Robocop is back

[Hikuro]

well sometimes Sony's online store, Xbox Live, and Amazon have it up way ahead of schedule. I think I got star trek into darkness and spiderman about a month or 2 before they're actual release dates, and those were legits. That's what I'm poking about. I dunno if I'd buy a bluray or even dvd copy...nor would I actually dowload it. I'm back on the fence cause I only saw the film once and I'll only buy blu ray if it's packed with some good extras.

[peter]

Yeah! How else will I pay for my Valkyries if you guys all torrent our work?

I'm sorry man, I won't download it.........I'll wait till it comes out on Netflix

If you work on anything that has to do with Michael Bay or Harmony Gold on the other hand, sorry, can't help contribute your your kid's college fund.

[Gaijin]

I was hoping there would be a nice Steelbook in the US for the BD release. Doesn't look like it.

[Hikuro]

Yeah there's really nothing announced which sucks. I would of liked a Blu-ray 3D combo or some good extras to talk about the suit design process from concept to application to wear. Deleted scenes, maybe hell even an unrated version where they CG some blood spatter on all the bad guys robo kills. Noooooopppe, none of that!

[badboy00z]

I just watched it tonight. It sure doesn't stack up to the original but it was entertaining. Murphy's death in the original was brutal and tragic which made his revenge on Clarence so much more satisfying. In this new one Murphy's death and him killing Anthony was...meh. There was no essence of the original whatsoever except for the original Robocop cameo. The only thing that it has an edge over the original is the visual effects.

[peter]

I just watched it tonight. It sure doesn't stack up to the original but it was entertaining. Murphy's death in the original was brutal and tragic which made his revenge on Clarence so much more satisfying. In this new one Murphy's death and him killing Anthony was...meh. There was no essence of the original whatsoever except for the original Robocop cameo. The only thing that it has an edge over the original is the visual effects.

Cameo? Please expand....use the spoiler tag if you have to, but I'd like to know more about this.

[Hikuro]

There's a poll that OCP's head of marketing shows to the CEO about the different styles of Robocops body armor and it shows a badly CG composit image of the old 1980's Robocop.

[areaseven]

You mean this?

[CoryHolmes]

I greatly preferred this versions OmniCorp as opposed to the original's OCP. OCP seems to be made of evilness, where evil people go to their evil jobs and twirl their evil mustaches of evilness before every board meeting.

This version seems to be a bit more nuanced, where nobody is outright "evil" but just amoral enough in their jobs to cause an awful lot of strife and agony. Much like corporations of today, where nobody sets out to murder babies and puppies but somehow ends up causing a ton of damage.

Plus I like Murphy's interactions with his wife and son. His wife especially. That was an emotional angle that the first one glossed over.

[Dynaman]

Saw it last night, I am VERY glad I only rented it on Netflix rather then wasting money to see it at the theater. Throw away all of the twisted charm of the original and replace it with that overly preachy crap Samuel Jackson had to drivel out and you end up with Robocop 2014. Ugh. It took way too long for Murphy to "die", the new ideas put in to replace the old ones fell flat, and the redone versions of the original scenes were just boring.

Part of what made the original Robocop work was the over the top nature of it, by trying to make this one more "realistic" they ruined it. If I had to choose between this and anything other then the original Robocop, that would be a tough one, the only movie series to tank quicker then Robocop was Highlander...

[reddsun1]

I greatly preferred this versions OmniCorp as opposed to the original's OCP. OCP seems to be made of evilness, where evil people go to their evil jobs and twirl their evil mustaches of evilness before every board meeting.

Okay, what's wrong with that? That sounds about right. Aw, I'm just fu*kin' with ya.

[reddsun1]

Part of what made the original Robocop work was the over the top nature of it, by trying to make this one more "realistic" they ruined it. If I had to choose between this and anything other then the original Robocop, that would be a tough one, the only movie series to tank quicker then Robocop was Highlander...

Yesterday's over-the-top is (sadly) today's just-about-the-norm. This is one dystopian future flick that was disturbingly accurate in some of its estimations of our societal decay. The in-movie news broadcasts of violence, mayhem and disorder sound an awful lot like some of the crap you can tune in and see on any network news channel at-home nowadays...

and there's this one. Still funny to me; they missed it by just one letter:

Edited July 10, 2014 by reddsun1

[GU-11]

(SPOILERS AHEAD....)

I watched the Robocop reboot a while ago, and plot-wise, it doesn't hold a candle to the original. It could have been better in a lot of areas, and I actually grew to like the new ED-209 designs. Decent performances by Keaton and Oldman, but the rest of the cast were pretty bland. Like most everyone lse here, Murphy's car bomb thing lacked the dramatic punch of the original version. The way Boddicker and gang shot him up and laughed about it was really riveting.

That Valen guy is a poor replacement for Clarence Boddicker. Sure, Boddicker was a bit of a cliche, but it was a it was done well, thanks to Kurtwood Smith's portrayal. Valen was basically a non-element and there was no dramatic payoff in his death at all.

Overall, the story quickly lost its direction midway, and resorted to action flick autopilot.

The thing with his organic right hand could have been used as a Chekov's Gun during the climax at the helipad, making it more dramatic. They could have made it so that even if he can't shoot "red assets" due to his programming, he switches to his organic hand in the last second and shoots Keaton with it. That would have at least made it more interesting. It wouldn't have topped the original with the CEO yelling, "Dick, you're fired!" but it would have been more interesting than Murphy simply forcing his hand up and shooting.

On the positive side, the idea of deploying automated drones in the Middle East was interesting, and seems pretty plausible in the near-future. The premise was believable as well, a military drone company trying to manipulate public opinion on local drone usage using a cyborg cop. Murphy's fight with the ED's at the Omnicorp lobby was also really cool.

Seeing the suit in the film, it's better than when I was just looking at the concept art. It still looks like a suit, though; the original looked like an actual cyborg body. They could have made him look more cyborg-like by giving the actor some rubber skin to give his face an artificial look. Just change the script up a little and have his face burned so badly that they had to give him a latex face.

I'm probably the only one who likes Samuel Jackson's parody of The O'Reilly Factor.

Just my two cents' worth, of course.

[Gakken85]

It was largely forgettable.

They missed the point completely, just like everybody expected haha.

[JB0]

It was largely forgettable.

They missed the point completely, just like everybody expected haha.

And that's why I refused to watch it.

If they'd called it Cyberofficer or Mechapopo, I might would've watched it as a forgettable near-future sci-fi movie.

But as a remake of Robocop? No. The trailer told me all I needed to know.

There was no respect for the original at all, it was a shameless cash grab, and I refuse to reward anyone for that kind of production.

[areaseven]

A couple of reviews.

[GU-11]

And that's why I refused to watch it.

If they'd called it Cyberofficer or Mechapopo, I might would've watched it as a forgettable near-future sci-fi movie.

But as a remake of Robocop? No. The trailer told me all I needed to know.

There was no respect for the original at all, it was a shameless cash grab, and I refuse to reward anyone for that kind of production.

Cash grab is right. You know they're just trying to milk some money from the recent robot movie craze when they get some no-name director to make the reboot. Probably think the brand name itself will get people to watch it.

I've got to give Padilha some points for trying, at least. It looked promising in some areas, but soon fell flat on its face, unfortunately.

[Dynaman]

> The thing with his organic right hand could have been used as a Chekov's Gun during the climax at the helipad, making it more dramatic.

That really bugged me at the end. In the ending of the original everyone was thinking "How is Robo going to get past that 4th directive?" and at least *I* did not see it coming BUT it was so logical... The ending to this Robo was the standard sheer willpower is all you need.

The less said about Samuel L Jackson't character the better, I'm of the political persuasion that would agree the source of the character needs to be mocked - but that was terrible.

[GU-11]

> The thing with his organic right hand could have been used as a Chekov's Gun during the climax at the helipad, making it more dramatic.

That really bugged me at the end. In the ending of the original everyone was thinking "How is Robo going to get past that 4th directive?" and at least *I* did not see it coming BUT it was so logical... The ending to this Robo was the standard sheer willpower is all you need.

The less said about Samuel L Jackson't character the better, I'm of the political persuasion that would agree the source of the character needs to be mocked - but that was terrible.

The saddest thing is that they had a really good opportunity to use that organic hand that everyone's been complaining about, but didn't. Why even give him an organic hand is it's not going to be used as a plot device? Hell, even a mention by Keaton that it makes Murphy more personable when he shakes hands with the general public would have been good enough.

It would have perfectly illustrated the whole human vs machine theme this movie seemed to be harping on about.

And yeah, I gotta admit Jackson really hammed it up in that movie. Didn't really bother me, though. It's just Samuel L Jackson being Samuel L Jackson.

[areaseven]

[miles316]

(SPOILERS AHEAD....)

I watched the Robocop reboot a while ago, and plot-wise, it doesn't hold a candle to the original. It could have been better in a lot of areas, and I actually grew to like the new ED-209 designs. Decent performances by Keaton and Oldman, but the rest of the cast were pretty bland. Like most everyone lse here, Murphy's car bomb thing lacked the dramatic punch of the original version. The way Boddicker and gang shot him up and laughed about it was really riveting.

That Valen guy is a poor replacement for Clarence Boddicker. Sure, Boddicker was a bit of a cliche, but it was a it was done well, thanks to Kurtwood Smith's portrayal. Valen was basically a non-element and there was no dramatic payoff in his death at all.

Overall, the story quickly lost its direction midway, and resorted to action flick autopilot.

The thing with his organic right hand could have been used as a Chekov's Gun during the climax at the helipad, making it more dramatic. They could have made it so that even if he can't shoot "red assets" due to his programming, he switches to his organic hand in the last second and shoots Keaton with it. That would have at least made it more interesting. It wouldn't have topped the original with the CEO yelling, "Dick, you're fired!" but it would have been more interesting than Murphy simply forcing his hand up and shooting.

On the positive side, the idea of deploying automated drones in the Middle East was interesting, and seems pretty plausible in the near-future. The premise was believable as well, a military drone company trying to manipulate public opinion on local drone usage using a cyborg cop. Murphy's fight with the ED's at the Omnicorp lobby was also really cool.

Seeing the suit in the film, it's better than when I was just looking at the concept art. It still looks like a suit, though; the original looked like an actual cyborg body. They could have made him look more cyborg-like by giving the actor some rubber skin to give his face an artificial look. Just change the script up a little and have his face burned so badly that they had to give him a latex face.

I'm probably the only one who likes Samuel Jackson's parody of The O'Reilly Factor.

Just my two cents' worth, of course.

I spent the hole movie scratching my head thinking who is Jackson parodying! I'm surprised they did not make OMNI corp HQ larger/taller than the GM HQ building.

I liked the part where they showed Alex what was left of him it showed the horror of his ordeal.

Why did they have to take Murphy's body to China in order to assemble Robocop? I wonder if in this remake OCP is a Chines mega corporation and OMICORP is its US subsidiary?

Edited September 14, 2014 by miles316

[GU-11]

I spent the hole movie scratching my head thinking who is Jackson parodying! I'm surprised they did not make OMNI corp HQ larger/taller than the GM HQ building.

I liked the part where they showed Alex what was left of him it showed the horror of his ordeal.

Why did they have to take Murphy's body to China in order to assemble Robocop? I wonder if in this remake OCP is a Chines mega corporation and OMICORP is its US subsidiary?

Dude, even the show's name was a clear hint--The Novak Element, as opposed to The O'Reilly Factor!

Yeah, that part where they made him look into the mirror at his own lungs and heart in a container...that was riveting.

Taking Murphy's body to China was probably a playful joke about global manufacturing industries being centered there in the future, as if it isn't already happening--everything's made in China these days!

That said, OCP being Chinese sounds quite plausible. The movie definitely made hints of a sequel in mentioning OCP being Omnicorp's parent company, which will become the main antagonist. Despite mixed reviews, the reboot did pretty well in the box office according to Wikipedia, so a sequel is always a possibility. I mean, even The Smurfs got a sequel.

[miles316]

Dude, even the show's name was a clear hint--The Novak Element, as opposed to The O'Reilly Factor!

Yeah, that part where they made him look into the mirror at his own lungs and heart in a container...that was riveting.

Taking Murphy's body to China was probably a playful joke about global manufacturing industries being centered there in the future, as if it isn't already happening--everything's made in China these days!

That said, OCP being Chinese sounds quite plausible. The movie definitely made hints of a sequel in mentioning OCP being Omnicorp's parent company, which will become the main antagonist. Despite mixed reviews, the reboot did pretty well in the box office according to Wikipedia, so a sequel is always a possibility. I mean, even The Smurfs got a sequel.

I don't watch a lot of Fox news!

Edited September 15, 2014 by miles316

[Black Valkyrie]

A Sequel.

[JB0]

A Sequel.

Why? WHYYYYY?!?!

Cyberpopo doesn't DESERVE a sequel.

[Gaijin]

Ah, I'll still watch it.

[Black Valkyrie]

It was a good remake.

[EXO]

They're just taking pitches for a sequel. Sony just came off a horrible summer. With the latest craze for cinematic universes, they'll be putting out feelers for anything that might be viable... (robotech), but they won't have the budget for a lot of these projects.

[spanner]

A Sequel.

well hopefully it will be better than their first attempt.. the remake was quite disappointing to say the least. The original was fantastic! Especially the unedited version with full gore! The only thing that let it down was the choppy stop motion scenes with the ED-209 but in a way that added to the movies charm!

[TangledThorns]

It was a good remake.

Agreed. Way better than I expected. Had some great acting, effects, and modern elements (surveillance & drones) that apply to today. Its only faults was it lacked the rated-R ultra-violent soul of the original and appealing villains.

I think a TV series would work better using today's police stories mixed with a high-tech Robocop, surveillance & drones for example. I think it can be done as long as it doesn't look campy like the original TV series or like a sci-fi Law & Order.

[mikeszekely]

It was a good remake.

I agree as well. I mean, was it as good as the original? Of course not- the first one is a classic. But I thought the remake did a pretty good job of of taking the same basic idea (good cop badly injured by criminals, becomes cyborg, struggles with his humanity in the shadow of a greedy company that sees him as a product) and making it their own. In doing so, I think it lost some of the timeless qualities that made the original a classic, but tackled relevant contemporary issues like the roll of drones on the battlefield and in law enforcement. It's easily the second-best of the Robocop films, and I'd be interested in a sequel.

[wm cheng]

Boy you guys are a lot more forgiving with a little time and hindsight behind us. The initial reviews when the movie came out on these boards here were absolutely scathing. I didn't mind it as much because I worked on it so I thought I was just wrong because I was too close to the project. Having watched the original many times while working on this remake made me realize how silly and over the top the original was and how a lot of what I loved about the first one was clouded by nostalgia and childhood. I find that when something achieves the status of camp/absurd - a lot is automatically forgiven.

[Mr March]

While all of us have to be aware that nostalgia can blindly carry otherwise mediocre films, I'd absolutely defend the original Robocop as a film worth critical appreciation far beyond any rose-colored love for 80's popular culture. There is a lot going on in that film and it does it all right. Not only was the character story done very effectively (sometimes, a little too graphically, lol) but it also was a great comment on the pervasive effect of technology in our lives. Verhoven in particular had an amazing talent for social and political satire, which was realized brilliantly in the original film both on a script level and visually through the news broadcasts and commercials. The film also was very acutely aware of the effect of big business on both public services and the lives of the average citizen. The urban decay of Detroit was a particularly poignant visual and storytelling parallel for the moral decay of the characters, particularly those of OCP. I'm not saying Robocop exhaustively explored these ideas, but it did more than just use them as window dressing. This kind of commentary was woven into the structure of the film and it's character stories in satisfying, substantive ways. I've done away with a lot of the popular culture from my youth because it was shallow entertainment, but Robocop is a film that despite being a product of it's era has transcended that era to be a cultural touchstone of its time. It's one of the few films from my childhood that has translated intelligently well into my adulthood. I feel films like Robocop are definitely rare exceptions to be cherished beyond just a nostalgia trip.

The new Robocop (2014) film...yeah, that hasn't aged well even into this year

[technoblue]

Even with the unrated edition, the original Robocop was over-the-top and camp, but I think that was intentional. The cautionary tale on the marriage of government and corporate works was just as important as Murphy's horrifying story of being turned into a machine.

The problem with the original films, I think, is that the first was the only one that was able to do the sci-fi social commentary justice and make it entertaining. The original sequels were disappointing and I thought Robocop 2 and 3 ended up more as parodies of the first than as stand-out films in their own right. In that regard, I agree with Mike. The new Robocop was more of a true sequel to the original (in spirit, anyway).

[Chewie]

clouded by nostalgia and childhood.

That's how MW rolls buddy. The general feeling I get is that it's either a shot for shot remake or it's total crap for a lot of people here.

There's also a lot of generalized "don't know how everyone likes X movie because I hate it" and when people actually dislike a movie it's "well, it was actually a lot better than what most people are saying."

It was a good remake of a movie that wasn't that amazing to begin with.