a good contrast to the humour, which brings us to....... * The lack of humour in this film. Only a few jokes were there and they were strained. There are parts of the original film where I still giggle at the dark humour. ("Stay out of trouble!!", etc) * The new bad guy who replaced Kurtwood Smith/Clarence Boddiker. The equivalent character in this new film was hopeless. * The climax?? There was one?? By shying away from violence the "climax" of the film was very muted indeed. * Bleeping Samuel L. Jackson. Should just never happen. * The new Robocop visor. Makes him look like a frikkin bird. * Too much Abbie Cornish. Her character and that of Murphys son were meant to be some sort of "emotional core" of the film, but that plotline failed entirely. Once again, the original handled it better.\ * The soundtrack. Didn't sound right, even the reprise of the original theme. * Gary Oldmans character. Didn't seem to have the faintest clue of what he was doing or who's side he was on for the entire film. * Murphy's partner. As observed by others, could have been replaced with a block of wood. * Murphy himself. Could have been replaced with a block of wood as well. * The explosion that "killed" Murphy. Barely powerful enough to knock him off his feet. * The stereotype Iranians in Tehran at the start of the film. As good as "Carbombya" in the original Transformers series.* Robobike. (yawn) * Those smaller robots that were essentially generic Cylons. (yawn) Elysium robots looked much better. * Few, if any, real nods to the original. * Needed more Jackie Earle Haley - An interesting part played by a good actor who only seemed to materialise when the plot needed him. A waste of talent. Ultimately, for a movie that has been in off and on development since 2005! the story seemed to be pretty half baked. I'm not saying that they had to slavishly follow the original film but I could not understand what justifications that had for a lot of the changes that were made. Quote
PetarB Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Yes, what 'climax'? indeed. Although I'm going to have to disagree with you here: * Little was left to the imagination and the film suffered for it. In the original, you never saw exactly what was left of Murphy inside the suit, in this film they had to show us exactly and I don't think it was so great to do so. This was a really shocking - and effective moment for me. The other nice nod was when you found out the lab was in China. OF COURSE America's new security tech is made in China. I laughed out loud at that! And I do think Haley's character of Mattox was certainly a wasted opportunity. Certainly Kinnaman's Murphy was - as you say - about effective as a block of wood. Quote
Kanedas Bike Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Agree very much with what most of what PetarB said (and with the shared observations with taksraven). I didn't mind Joel Kinnaman as Murphy/RoboCop. I thought Gary Oldman and to a much lesser degree Abbie Cornish provided the "heart and soul" of the script. Sam Mutherfukin Jackson was awesome as a parody of certain real world news personalities and I agree that he should not have been "bleeped" or "censored" - but hey. The shaky camera was truly an issue during the climatic fight at the end and it really took me out of the action for a moment. The weakest spot in the movie for me was the score, it just was not good and didn't do anything to enhance the scenes. A close second would be any of the antagonists, they were all pretty cardboard cut-out-ish. See it in theaters if you want an better than average action movie fix, but for those that are not very forgiving when movie watching or those looking to do a strong comparison to the original you might want to wait for a rental. -b. Quote
Flaming Guantlet Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 Okay I just saw the film myself and l gotta admit, it turned out better than expected for me. Then again my expectations were low so yeah. Also... Quote
areaseven Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 A question for those who have seen this film: Compared to the 1987 version, does the city of Detroit play a major factor in the storyline? Quote
Jefuemon Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 "Our Robocop Remake" Just wait until you get to the rapist scene....... Quote
Mechapilot77 Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 i just hope we get a decent new ed 209 toy out of this. the new ed 209 looks kinda awesome. i kind of wish i bought hot toy's ed 209 when they were available at retail. i settle for the much much cheaper though not nearly as cool NECA version that just came out (which bang for the buck wise is decent....its biggest flaw is the lack of toe /feet articulation). anyway, i'm pumped to see this! i don't care if its not as good as the original, i'll see it and be very entertained. Quote
Kanedas Bike Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 A question for those who have seen this film: Compared to the 1987 version, does the city of Detroit play a major factor in the storyline? No, honestly it could have been Anywhere, USA. -b. Quote
areaseven Posted February 13, 2014 Posted February 13, 2014 No, honestly it could have been Anywhere, USA. -b. That is disappointing to hear. In the 1987 version, Old Detroit's state of decay due to crime and economic ruin was the perfect background, with such chaos on the streets and even in the OCP board room. Because Old Detroit is a run-down slum, we get all these brilliant and memorable characters such as Murphy, Lewis, and of course, Clarence Boddicker. Telling the story in a generic-looking city just defeats the whole purpose of RoboCop. Quote
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