RoboCop - February 12, 2014

[BudBaxter]

Compare it to the original classic, you're always going to lose. That's probably why most people hated it.

As a standalone flick, it's not that bad. Love Michael Keaton, & the Sam Jackson bits are fun, but it needs a better villain & a plot that makes more sense (especially the last third).

Most of the action is OK, though I hate how stupid the warehouse shoot-out in complete darkness is. He's half robot! Of course he's got night vision!

I'd still rather rewatch this than sit through Robocop 3 again.

[Galactus123]

It was ok but I wished I was watching the original instead. Michael Keaton and Gary Oldman were great but the movie could have been a lot better. I liked the RoboCop design but I didn't like that we could see his real hand. It made it feel like a suit. Also I wish it was rated R.

I wonder what is happening with the new RoboCop movie? We haven't heard anything about it in a long time.

[Det. Bullock]

The one positive aspect is that they remastered the original and made it available globally on BD to promote the remake. Some of the best 10 Euros I've spent in my life.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Freddie_Quell

Personally, the two things I hate the most about this film, are:

1. Joel Kinnaman's performance (It is as good as Ahmed Best's Jar Jar performance, or any of Shia LaBeouf performances).

2. It's an ugly CGI filled mess.

Originally Posted by Det. Bullock

It's cold and anodyne where the original was emotional and visceral, the satire was off the mark (what are you satirizing? Drones? The surveillance state? The Iraqi war?) and most of all the protagonist is a charisma void.
Also basically no big budget movie has real "plot holes", a movie can be crap even without and the worst way to be crap is not being bad but being forgettable and Robocop 2014 is the poster boy for forgettable.

Thanks for the feedback on this film, regarding why you hate the movie.

Thankfully Kinnamon didn't scream like a baby like Shia LeBeouf does in the Transformers series.

Rebooting any film is a big risk. I really wish studios would not rename it exactly as it was originally, but add a sub-title after "Robocop: Last Chance" or something like that, just to separate it from the original, but use the general concept to create a new Robocop character.

By renaming it the same exact title as the original, they deserve to get the fallout from that choice alone. And give the characters new names too. Nothing difficult about that.

That reminds me of the Total Recall remake. That movie was actually entertaining on its own, and in no way needed to reuse the same exact title. Just give it a sub-title, like Total Recall: Awakens" or something like that.

And The Thing 2012, which really wasn't a remake at all since it leads directly to the next film's start pretty much. Just name it "The Thing: Awakens" or something like that. The producers who make these Title decisions have little sense of respecting the original films' Titles.

[RogerDodger_79]

The was better than the 3rd movie and tv series at least.

[jess1581]

I liked it. I appreciated that it wasn't trying to emulate Verhoeven, and showed respect for the material. Where's the overt satire and the ultra violence? In Verhoeven's film, because that was his style and Numeier's approach to his story.

The remake explored different aspects of the material, and was intentionally it's own beast with it's own vision toward the material. Ya got Keaton and Oldman elevating their roles, Samuel L. Jackson sending up fox news hilariously(there's your satire), and Joel Kinnaman was fine as Murphy, not extraordinary but he was adequate.

A cgi mess? Lol, sorry just don't see it. It had action when the story called for it, but it was more an exploration of the core story about man and machine, the debate on the computer vs. the human component, and our over reliance of technology. The film had more on its mind that I found commendable, and it went the extra mile to add in "the little things" that mean alot.

Is it better than the 1987 og? Of course not. Do I think it works and is overall a worthwhile film that has qualities of it's own? Yes, confidently.

[robomole]

I liked that it wasn't a shot for shot cookie cutter remake. You can't improve on perfection so I'm all for doing something different. The lungs scene was one of the coolest scenes in years.

[jess1581]

Originally Posted by robomole

I liked that it wasn't a shot for shot cookie cutter remake. You can't improve on perfection so I'm all for doing something different. The lungs scene was one of the coolest scenes in years.

Not only cool, but disturbing in a way the og's crucifixion scene was... and they managed it with a PG-13 rating.

[Monterey Jack]

Robocop '14 is very good, and far better than either of the sequels to the original. People complained about what it didn't have (the blood-bag gore, the wacky satire) as opposed to praising it for what it did have (more presence for Murphy's family, a terrific supporting cast). It's a worthwhile remake. As good as the original? No, but I still enjoy it.

[CyberpunkCentral]

RoboCop 2 is actually decent.

[drb999]

It was better than 3. I actually like 2. The remake is decent.

[jess1581]

Originally Posted by CyberpunkCentral

RoboCop 2 is actually decent.

Entertaining yes, but it's narratively sloppy.

[Mikezilla3k]

Well, saw this was on Paramount + and decided to give it a shot.

Honestly........wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

The plot itself actually does go in a different and interesting direction than the original and isn't a one-on-one remake.

Main issue is though that it's executed in such a uninteresting bland way. Just feels like a run of the mill modern action movie.

Props for them having their heart in the right place, they just fumbled the ball while getting it to the goal.

7/10

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by drb999

The remake is decent.

It's more watchable than RoboCop 3, I'll give it that.

However, this remake should have been titled RubberCop.

[JamesKurtovich]

Reasonably entertaining. Thought it was silly how they blacked out his armor/body though. Made him look... not like RoboCop.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

Reasonably entertaining. Thought it was silly how they blacked out his armor/body though. Made him look... not like RoboCop.

A remake actually...remaking the original? Why, I never!

[-JKR-]

The RoboCop remake is okay, but bland.

RoboCop 2, aside from the effects, is almost as bad as RoboCop 3.

[Det. Bullock]

The 2014 remake is worse than bad. It's bland.

There's basically nothign remarkable about it, the only real positive I can think of is that we finally got a new Blu Ray of the original thanks to it.

[BluRayTim]

I don’t know if I said it already, but I actually liked it. Not nearly as much as the original.

But the Robocop remake is way closer to the original than it is to the dreadful sequels and TV series.

I might get a lot of sh*t for this, but I actually liked The Tuxedo a lot and would put the Robocop remake on par with or a little ahead of that. Yes, The Tuxedo, while not close to the original Robocop, is way closer to that than the dreadful Robocop sequels and TV series.

I actually liked the Robocop cartoon when I watched a few episodes on YouTube. I would put that ahead of the remake and The Tuxedo (where the suit in that movie is actually a Robocop suit of sorts).

[Zivouhr]

I'm a fan of Robocop and his tragic story of being within grasp of his family, but being more machine than human, and property of the corporation sadly that splits him from his family.

This film hits that theme perfectly as did the original. Then you got a solid cast with Michael Keaton as the CEO main villain, Gary Oldman as the scientist with a heart instead of being cold and calculated like his boss pays him to be, Sam Jackson as the pro-Robot Police Force influencing public acceptance, and finally Joel Kinnaman, who delivered a really good performance as Robocop. When he sees what he's become, and what he's lost, Joel delivers a sense of true grief in his performance.

Then you have the slick, black Robocop Armor high-tech Suit with the red glowing visor, and a cool high speed superbike to match with his machine gun arsenal. I would've liked more dangerous action scenes and less training though.

Add in his former police teammate, played by Michael Williams

[Show spoiler] (RIP from drugs)

, and Abbie Cornish as Alex's caring wife.

Chances of a sequel were canned in 2015 or so, after the low box office of Robocop 2014: (Budget $130m or so)
Domestic (24.1%)
$58,607,007
International (75.9%)
$184,081,958
Worldwide
$242,688,965

Worldwide, the fans showed up. In the US, not enough Robocop fans supported it in theaters. There is some talk about a new Robocop film, but it keeps stalling with director's dropping out.

That's the key for sequels, and why Dredd with Karl Urban never got a deserved sequel. Hardly anybody went to see that one back in 2012. I was able to see Dredd and Robocop 2014 both in theaters to support them, as with other fans of the two films. Opening weekend is the most critical too. Support the films you want more of in theaters.

Dredd: 2012
Budget $30–45 million[4][5]
Domestic (32.7%)
$13,414,714
International (67.3%)
$27,623,028
Worldwide
$41,037,742