Robocop is back

[azrael]

Mirrors if you can't see it:

Comicbook Movie.com

[GU-11]

Just caught a glimpse of the new Robocop's pic at ign, taken during filming. Damn, looks like some bad hybrid between Cyborg Raiden and generic armor from a scifi shooter game. Me no likey.

Edited September 17, 2012 by GU-11

[CoryHolmes]

I wonder if this new suit isn't more of a relfection of us/society than just a suit.

I mean, Robocop's design is pure 80s mentality: big, burly, mechanical and completely non-organic. Much like buildings and structures designed during that time, it has no interest in "blending in" with its surroundings. Modern-day designs are much rounder, "organic" and designed to blend in with the environment.

Is this new suit a facet of that philosophy? Smaller and slimmer and not as "in your face" as the original suit?

[wolfx]

New ED209

New Robocop

[sketchley]

I wonder if this new suit isn't more of a relfection of us/society than just a suit.

I mean, Robocop's design is pure 80s mentality: big, burly, mechanical and completely non-organic. Much like buildings and structures designed during that time, it has no interest in "blending in" with its surroundings. Modern-day designs are much rounder, "organic" and designed to blend in with the environment.

Is this new suit a facet of that philosophy? Smaller and slimmer and not as "in your face" as the original suit?

I kinda get the point you're trying to make, but comparing it to architectural styles isn't a good comparison. There are plenty of rounded building designs constructed during and even before the '80's (for organic/rounded: the Sydney Opera House's design dates from 1957, and for blending in: Fallingwater dates from 1935). If memory serves, the main reasons that there weren't as many until after the 80's is due to construction costs (partially connected to increases in materials technologies) and changing trends in what clients (in this case, the people who commission buildings) want.

Regarding current movie design trends - there's been a shift away from engineering/science based designs toward Southern California graphic design school methodologies - in short, the setting images that are commissioned in preproduction are more geared toward atmosphere and mood than the actual mechanics of a prop.

I fear that is where this new Robocop suit design is coming from: the atmosphere and mood of the suit rather than the man-made-into-a-machine feel of the original.

Does the design reflect us/society? Have we/society changed (or are changing) to one where image is more important than substance?

Edited September 17, 2012 by sketchley

[Knight26]

I agree with what most of you are saying about the suit, it looks more like a suit of armor from Mass Effect than Robocop. But, I will reserve final judgement until we see production stills or video, they are probably going to go in in post and make some changes to the texture/color/etc... I also think they were probably trying to shy away from the look of the original and Iron Man based designs to try and create something more unique, unfortunately that gave us this design. Who knows this suit they are using here may even be a special effect specific suit for when he is changing his camo pattern or something. I am holding out hope, but not much after seeing this.

[Black Valkyrie]

New pics.

[GU-11]

I just help thinking of the designs in Deux Ex - Human Revolution whenever I look at that suit.

[Radd]

I don't dislike it, except that being all black seems to make it look flat. Some silver highlights could have really made it pop, while also being more of a nod to the original. We'll see. I'm actually kinda relieved after some of the talk about the design and the fake concept art.

[David Hingtgen]

Or instead of pure blackest black, why not a navy blue, as is the traditional US police uniform in many(all?) US cities.

[Valkyrie addict]

I don't like it.

This looks like just another robot movie with a dumb scrip that they decided to slap the RoboCop name to get more exposure.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Or instead of pure blackest black, why not a navy blue, as is the traditional US police uniform in many(all?) US cities.

Can find too much on the subject but i did find is that each color is a different class of uniform. Source.

And having light blue uniforms myself it is a pain to get various stains out.

also i think everyone gives the original suit too much credit.

Edited September 26, 2012 by BeyondTheGrave

[azrael]

also i think everyone gives the original suit too much credit.

To me, the original suit looks more mechanical. This Robocop looks too much like a Batsuit, i.e., a guy in a form-fitting rubber/neoprene/foam latex-suit. The original Robocop (or even the Iron Man suits) felt more movement restrictive, so the actor ends up making more mechanical-like movements to give off that appearance that it's a mechanical. Yes, these are cellphone pictures and probably will look different in post-production, but it just looks too much like a human in a suit of armor and not robot (hence "Robo"cop).

[Max Jenius]

I hope they make Murphy look a LOT creepier without his mask. I mean, part of what made the first movie so good to me was that he kinda looked tortured/pathetic without his visor. I am not down with the new designs.

I'm withholding judgement, but I do agree that he looks more like Batman than Robocop.

[CoryHolmes]

I suspect that a lot of the "mechanical-ness" will be sold or unsold by his movements. If they've hired a decent mime artist and put some effort into making him a machine with a man's brain, then the design, however un-Robocopy it may be, will match that. If they just stumbles around like a moron, then no amount of visual effects will cover it up.

[electric indigo]

It would work a lot better the other way round: If he looked very much like a machine but moved & behaved like a human.

[Gaijin]

Or instead of pure blackest black, why not a navy blue, as is the traditional US police uniform in many(all?) US cities.

Thank you...

[azrael]

Some new shots:

ROBOCOP Set Photos Offer New Look At Suit, Michael Keaton & More

Comments (hidden for those that don't wish to be tainted by comments before looking at the pics first):

-Is that how CEOs dress these days? Jeans, no tie. You would think they would put Keaton into something a bit more classy since he's playing the CEO of OMNICorp, a multi-billion, multi-industry corporation...Oh wait, there was Jobs and Zuckerberg....

-From this angle, the suit does look bigger, but it still looks like a suit and not a mechanical body.

-I still don't like the all-black look.

-Maybe someone can figure this out, by why is that hand uncovered in all these pics we've been seeing? OmniCorp doesn't have enough to cover both hands? In the original, didn't then say they could salvage an arm from Murphy? Don't tell me they ran with that idea...

[OmegaD3k]

I’m starting to accept the design. It still looks like a rubber suit, instead of metal armor made of plates. :/ Here’s hoping they add all the mechanical sound effects like in the original movie, or in Iron Man, to really sell the robotic aspect of his character better, and that the actor received some mime training to move more like a machine than a guy in a rubber suit.

(It would be really sad if Iron Man turned out to be more robotic in look, design and sound, than the RoboCop reboot…)

The one exposed hand just shouts “SHOOT HERE”.

Also…

Supposedly Murphy’s wife is there at the public introduction of RoboCop in those pics. Does this mean she knows who Robo is? How will that play out in the human drama aspect of the movie?

One of the core elements of the second movie was telling his wife that Robo was not Murphy, but a product using his likeness in honor of him.

“They made this to honor him.”

“Your husband is dead.”

“I don’t know you.”

[sketchley]

The one exposed hand just shouts “SHOOT HERE”.

It's so he can still lovingly touch his wife's face after his humanity/lost self returns.

If it's true, it totally negates a lot of the pathos in the original...

[Dobber]

There is a link somewhere in this thread that had a spoilerific plot description of the movie. If said description is accurate, then the hand thing is explainable.

Without giving to much away:

Yes Murphy's wife is aware that he is RoboCop. OCP got her permission to us Alex's body for the Cyborg by saying that it would be a way of saving him for her. Opposite of how the orginal movie evolved...Murphy starts off with more of his humanity intact, but as the movie progresses his Humanity is slowly stripped away from him as he get's upgrades and such from OCP. So maybe the hand will be removed later on.

Chris

[Benson13]

I'm just going to take this at face value and not compare it to the original. All the X-Men movies and other remakes have been ruined for me because I made the comparisons to the original material. The new look isn't horrible even if it isn't original. ED-209 looks like a Decepticon from the Bay movies though.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Benson13

[azrael]

More set pics.

ROBOCOP Set Photos Capture Close-Up Look At The Armor

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107786777834250014923/albums/5796809457852298401

Again, comments hidden to avoid tainting opinions

-The only thing I'm liking so far is the helmet.

-And back to the suit looking like a Bat-suit in this light. If it didn't look like a foam latex suit, I'd probably like it more.

-Looks like the human hand is definitely an a part of the costume.

-I miss the modified Beretta 93R. Looked bigger. I can't tell what base firearm they used for this one.

[CoryHolmes]

The more I see it, the more I like it. But I will wait to see him in motion before deciding sold/unsold-ness. A good mime will sell the character.

[EXO]

They're gonna fix up he whole suit in post to make it look more like fiberglass. Hand might be due to use of gun.

Still meh on the design. It just doesn't have that awe inspiring first impression. That might be due to the internet, but when I saw the Iron Man suit it just felt right immediately, just like the first Robocop suit.

[VF5SS]

Maybe keeping one real arm is a callback to the original movie where they joke about being able to save one of his arms while rebuilding Murphy into Robocop.

They should do some freaky cyberpunk thing like that one episode of AD Police where a cyborg only has his original tongue and he needs to bite it to feel alive.

[505thAirborne]

Though my thought is speculation at its finest you wonder if this new version will be any where near as violent as the original? I still can't watch the ED209 demonstration scene (without cringing) where the business guy is shot apart at the beginning.

[CoryHolmes]

I wonder if the bare hand is for tactile ability, especially for gun-handling since the sensation of touch is still difficult to replicate with machines.

Though my thought is speculation at its finest you wonder if this new version will be any where near as violent as the original? I still can't watch the ED209 demonstration scene (without cringing) where the business guy is shot apart at the beginning.

It took me years to understand the cynical nature of that scene. Guy gets blown apart and only Johnson is tangentially concerned with Kenny's death. The Old Man is more concerned with the delay to Delta City's construction and the interest payments incurred. Dick Jones wants to save the ED-209 program for military use, and Bob Morton sees his opening for his own program.

So much cynicism in one violent, gory scene.

[Max Jenius]

I agree with Cory. The more I see of it, the more I like it.

I'd rather they made a RobertCop movie, though...

Edited October 9, 2012 by Max Jenius

[sketchley]

More set pics.

The Omnicorp is filming sign is a nice touch. Like the helmet, but the suit still looks rubber... but that's probably due to lighting.

[azrael]

More pics:

New Set Photos Of ROBOCOP In Action

-Okay...the creases in the inner suit (look where the space between the thigh armor and the waist) and the lack of armor around the elbows. I'm sorry but that screams "rubber suit".

-At the same time, the fact that he's jumping off the stage is probably why he needs to be agile in that thing, hence the suit look.

-While I like the dome helmet, it would be nice if they made it cover more area instead of just the top of the skull and his face.

-That hand..... I still don't know what to think about that...

[EXO]

Just read this somewhere from that link:

RoboCop (1987)

Director - Paul Verhoeven

When antagonist Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) is taken to the police precinct after receiving a solid whooping by RoboCop (Peter Weller), Boddicker spits a bloody glob onto the paperwork of the desk sergeant, followed by the line "Give me my f*ckin' phone call!"

Smith and Verhoeven briefly had discussed the unscripted moment before filming the scene but neglected to inform the extras - which was evident by their real and disgusted surprise as the scene unfolded.

[Black Valkyrie]

... All I can say the helmet does justice.

[Black Valkyrie]

Speaking of the right hand, it reminds me of that 80s animated series Silverhawks.

[areaseven]

NECA takes the best RoboCop action figure in the market and makes it better, by finally adding a spring-loaded holster mechanism.