Neill Blomkamp's RoboCop Returns

Re: RoboCop...New movie retcons all sequels

Very disappointed to read that Paul Verhoeven is not in charge of the new movie. My hopes of a reboot kicking off with the same art direction etc set straight after the first movie have been dashed. There`s no way NB will take the risks of making an eighties classic today.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

i think the "satire" of the original was the one liner's, as it was kinda a gun slinger "western" and the commercials. "SUX 3000" etc. but to me, they actually did the book alil justice and i wasnt disappointed except for bodickers death... 2 was'nt REALLY bad but the third.... or "turd" installment :sick I only watched the "reboot" on t.v. and im glad i saved my money. if they can make a sequel between 1-2 WITH peter weller etc, then cool, im down to check out the trailer and maybe give it a shot. :cheers
The first movie is the only real classic among all the movies.

It's not just about the jokes. It was a social and political satire which shows a dystopian future extrapolated from 80's corporatism. In the future even the police department is privatized as OCP. The corporate future is characterized by blatant dehumanization represented as comical hyperviolence - e.g. ED 209 blasting the exec to pieces (and the reaction), family board games about nuclear war etc. Robocop himself is a cop whose principal struggle is to literally rediscover his humanity and autonomy after being built as a machine to, not only conduct law enforcement, but to protect the corporate masters. This is why it's not only a great action film but also a classic.

The rest of the films don't matter.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Blomkamp is a brilliant production designer and VFX supervisor. As a writer and directir he's uneven at best. This isn't something I think needs to happen or be made. I'm sure it will end up looking awesome, but I don't see this as one people were dying for.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

dascoyne Awesome post man, very well said, couldnt agree more.

I know everyone is sketch about this but Im SUPER stoked! The original writers are on board, and while Blomkamp is hit or miss directing wise, Im still super excited. Cause to me, the writers lay the foundation and the director gives it his touch. And if he is a fan of the original, and actually means it, something good will come of it. Im hoping at least. I know Weller wont be involved cause he is too old, but cmon, it cant be as bad as the **** remake. And it BETTER be rated R. Cause damn.
 
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Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

sequel between 1-2 WITH peter welle
Dude is like 70 years old by now, I doubt he'll play robocop in this one.

The reboot was not bad IMO, just an OK film, but I did like the new suit, the silver version, and some scenes such as where we see what remains of him and what is the suit were pretty cool.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Dude is like 70 years old by now, I doubt he'll play robocop in this one.

The reboot was not bad IMO, just an OK film, but I did like the new suit, the silver version, and some scenes such as where we see what remains of him and what is the suit were pretty cool.

Yea, I liked that one. same premise used to lampoon other societal issues is fine by me.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Dude is like 70 years old by now, I doubt he'll play robocop in this one.

yeah 70.... WAY to old to walk slow, say a few lines and shoot a gun... :unsure

True, but definitely way to old to be stuck inside that clunky pressure cooker of a suit. maybe we can get some motion capture going for him, he did design the walk after all.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Todays tech for making robot suit's has eclipsed the 80's "heavy/clunky"version, they do such a GREAT job of making the IRON MAN suits comfortable with light weight rubbers etc. i have no doubt the RIGHT team could make a suite for P.W. and he would be very comfortable. to me, personally, it's gonna be all about the script for him to say "wow, yeah im on board" plus a nice big paycheck wouldnt hurt grease the wheels :lol plus i think the title "kinda" hints to P.W.?? ;)
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

First, I think people misunderstand Paul Veerhoven's sense of satire. Yes, the original Robocop is a satire. But the satire goes well beyond the goofy commercials and "I'd buy that for a dollar!"

The satire is playing a joke on you the audience, and we basically fall for it. Certainly, I did when I was a teenager. See, Robocop is kind of a fascistic power fantasy. (Well, arguabaly not "kind of" but rather "pretty on the nose about being"). Granted, in almost every instance, the criminals whom Robocop shoots have already opened fire on him, but the film goes to lengths to have Robocop dole out brutality and over-the-top (originally rated X!) violence in response. Veerhoven's stuff is visually exciting, and he knows it, so he messes with you about it. He's taking the kind of "tough on crime" premise of the Dirty Harry movies and taking them to ridiculous extremes, showcasing stuff that should bother you, but which he knows damn well is just gonna excite you and get you cheering for the fascist. Yes, the fascist. The machine-man who guns down criminals without a trial, who could easily restrain them without hurting them much, but instead will throw them through panes of glass or punch them across a room, who is functionally invulnerable but still feels it necessary to violently execute anyone who shoots a gun at him.

And we cheer it all on while stuffing our faces with popcorn. To me, that's the satire. That's Veerhoven's greatest trick: getting you to root for someone who, in other circumstances, you might think of as the bad guy. AND keeping it incredibly entertaining, the whole while!

Which brings me to the violence. Veerhoven is messing with us with that as well. He knows we tend to decry violence publicly, but he also knows we're titillated by it in film. And he goes way over the top with it in Robocop (especially if you watch the Criterion edition of the film). It's not that dissimilar to what we see now, but in 1987, that film was incredibly violent! Gory, even. And again, Veerhoven knows we're gonna love it. It's exciting! It's -- I daresay -- fun!

Even the technology gets in on the act. Robocop looks cool, right? So does the ED-209. It's all really neat stuff! But behind it all is horror and pain and dehumanization. Alex Murphy is murdered, then brought back to life in a mostly machine body and plagued by memories of his past. He's no longer a human, though; he's Robocop. This isn't a triumph; it's a tragedy. The ED-209 is one of the coolest mecha designs to hit the screen. And yet, what's it do? For one thing, it's incompetent at its job, but it demonstrates this in excruciatingly bloody fashion by blowing apart the guy at the demo. But still, SO COOL LOOKING, right? Another trick of Veerhoven's.

All of this goes back to Veerhoven taking something you should -- maybe even would -- probably hate in real life, and turning it into something SUPER DUPER COOL!!! And all of that, ultimately, is about exposing and exploring the dark fantasies that lurk in our minds, all without us even realizing it. That's the real satire, in my opinion, and it's what makes the original such a brilliant film.

Frank Miller's Robocop 2 is entertaining, but (especially knowing what became of him later), it's much more overt as satire, in terms of explicitly making fun of stuff, and doesn't seem to get the underlying joke of "You should hate all of this, but I've made you love it anyway."

When you know more about Veerhoven, a lot of this stuff starts to make sense. He was 2 years old when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. He watched the war happen in his back yard (and later made Soldaat van Oranje about the Dutch resistance). He's seen violence and the horror of war and what people can do to each other first-hand. I don't think he thinks it's awesome or cool at all. But I think he is willing to explore his own darkness, and he knows from having done so what people are likely to find as exciting. Plus, sitting in the comfort of the cinema, we have an opportunity to explore this stuff from relative safety. I didn't really realize a lot of this stuff about him until I listened to his commentary on the Starship Troopers disc. He tends to operate at two levels with that sort of thing. There's the obvious satirical aspects, but there's also the "satire of the audience" from my perspective.

Anyway, I....kinda doubt that Blomkamp will get the deeper layer. He's really good at the aesthetics and surface-level messaging, but that secondary layer, the one that really matters I think, isn't his style from what I've seen. Although, granted, I've only seen...uh....the Matt Damon one. And maybe part of Chappie?
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

First, I think people misunderstand Paul Veerhoven's sense of satire. Yes, the original Robocop is a satire. But the satire goes well beyond the goofy commercials and "I'd buy that for a dollar!"

The satire is playing a joke on you the audience, and we basically fall for it. Certainly, I did when I was a teenager. See, Robocop is kind of a fascistic power fantasy. (Well, arguabaly not "kind of" but rather "pretty on the nose about being"). Granted, in almost every instance, the criminals whom Robocop shoots have already opened fire on him, but the film goes to lengths to have Robocop dole out brutality and over-the-top (originally rated X!) violence in response. Veerhoven's stuff is visually exciting, and he knows it, so he messes with you about it. He's taking the kind of "tough on crime" premise of the Dirty Harry movies and taking them to ridiculous extremes, showcasing stuff that should bother you, but which he knows damn well is just gonna excite you and get you cheering for the fascist. Yes, the fascist. The machine-man who guns down criminals without a trial, who could easily restrain them without hurting them much, but instead will throw them through panes of glass or punch them across a room, who is functionally invulnerable but still feels it necessary to violently execute anyone who shoots a gun at him.

And we cheer it all on while stuffing our faces with popcorn. To me, that's the satire. That's Veerhoven's greatest trick: getting you to root for someone who, in other circumstances, you might think of as the bad guy. AND keeping it incredibly entertaining, the whole while!

Which brings me to the violence. Veerhoven is messing with us with that as well. He knows we tend to decry violence publicly, but he also knows we're titillated by it in film. And he goes way over the top with it in Robocop (especially if you watch the Criterion edition of the film). It's not that dissimilar to what we see now, but in 1987, that film was incredibly violent! Gory, even. And again, Veerhoven knows we're gonna love it. It's exciting! It's -- I daresay -- fun!

Even the technology gets in on the act. Robocop looks cool, right? So does the ED-209. It's all really neat stuff! But behind it all is horror and pain and dehumanization. Alex Murphy is murdered, then brought back to life in a mostly machine body and plagued by memories of his past. He's no longer a human, though; he's Robocop. This isn't a triumph; it's a tragedy. The ED-209 is one of the coolest mecha designs to hit the screen. And yet, what's it do? For one thing, it's incompetent at its job, but it demonstrates this in excruciatingly bloody fashion by blowing apart the guy at the demo. But still, SO COOL LOOKING, right? Another trick of Veerhoven's.

All of this goes back to Veerhoven taking something you should -- maybe even would -- probably hate in real life, and turning it into something SUPER DUPER COOL!!! And all of that, ultimately, is about exposing and exploring the dark fantasies that lurk in our minds, all without us even realizing it. That's the real satire, in my opinion, and it's what makes the original such a brilliant film.
Perfectly put. I originally as a kid just put down Robocop as an 80s dumb bloody action flick. Mind you my parents used to have it on the same VHS with Robocop 2 which is much more on the schlock-side so that probably affected me. It's not until a few years ago that I revisited it and was just astonished how clever and layered that movie is. One of the best crafted scenes is when the two rapists attack the woman on the street, then one of them gets shot in the crotch, while the second one...is just allowed to run away, then Robo just basically shoos the woman away. And all the while there's a giant billboard in the background saying "DELTA CITY: THE FUTURE HAS A SILVER LINING". Great scene with so many small details.
But I agree that many misunderstand Verhoeven. Again initially as a teenager I disliked Starship Troopers. I just thought it's a proper bughunt spacewar movie and was pretty annoyed how stupid the whole thing was that light infantry is used everywhere and people die by the dozens instead of using some proper war machinery...but then I realized that that's the entire point, that's the message. Similarly I read an article where the writer was musing about "balloons of the modern age" and it included loads from TV to the American Dream and sex as it's presented. It was along the lines that the false presentation and over-amplified mystification of the importance of sex like when Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct states that "this was the ***** of the century" and all the while I'm like, well that's exactly the point of the movie, you dumbo...

Anyway, I....kinda doubt that Blomkamp will get the deeper layer. He's really good at the aesthetics and surface-level messaging, but that secondary layer, the one that really matters I think, isn't his style from what I've seen. Although, granted, I've only seen...uh....the Matt Damon one. And maybe part of Chappie?
I really really liked Distric 9, still do...the rest is pretty much rinse and repeat with regards to style and "disguised" message. He does have an eye for social commentary but it's much more blunt and obvious than Verhoeven. I'd recommend District 9 though.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Anyway, I....kinda doubt that Blomkamp will get the deeper layer. He's really good at the aesthetics and surface-level messaging, but that secondary layer, the one that really matters I think, isn't his style from what I've seen. Although, granted, I've only seen...uh....the Matt Damon one. And maybe part of Chappie?

Those are the two weakest of the three of his I've seen. District 9 was a lot more approachable to me; more character development than either of the others, and while portions of it become frantic, it never felt like just an excuse to have a 20 minute long gore fest.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Well put Solo 4114:thumbsup Again, experience depends on the individual and the age of said individual. When my Father was telling his story/experience of the war (he was a 7 year old at the time), his story sounded like an adventure. Cut to the adults who were with him at the time and, suddenly, these same stories sounded much worse/dangerous. Persective.
Now, it's true that Veerhoven's experience/perspective has changed over the years prior to make Robocop. The mob mentality of Fascism and the results stemming from that mentality is pretty clear in "Star ship Troopers'' not so clear in Robocop as you've mentioned. Satire for sure, with a hint of Blade Runner (memories surfacing-confusion about one self, etc).
As for NB doing it (with the original writers)...one can hope for a proper salute to the original.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

I suppose "fascist" is perhaps the wrong word, but "authoritarian" is a big thread in Robocop.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

First, I think people misunderstand Paul Veerhoven's sense of satire. Yes, the original Robocop is a satire. But the satire goes well beyond the goofy commercials and "I'd buy that for a dollar!"

The satire is playing a joke on you the audience, and we basically fall for it. Certainly, I did when I was a teenager. See, Robocop is kind of a fascistic power fantasy. (Well, arguabaly not "kind of" but rather "pretty on the nose about being"). Granted, in almost every instance, the criminals whom Robocop shoots have already opened fire on him, but the film goes to lengths to have Robocop dole out brutality and over-the-top (originally rated X!) violence in response. Veerhoven's stuff is visually exciting, and he knows it, so he messes with you about it. He's taking the kind of "tough on crime" premise of the Dirty Harry movies and taking them to ridiculous extremes, showcasing stuff that should bother you, but which he knows damn well is just gonna excite you and get you cheering for the fascist. Yes, the fascist. The machine-man who guns down criminals without a trial, who could easily restrain them without hurting them much, but instead will throw them through panes of glass or punch them across a room, who is functionally invulnerable but still feels it necessary to violently execute anyone who shoots a gun at him.

And we cheer it all on while stuffing our faces with popcorn. To me, that's the satire. That's Veerhoven's greatest trick: getting you to root for someone who, in other circumstances, you might think of as the bad guy. AND keeping it incredibly entertaining, the whole while!

Which brings me to the violence. Veerhoven is messing with us with that as well. He knows we tend to decry violence publicly, but he also knows we're titillated by it in film. And he goes way over the top with it in Robocop (especially if you watch the Criterion edition of the film). It's not that dissimilar to what we see now, but in 1987, that film was incredibly violent! Gory, even. And again, Veerhoven knows we're gonna love it. It's exciting! It's -- I daresay -- fun!

Even the technology gets in on the act. Robocop looks cool, right? So does the ED-209. It's all really neat stuff! But behind it all is horror and pain and dehumanization. Alex Murphy is murdered, then brought back to life in a mostly machine body and plagued by memories of his past. He's no longer a human, though; he's Robocop. This isn't a triumph; it's a tragedy. The ED-209 is one of the coolest mecha designs to hit the screen. And yet, what's it do? For one thing, it's incompetent at its job, but it demonstrates this in excruciatingly bloody fashion by blowing apart the guy at the demo. But still, SO COOL LOOKING, right? Another trick of Veerhoven's.

All of this goes back to Veerhoven taking something you should -- maybe even would -- probably hate in real life, and turning it into something SUPER DUPER COOL!!! And all of that, ultimately, is about exposing and exploring the dark fantasies that lurk in our minds, all without us even realizing it. That's the real satire, in my opinion, and it's what makes the original such a brilliant film.

Frank Miller's Robocop 2 is entertaining, but (especially knowing what became of him later), it's much more overt as satire, in terms of explicitly making fun of stuff, and doesn't seem to get the underlying joke of "You should hate all of this, but I've made you love it anyway."

When you know more about Veerhoven, a lot of this stuff starts to make sense. He was 2 years old when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands. He watched the war happen in his back yard (and later made Soldaat van Oranje about the Dutch resistance). He's seen violence and the horror of war and what people can do to each other first-hand. I don't think he thinks it's awesome or cool at all. But I think he is willing to explore his own darkness, and he knows from having done so what people are likely to find as exciting. Plus, sitting in the comfort of the cinema, we have an opportunity to explore this stuff from relative safety. I didn't really realize a lot of this stuff about him until I listened to his commentary on the Starship Troopers disc. He tends to operate at two levels with that sort of thing. There's the obvious satirical aspects, but there's also the "satire of the audience" from my perspective.

Anyway, I....kinda doubt that Blomkamp will get the deeper layer. He's really good at the aesthetics and surface-level messaging, but that secondary layer, the one that really matters I think, isn't his style from what I've seen. Although, granted, I've only seen...uh....the Matt Damon one. And maybe part of Chappie?

Chappie was amazing.
 
Re: Neill Blomkamp to Direct new Robocop film “Robocop Returns”

Chappie could have been amazing if it didn't feel so much like a remake of Short Circuit inside a Die Antwerd promotional video. So, personally, I watched it once, but couldn't manage to sit through a second viewing.

District 9 was quite good, though, dealing with the tones of racism in South Africa as the obvious social message.

I love the original RoboCop, though the sequels and reboot didn't live up. I'm hesitant about this one for that reason. Having the original writers on board might help, or might hinder, the outcome. I'm gonna have to wait for the initial reviews before deciding to see it in theaters or wait for the Blu-ray.
 
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