Robocop Reboot (Pre-release)

Yeah, Robocop was satire. So was Starship Troopers but it hasn't faired as well in the geek Zeitgeist. I love that movie, I laugh watching it every time and like Robocop, wasn't afraid if being over the top in regards to violence, paradox, gratuitous nudity..would you like to know more? ;)
 
It remains to be seen if it will make any money at all but in my opinion playing it safe is going to hurt the industry in the long run.

I think when they look back on the current time period in movies, there will be a significantly noticeable decline in quality, but accompanied by huge profits, so I don't see where they will mind.
 
My buddy who went to the set is about to fly to LA to watch the current cut. The editor - who's more of an art film guy than an action film guy, from what I understand (he worked on Tree of Life) told him that if the studio allows the "creative cut" or director's cut to go through, it'll be awesome. He loves it. However, he said they're still shaping it and you never know where it could land. My friend also said that what he saw shot was much more interesting cinematically than what the trailer would indicate. His exact words were "this looks very cookie-cutter; what I saw them filming was almost avant garde." That's interesting, especially knowing that one of the scenes he watched them film was a big explosive finalé.

We'll see how it comes out - I'm still interested. Have any of you watched Padilha's Elite Squad? Elite Squad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
My buddy who went to the set is about to fly to LA to watch the current cut. The editor - who's more of an art film guy than an action film guy, from what I understand (he worked on Tree of Life) told him that if the studio allows the "creative cut" or director's cut to go through, it'll be awesome. He loves it. However, he said they're still shaping it and you never know where it could land. My friend also said that what he saw shot was much more interesting cinematically than what the trailer would indicate. His exact words were "this looks very cookie-cutter; what I saw them filming was almost avant garde." That's interesting, especially knowing that one of the scenes he watched them film was a big explosive finalé.

We'll see how it comes out - I'm still interested. Have any of you watched Padilha's Elite Squad? Elite Squad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Intriguing, and I hope it's true. While the whole "Man or machine?" premise gets a little tedious, I wouldn't mind another crack at it. I'd hope for a less "by the numbers" approach to the film. That in and of itself might sort of speak to the spirit of Verhoven's original -- taking a formula and tweaking it on purpose.
 
My buddy who went to the set is about to fly to LA to watch the current cut. The editor - who's more of an art film guy than an action film guy, from what I understand (he worked on Tree of Life) told him that if the studio allows the "creative cut" or director's cut to go through, it'll be awesome. He loves it. However, he said they're still shaping it and you never know where it could land. My friend also said that what he saw shot was much more interesting cinematically than what the trailer would indicate. His exact words were "this looks very cookie-cutter; what I saw them filming was almost avant garde." That's interesting, especially knowing that one of the scenes he watched them film was a big explosive finalé.

We'll see how it comes out - I'm still interested. Have any of you watched Padilha's Elite Squad? Elite Squad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've seen Elite Squad: Enemy within and enjoyed it. I didn't know it was a sequel until I looked it up on IMDB after watching it. I've been meaning to watch the first film though.
 
Art film makes me worry when i hear it but then again they're the guys who revived the industry before. Lucas wasn't your normal movie maker nor were others in that era. I bet if they can't do the creative/director's cut in theater they'll do it on unrated dvd. Who knows this might even have some modern social commentary.
 
I think this post deserves another read. Sums it all up perfectly.....


If you are going to remake a film, the Studios will usually fund it for a very specific reason. And more often than not its because the original was quite a popular film and the paying customers liked something particular about it. So it’s a good idea to try and recapture those elements again.
I found the original Robocop to be one of the most violently gory and shockingly satirical films about American culture I’d ever seen. And that’s was in a sci-fi film for goodness sake. It was truly unlike anything that had come out before and, to some extent, it blew the socks off the genre. That “wow” factor, that unforgettable impact is why some films are remembered with such fondness by “the fan boys”. That unshakable “ affection ” for something that made you go OOOOH that was an unexpectedly great two hours of my life !!!!!
I was hugely disappointed by the subsequent film sequels . They were made for twice the money of the original and were ten time worse. They lost nearly every element that made that first film good. Don’t even start me on the TV series.
And that I’m afraid is why the trailer leaves me under whelmed. Like a lot of films this year the trailers look superb because visually they all look stunning. But beneath that shiny, slickly edited glimpse of the contents the stories are so bland and derivative they may as well have been written by robots, beat for beat out of the box. They’ve just got no personality at all, all surface no substance.
What made Robocop such a poignant story at times WAS the modern day Frankenstein elements of the story, not just the Robocop but the corporation that made him.
I actually had to look away when Murphy was shoot to pieces and it hurt to know what he had lost, his life, his wife and his son in the pursuit of being a good cop. Even when he’s resurrected they deliberately wipe any part his memory and personality so that any trace of his humanity is lost and he “becomes” an automaton running on their programming. All to make MORE money for a soulless corporation that caused all the problems to start with. Felt true then, feels even more like that today.
And its Murphy’s internal fight, his moral humanity seeking to reassert its authority over the programming and corruption of the system, despite what it has cost him that really struck a cord with me. That, the clever adverts, the brilliant one liners and killer phrases . There’s not too many films where you can say “I’ll buy that for a dollar” and somebody will immediately know what you mean. Or “You’ve twenty seconds to comply” or “Bobbie, can you fly”. At a satirical level it was about the first film I ever saw which made it pretty clear if you are a powerful corporation and you commit a crime ,you’ve just made a mistake, but if you’re poor and break the law you are punished by the system. Banking crisis anyone?
So when I see “Robocop” reduced to the mundane level of a dysfunctional family drama I‘m filled with a quiet dread for the story. Murphy lost everything but at his core he remained true to himself ,over riding his programming by OCD (even the corrupt executive subcommands) and still remaining a cop. But he never saw his family again.
Here ,it seems he’s become less cop more “Robodad.” “You’ve got to talk to your son” pleads his wife, so he obviously retains his connection to his family. His visor now pops up, revealing an handsomely unscarred ,expressively human face to his son. He looks more like a tactical opps version of “Iron Man” from Stark industries. It appears like he was chosen for the Robocop program not so much for his injuries but his good looks and the community friendly smile.
Everything in the trailer appears like just about every other superhero film I’ve seen in the last few years, and THAT kind of writing was definitely NOT what the original was about or like. Not by a million miles.
I’m grateful they’ve kept some reference to the old armour. I think the effects will be outstanding just like every film this year. Its got some great people in it and at one hundred and twenty odd million they've tried to broaden the appeal. But will I care a few hours after I watch it if I ever see it, or any clips from it again? Somehow I doubt it.
 
Good question. Is everything under the chassis mechanical?
Didn't the original Robo still have some organic parts under the hood which was why he had to eat the baby food?

Yeah he still had some stuff like his spine and brain. I think they mentioned that they 'simplified' his digestive system too, so I'm sure he had the bare necessities to keep those alive. Given that in Robocop 2 they removed everything but his head from his torso without blood pouring out, I doubt he had much else.

Which makes the hand ridiculous. If you're going to spend money to build a robot, why keep his hand? It could get blown off on his first patrol and then they'd have to go back to the drawing board and redo his arm.

I'm sure there will be a scene where he uses it to touch his wife or kids face to let them know that he's still the same Alex Murphy, just upgraded.
 
Good question. Is everything under the chassis mechanical?
Didn't the original Robo still have some organic parts under the hood which was why he had to eat the baby food?

Yes, hence him being a cyborg and not a robot :) "50% human, 50% machine, 100% cop"

I'm sure there will be a scene where he uses it to touch his wife or kids face to let them know that he's still the same Alex Murphy, just upgraded.

Just another thing that make this movie scream: NOT RoboCop

So this version is more like The 6 Million Dollar Man than Robocop?

This version is more Robot Wars than RoboCop. This looks (way)worse than the tv show even.
 
Without the pain, poignant sense of loss, haunting barely-there memories of what was lost, and the deep regret and agony of knowing that he can 'never go home', THAT is what made the first Robocop so awesome. What made Murphy more than 'just a cop' was that even with losing his life, family, health, body, memories and almost his humanity, he still had the guts and absolute determination to take down Boddicker's crew and do his job no matter what.


This movie lacks that just from what we have seen so far.


Keep in mind what was said about Murphy and the other attempts at "robocops" in RC2: they were body-proud and macho; when they lost that, they became suicidal. Murphy's upbringing was Irish Catholic with a FIERCE sense of duty; he was going to bring Boddicker in or take him out even if all that was left of Murphy was a head.


The new "romeocop"....uh, yeah. He'll catch the crooks as soon as he kisses his wife and sees his son off to 3rd grade.
 
The Robocop TV show reminded me of the old Marvel comic from the 90s. They couldn't decide how violent was okay or what time period they were in because suddenly there were hovering motorcycles in an issue.
 
I personally love when Helicopters crash in movies these days. They just can't let it go without the obligatory chunk of rotor flying screaming at mach 6 towards or precariously close to the camera and/or actor. What movie first used that nugget I wonder...

Twilight Zone - the Movie.

But it wasn't a gag and it wasn't funny.
 
I'm sure there will be a scene where he uses it to touch his wife or kids face to let them know that he's still the same Alex Murphy, just upgraded.

Without Little Alex between his metal legs, I'm not sure his wife would agree that he's still Alex because he has five flesh fingers.

Plus... unless they come up with a way to sustain tissue and bone without human organs I don't see how that single hand wouldn't just decay and fall off. Seems like having to run everything through the cybernetic arm just to maintain that one hand would be a big hassle.

Yes, hence him being a cyborg and not a robot :) "50% human, 50% machine, 100% cop"

I think those percentages from the tagline might be a bit off... I think maybe more like 15%/85%. But that wouldn't sound as cool in a trailer. "In a world, where a man becomes eighty-five percent robot and eats baby food..."
 
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