Robocop (2014)

[Reinhardt]

I think it's worth mentioning that the original RoboCop (1987) is possibly the most expertly crafted superhero film ever made. Better than STM, TDK, Avengers, and so on.

The squeaky clean hero, horrifying introduction of the ED-209, chilling detachment of the board executives, tragedy of Murphy's death at the hands of Clarence's gang.

The ingenious first person cyborg transformation, main costume teases as Robo arrives at the police station.

"First night out," where we see him deal with a thief, rapists, and a politicial terrorist, utilizing unique tactics for the dispatch of each.

The dream sequence, poignant return to his old home, ***** to the wall duel with the ED-209, epic police firing squad in the parking garage.

The 1,2,3 payoff of his data spike (middle finger, Clarence's death, then a bloody spike gag followed by sealing **** Jones' fate.) It wasn't just a one-off gimmick it was used to brilliant effect repeatedly and in a different way each time.

Michael Arndt stated that one of the most ingenious elements of the original Star Wars was that so many plotlines were resolved in such a short amount of time as to create an almost euphoric audience experience (Luke trusting the Force, Han redeeming his previous abandonment, destroying the mechanical monstrosity, and returning to the girl.)

In RoboCop Murphy dispatches Clarence, the ED-209, and **** Jones all within a span of about two minutes or so. Epic payoff.

And extra points for masterfully juggling the "multiple villains" aspect that has plagued so many superhero films since. Jones, Clarence, and the ED-209 all challenging Murphy in different ways, with none of them being under utilized or emasculated by being another's *****. Even the stairwell squealing didn't undermine the fearsomeness of ED.

He even had "the girl" help him at the end as many films do now but without her assistance undermining his own badassedness.

Pure brilliance from beginning to end.

I love this post.

No it doesn't.

I was talking about how I was a bit frustrated with them making a new RoboCop movie with a buddy, and he replied..."Well...the original film isn't too great and..." I stopped him and told him he was wrong. Nicely, of course.

A friend of mine just recently told me that he actually couldn't finish the original film because it was so bad. He immediately proceeded to apologize to me since he knew it was one of my favorite films. It seems more people than not don't get satire. I found the same thing with Speed Racer. A fantastic satire that just didn't go over well. And ofcourse Brazil, IMO the greatest satire ever, and in my top 3 favorite films.

Superhero? Cop film, yes. SciFi cop film, absolutely. I see RoboCop the same way I see the T800 from T2 and neither are "superheroes" in the vein of Avengers, Batman, etc.

Ok, in the absolute LITERAL sense of the word "Superhero", yes, you are correct. But I think Khev was mentioning more in a metaphorical way, and with that, I agree with him 100%

 

[thenammagazine]

Robocop vs Hulk

I'm ready.

Hulk probably needs a metal toothpick.

Ok, in the absolute LITERAL sense of the word "Superhero", yes, you are correct. But I think Khev was mentioning more in a metaphorical way, and with that, I agree with him 100%

If he hadn't done the comparison to the Avengers, Batman, etc., I would agree that the structure is familiar, but he said it was a better superhero movie than those others and, frankly, that statement's absurd.

 

[jye4ever]

Hulk probably needs a metal toothpick.



If he hadn't done the comparison to the Avengers, Batman, etc., I would agree that the structure is familiar, but he said it was a better superhero movie than those others and, frankly, that statement's absurd.

 

[Khev]

But I think Khev was mentioning more in a metaphorical way, and with that, I agree with him 100%

Well he actually does function as a "superhero" in the literal sense as well if you define a superhero as someone with superhuman powers who defends the public against evil.

But even if you don't want to concede that, fine. No big. It still executes it's "superhero formula" better than any movie with that as its primary focus. I'm not saying that his costume is cooler than Cap's or seeing him shoot bad guys is as cool as the Hulk punching things but it's execution of said formula is second to none.

 

[Kamandi]

It seems more people than not don't get satire. I found the same thing with Speed Racer. A fantastic satire that just didn't go over well.

Satire is one of those things that sometimes losses it's context over time. Much of the satire in Robocop is rooted in our ability to relate to 80's culture. I was a teenager in the 80's so I see the inspiration for the media spots

 

[thenammagazine]

Satire is one of those things that sometimes losses it's context over time. Much of the satire in Robocop is rooted in our ability to relate to 80's culture. I was a teenager in the 80's so I see the inspiration for the media spots

I dunno. I find quite a bit of the satire in RoboCop still wholly relevant today.

 

[GasparZizou]

Every bit of it actually.

 

[jye4ever]

Well he actually does function as a "superhero" in the literal sense as well if you define a superhero as someone with superhuman powers who defends the public against evil.

But even if you don't want to concede that, fine. No big. It still executes it's "superhero formula" better than any movie with that as its primary focus. I'm not saying that his costume is cooler than Cap's or seeing him shoot bad guys is as cool as the Hulk punching things but it's execution of said formula is second to none.

 

[Khev]

I dunno. I find quite a bit of the satire in RoboCop still wholly relevant today.

Yep, which begs the question as to why reboot at all as opposed to just re-releasing the original but we've all been down that road already.

 

[jye4ever]

They are rereleasing the original, in 4K remastered.

 

[Khev]

They are rereleasing the original, in 4K remastered.

On Blu-ray yes but not on the big screen.

 

[fosing]

OCP vs. OSCORP

chickenfoot category:

Lamborghini ED209 vs. mech-a-Rhino

 

[thenammagazine]

Yep, which begs the question as to why reboot at all as opposed to just re-releasing the original but we've all been down that road already.

Seriously. They should've just cleaned it up, added in the cut footage for a hard R and re-released it. Maybe even done a conversion to 3D to pull in some of that audience. They would've spent considerably less and likely garnered even more profit.

 

[Khev]

I'm guessing they're thinking they've got a shot at their own "Iron Man" franchise, hence the A-list supporting cast, PG-13 rating, and multiple "Marks" for extra action figure variants.

I actually love this shot:

And based on that pic alone could even see myself picking up a HT figure of it provided that the movie doesn't suck, they don't insult the original (like with the alleged "cheap 80's toy" comments) and he actually wears that suit for more than five seconds. From what I can tell none of those parameters will be met however.

I actually like how the new ED-209 is reminiscent of the guardian mode from Robotech's hovertanks. But that's only because I like Robotech. As an ED-209 it fails.

 

[VintijDroidGutzz]

I'm guessing they're thinking they've got a shot at their own "Iron Man" franchise, hence the A-list supporting cast, PG-13 rating, and multiple "Marks" for extra action figure variants.

That actually makes sense - you can see why they'd potentially approach it in that way, & it's like life imitating bad art (sub faux OCP for the plebs driving the remake bus).

Like Nam said - there's every excellent reason to do a refresh & just re-release the original in multiple formats.

 

[RIDDICK]

I actually love this shot:

Yeah, I like tiny-thin dude in ironmanish fatsuit too. Totally see myself buying 37 figures of this.

 

[thenammagazine]

Yeah, I like tiny-thin dude in ironmanish fatsuit too. Totally see myself buying 37 figures of this.

 

[Jameson Rook]

Funny how the original movies looks less like a man wearing a costume than a 2014 remake.

 

[jye4ever]

I'm guessing they're thinking they've got a shot at their own "Iron Man" franchise, hence the A-list supporting cast, PG-13 rating, and multiple "Marks" for extra action figure variants.

I actually love this shot:

And based on that pic alone could even see myself picking up a HT figure of it provided that the movie doesn't suck, they don't insult the original (like with the alleged "cheap 80's toy" comments) and he actually wears that suit for more than five seconds. From what I can tell none of those parameters will be met however.

I actually like how the new ED-209 is reminiscent of the guardian mode from Robotech's hovertanks. But that's only because I like Robotech. As an ED-209 it fails.

Nice bare hand.

Explosion must've missed the hand.

 

[jye4ever]

Funny how the original movies looks less like a man wearing a costume than a 2014 remake.