Robocop (2014) trailer is live

[Jester David]

The first was good for its dystopian violence and subtle (and not-so-subtle) subversion of '80s America wrapped up in a package of over-the-top violence. It had the fears over dehumanization of the police mixed in with the privatization of public services and worries about what would happen if that occurred to the police. It fed off the seemingly increasing violence in the cities, drugs, gangs and the like paired with the rampant capitalism of the '80s.

This one... It could bring in more philosophical elements such as the illusion of free will, what it means to be human in an era of increased technology. Retain the dehumanization and focus on the potential breakdown of the family unit.
Still, the last reboot of a Paul Verhoeven mvie stripped all the subtext out of the movie and turned it into a straight action film. I.e. the remake was more shallow than a Schwarzenegger film. So I'm doubtful this will be anything but a dumb action movie.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Frank Miller was never involved in the original. Only with the sequels. And frankly, I thought the ideas he brought to Robocop were crap.

Miller's best robocop story is the 4-issue "Robocop vs. Terminator", though it's better as a Terminator story.

For some reason that one has fallen out of the canon...

 

[MBJwally]

Robocop reminded me of Daft Punk in this trailer

 

[ShinHakkaider]

The first was good for its dystopian violence and subtle (and not-so-subtle) subversion of '80s America wrapped up in a package of over-the-top violence. It had the fears over dehumanization of the police mixed in with the privatization of public services and worries about what would happen if that occurred to the police. It fed off the seemingly increasing violence in the cities, drugs, gangs and the like paired with the rampant capitalism of the '80s.

This one... It could bring in more philosophical elements such as the illusion of free will, what it means to be human in an era of increased technology. Retain the dehumanization and focus on the potential breakdown of the family unit.
Still, the last Paul Verhoeven stripped all the subtext out of the movie and turned it into a straight action film. I.e. the remake was more shallow than a Schwarzenegger film. So I'm doubtful this will be anything but a dumb action movie.

Okay, I understood and agreed with your first paragraph.

I understand what you are saying in the first sentence of the second paragraph.

After that you lose me completely.

Paul Verhoeven directed the first Robocop (1987) which was written by Ed Neumeier and Michael Miner. The movie was marketed and sold as a sci-fi actioner. The critics and audiences were surprised that it WAS more than that and a very keen and funny stab at 80's consumerism and the cold war mentality. It was ALWAYS an action film, just one with a very good social commentary.

I dont know what remake youre talking about. There were two sequels the first directed by Irwin Kirshner (The Empire Strikes Back) and based on a script by Frank Miller who had a cameo as the ill fated Frank the Chemist. It was passable but not great. The third movie directed by Fred Dekker (Monster Squad, NIght of the Creeps) was pretty awful. Verhoeven had nothing to do with either sequels as far as I know.

Sometimes I really dont understand my fellow movie lover. Robocop has two pretty VIOLENT Shootings in the first 40 min of the movie both of which pretty firmly set the tone of the action for the rest of the movie so at no point does it degenerate into typical action fare. It was consistent from the outset. The showdown between Murphy and Clarence and his guys was a build up that was going to and quite frankly needed to happen. And it was well executed and not without a few surprises of it's own. ("Sayanora ROBOCOP!!" *SHNIKT* *THUNK*)

 

[Jester David]

I dont know what remake youre talking about. There were two sequels the first directed by Irwin Kirshner (The Empire Strikes Back) and based on a script by Frank Miller who had a cameo as the ill fated Frank the Chemist. It was passable but not great. The third movie directed by Fred Dekker (Monster Squad, NIght of the Creeps) was pretty awful. Verhoeven had nothing to do with either sequels as far as I know.

Missed a word in my post.
I was referring to Total Recall. Verhoeven did the first and the remake was a horrible, shallow experience that traded psychology for lots of slow motion shots if people jumping from one thing to another lower thing.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Missed a word in my post.
I was referring to Total Recall. Verhoeven did the first and the remake was a horrible, shallow experience that traded psychology for lots of slow motion shots if people jumping from one thing to another lower thing.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! D00d, youre NOT going to believe this. Guess what movie LITERALLY just arrived from Netflix...

I'm not as hard on remakes as most people and I actually look forward to them. Hollywood has been remaking movies since damn near the beginning. The Maltesee Falcon that we all know and love with Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre? That's like the 2nd or 3rd remake of that movie. and that was in the 1940's.

All I care about is one thing really: was I entertained? Did I enjoy the movie on it's own merits? Yes? The'sn Great. I happen to think that there have been a couple of remakes that are as good as or better than the original films. The '88 version of THE BLOB is pretty good and the American remake of RINGU (THE RING) is in alot of ways a superior film to the Japanese original. I LOVED the EVIL DEAD remake. LOVED IT. I didnt care if Ash was in it or not (in fact I thought the little credit cameo was stupid and almost detracted from the movie). I saw it in a crowed theater opening night with a good crowd and had a BALL.

Everyone also forgets that when John Carpenter's THE THING remake came out in '82 it was panned. Especially by the fans of the original THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. Now it's a semi-classic. If there's one thing that I've learned as someone who LOVES film, ALL FILM, is not to heed the fanboys. And also to judge a movie on it's own merits. Remake or not.

That being said, I'll let you know if I agree with your assessment on the TOTAL ECALL remake as the original was one of the last really fun movie going experiences I've ever had. I saw it at a screening about a week before it opened. All I'd heard about it was that it was made by the guy who did ROBOCOP and that Howard Stern said it was CRAZY but in a good way.

Nothing prepared me for the full tilt bat crap crazy that was TOTAL RECALL.

 

[Robin Hoodlum]

The new Dredd movie was superior to the old, stupid Sly Stallone one.
I can only hope the new Robocop is better than the old one, which I thought was decent.

 

[sabrinathecat]

I remember reading that Terminator vs Robocop comic... That was awful. Especially the ending.

This could be good, or could be crap. I'll reserve judgment until I actually see it, which won't be until the DVD is out (within 6 months of opening day at the theaters these days).

Ug, that Total Recall "remake" was just painfully bad. Illogical and boring as hell. Didn't make a lick of sense. Total Recall 2070 was able to do far better on a TV show budget.

 

[The_Silversword]

The human hand looks a little off.