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I'll leave mine in a spoiler tag but if you've read anything on the film or any reviews it shouldn't spoil anything...too much
My quick review: Like the original, with no humour, violence or awesome - it is pretty and sounds nice enough though, like that girl or boy you fancy that's just, deep down, not that interesting...
Spoiler:
I love Robocop. I remember winning a card cut-out from the original release by drawing my own name out of a hat when I was about 8, can't recall if I saw the film before then or not, but I knew it was an awesome thing to win...
...so I just got back from the cinema and thought the movie was a solid m'eh, I wasn't expecting awesomeness but I also didn't read any reviews and only saw the trailer once, so I went in as objectively as possible and I've never really felt so underwhelmed by a film before. It was just ok with no real outstanding moments (other than what's left of Alex) and the rest of the audience felt still to me, no one moved at all, or laughed (until a little at the end and I lol'd at the fat guy a bit - no one's perfect), or cried, or gasped, or anything, they were just watching as impassively as I was.
It felt like the movie should be great, it looked it and the sound design was spot-on (apart from some guns), but it's just too serious for it's own good IMHO. It didn't help that I had no affinity for Murphy, I don't know what it was, he wasn't a rookie and started out being serious, but no one (except the tearful wife) seemed that bothered by his 'death'.
They tried a few shoe-horned nods to the original but overall I felt the film dragged itself a bit, without any depth, tension or character required to justify it. It's like the film was too afraid to commit to anything, be it humour or politics. Hell at least the third film had some traces of humour with a couple of corporate suicides after OCP went broke and a weird lol moment when the robot-samurai re-arranges his face, this one had nothing like that...no personal menace at all and no real characters, just sketches of people...the PR guy, the military guy, the CEO guy, the humane-science guy etc...
Aside from this there are a few, some picky, facts/points:
Does he kill everyone or incapacitate them? I had no idea half the time and it made it seem like it was okay to kill everyone, as if he turned into Dredd. Since when does attempted murder hold the death penalty? It was as if he had little to no protocols about the Law itself?
It may please some of you to hear that in the near future there will be .50 cal assault rifles a-plenty with little to no recoil, or noise, or aesthetic threat of any kind
Corrupt cops leave their fething finger prints on weapon's they somehow steal from a police evidence room - genius What's worse is that this fact is made pointless by CCTV footage.
The use of Drones didn't seem to bother anyone at all, other than in a few placards, a pie chart and a mostly harmless Senator - where's the President or other media in this 'debate'? It feels like it should be a central issue, but isn't.
Iran again? Real politics or Hollywood propoganda, you decide
You can will Dopamine into your brain by thinking how your son and wife are sad panda's...scratch that - by getting angry enough that you ignore them and avenge your own 'murder' instead, it's all about you...
Detroit didn't look, or feel, like Robocop Detroit, or even real-world Detroit - the crime is pushed into the background with no anarchic feeling to it at all, as if all is peachy in detroit apart from several hundred outstanding arrests
Overall I think the 12A rating hurt the film as it couldn't explore anything deep enough and also meant there was little anarchy, as if crime wasn't that much of a problem that required the solution the whole drone 'debate' was about.
I'd say it's worth the money if you have, like I did, a morbid curiosity, as it's not aweful, but beyond that I'd stay clear and save your money, I don't know buy or make a really nice burger or something instead, it'll be far more satisfying. If you somehow haven't seen the original, watch that instead.
I might go to see it as the gf is a big fan of the original and wants to see if they made a mess of it. The posters don't enthuse me. Robocop looks like a robot ninja which I don't like at all.
Sounds like its as crappy as I thought it would be. prediction here and gone in two weeks.
-"Wait a minute.....who is that Frazz is talking to in the gallery? Hmmm something is going on here.....Oh.... it seems there is some dispute over video taping of some sort......Frazz is really upset now..........wait a minute......whats he go there.......is it? Can it be?....Frazz has just unleashed his hidden weiner dog from his mini bag, while quoting shakespeares "Let slip the dogs the war!!" GG
-"Don't mind Frazzled. He's just Dakka's crazy old dude locked in the attic. He's harmless. Mostly."
-TBone the Magnificent 1999-2014, Long Live the King!
That costume looks designed to look 'kewl' in a crouching position which he'll be in quite often after leaping out of burning buildings or flying trucks. The rest of the time he'll be bouncing off the walls Matrix style. Am I close?
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/07 17:59:34
I've read the same thing in reviews.. basically the original but with no sense of humour or satire. Will probably go and see it, but have low expectations in the same way that I did when going to see the Total Recall remake (which might actually help!)
Yeah it's worth seeing if you're that curious to see what they've done to it but it's just me'h. The suit looks a little better than in the trailers though and sounds just right (like its got real weight to it) and also fits with the Drone design a bit (which it would).
The action isn't OTT a la Matrix, but it isn't great as it's not allowed to dwell on anything. He rides his bike and gets shot up badly, which is welcome, but the gun's make no sense - other than ED 209's, which have 0 character about them, like all the other characters (except maybe Sammy L - which isn't allowed to be crazy enough either). There's just no soul to it, no dynamic between him and his partner, no wacky villains, not even anything that amount's to any one-liner's other than those re-hashed from the original. The ending also felt forced.
It's hard to talk about really as with great/fun films you have stuff to talk about and with really bad/silly films you have lots to talk about - but an average film with little to no redeeming features? I'd say it's worth watching once, maybe rent, but it certainly has no longevity to it. I felt numb walking out of the cinema, whereas if I've seen a good or evocative film I usually think of the film or think 'what if I could do that/had that/was that?' but with this - nothing. In fact it made me want to watch the original again, which is perhaps the best legacy it could have on a generation that hasn't seen it.
LOL at that remake - will watch now
The film's main problem is that it is serious, but not serious enough or brave enough to go for satire or strong political commentary - it's strictly middle-of-the-road bland suit conservative guy.
If it was set in an anarchic America, where the government is on the edge to total collapse and where a group like OCP was calling the shots, it would be a lot better - it would maybe warrant the use of Drones over humans for its own internal security, that would be something, as it is the Detroit in this film doesn't feel like it needs a solution like Robocop. Sadly Hollywood didn't feel the same
Breotan wrote: I was pleasantly surprise by the Total Recall remake so I'll check this out with an open mind. Still, having him keep the arm does seem really silly.
You're kidding right? The total recall remake was total ass. The only thing it had going for it was it was really pretty to look at.
warspawned wrote: I'll leave mine in a spoiler tag but if you've read anything on the film or any reviews it shouldn't spoil anything...too much
My quick review: Like the original, with no humour, violence or awesome - it is pretty and sounds nice enough though, like that girl or boy you fancy that's just, deep down, not that interesting...
Spoiler:
I love Robocop. I remember winning a card cut-out from the original release by drawing my own name out of a hat when I was about 8, can't recall if I saw the film before then or not, but I knew it was an awesome thing to win...
...so I just got back from the cinema and thought the movie was a solid m'eh, I wasn't expecting awesomeness but I also didn't read any reviews and only saw the trailer once, so I went in as objectively as possible and I've never really felt so underwhelmed by a film before. It was just ok with no real outstanding moments (other than what's left of Alex) and the rest of the audience felt still to me, no one moved at all, or laughed (until a little at the end and I lol'd at the fat guy a bit - no one's perfect), or cried, or gasped, or anything, they were just watching as impassively as I was.
It felt like the movie should be great, it looked it and the sound design was spot-on (apart from some guns), but it's just too serious for it's own good IMHO. It didn't help that I had no affinity for Murphy, I don't know what it was, he wasn't a rookie and started out being serious, but no one (except the tearful wife) seemed that bothered by his 'death'.
They tried a few shoe-horned nods to the original but overall I felt the film dragged itself a bit, without any depth, tension or character required to justify it. It's like the film was too afraid to commit to anything, be it humour or politics. Hell at least the third film had some traces of humour with a couple of corporate suicides after OCP went broke and a weird lol moment when the robot-samurai re-arranges his face, this one had nothing like that...no personal menace at all and no real characters, just sketches of people...the PR guy, the military guy, the CEO guy, the humane-science guy etc...
Aside from this there are a few, some picky, facts/points:
Does he kill everyone or incapacitate them? I had no idea half the time and it made it seem like it was okay to kill everyone, as if he turned into Dredd. Since when does attempted murder hold the death penalty? It was as if he had little to no protocols about the Law itself?
It may please some of you to hear that in the near future there will be .50 cal assault rifles a-plenty with little to no recoil, or noise, or aesthetic threat of any kind
Corrupt cops leave their fething finger prints on weapon's they somehow steal from a police evidence room - genius What's worse is that this fact is made pointless by CCTV footage.
The use of Drones didn't seem to bother anyone at all, other than in a few placards, a pie chart and a mostly harmless Senator - where's the President or other media in this 'debate'? It feels like it should be a central issue, but isn't.
Iran again? Real politics or Hollywood propoganda, you decide
You can will Dopamine into your brain by thinking how your son and wife are sad panda's...scratch that - by getting angry enough that you ignore them and avenge your own 'murder' instead, it's all about you...
Detroit didn't look, or feel, like Robocop Detroit, or even real-world Detroit - the crime is pushed into the background with no anarchic feeling to it at all, as if all is peachy in detroit apart from several hundred outstanding arrests
Overall I think the 12A rating hurt the film as it couldn't explore anything deep enough and also meant there was little anarchy, as if crime wasn't that much of a problem that required the solution the whole drone 'debate' was about.
I'd say it's worth the money if you have, like I did, a morbid curiosity, as it's not aweful, but beyond that I'd stay clear and save your money, I don't know buy or make a really nice burger or something instead, it'll be far more satisfying. If you somehow haven't seen the original, watch that instead.
Its a classic that didnt need a remake atleast not the shoddy cgi pg friendly garbage that the remake is...
A Dark Angel fell on a watcher in the Dark Shroud silently chanted Vengance on the Fallen Angels to never be Unforgiven
The over-riding impression I'm getting from this film is that it completely lacks balls, and was probably murdered by committee at the inception stage.
So what you guys are saying is that, much like Officer Murphy after his "accident", this movie has no balls?
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?)
Just face it, we aren't going to see any more overly-violent, foul-mouthed, gratuitously boob-filled action movies anymore.
That unnecessary scene in Die Hard where the terrorists open the office door and the two are going at it with her boobs on perfect display? Nope.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2014/02/10 00:40:10
"By this point I'm convinced 100% that every single race in the 40k universe have somehow tapped into the ork ability to just have their tech work because they think it should."
I had little hope for this to be any good, and this was based on the fact that it was quite incredible that the original Robocop was a good movie. I mean, 'society has gone to hell so here's an ultra-violent solution' was been a film industry standard for decades, and while a few of those films were fun, Robocop is basically the good one, and it's good because it finds the perfect balance between satirising the concept and embracing it.
Then I saw the latest trailer with the images of ED-209s and human sized robots patrolling the streets and I realised there's actually a lot of scope for a modernised Robocop movie. You don't even need societal decay, just the drive to more modern policing solutions and tight budgets can justify putting drones in the skies and robot police on the ground and start asking some interesting questions. Unfortunately, it sounds like the Robocop movie we got is not that movie.
“We may observe that the government in a civilized country is much more expensive than in a barbarous one; and when we say that one government is more expensive than another, it is the same as if we said that that one country is farther advanced in improvement than another. To say that the government is expensive and the people not oppressed is to say that the people are rich.”
Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something.
Monster Rain wrote: Well yeah, with all the drones flying about it's really not all that far fetched a concept.
Yeah, that's the (admittedly very late) realisation that shifted me from the 'Robocop remake is pointless' camp to the 'well actually given the way the world has changed since the first film there is actually some interesting things for a new Robocop to comment on' camp.
But from what I can tell that potential is basically squandered.
“We may observe that the government in a civilized country is much more expensive than in a barbarous one; and when we say that one government is more expensive than another, it is the same as if we said that that one country is farther advanced in improvement than another. To say that the government is expensive and the people not oppressed is to say that the people are rich.”
Adam Smith, who must have been some kind of leftie or something.
~4100
~1660
Emperor's Eagles (undergoing Chapter reorganization)
Caledonian 95th (undergoing regimental reorganization)
Thousands Sons (undergoing Warband re--- wait, are any of my 40K armies playable?) 
