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Robocop review (semi-spoilers)
12 years ago
General
*giggles with glee* OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOOOOOOOOD!!! SO AWESOME!!! SO MUCH ACTION!!! AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!
*takes a deep breath* Okay, okay. I'm calm. I'm cool.
I give the 2014 version of Robocop a heartfelt two thumbs up. And I *mean* that "heartfelt" comment.
I went into this movie feeling more than a little cautious. I saw the original when it came out, and frankly, I'm one of those that neither could see a way that it could be improved, nor did I see the need for anyone to try. Still, the trailers didn't look half-bad, so I decided to give it a chance.
And boy howdy was I glad I did.
Mind you, we're crossing into semi-spoilerific territory from here on out, so if you wanna savor the surprise, stop reading right now, go see the movie and judge for yourself. Okay?
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Still here? Okay, I'll take that as consent to proceed.
I'm pretty sure that everybody already knows the plot of Robocop, so I don't feel the need to bring that up.
And by the way, in case you're actually unfamiliar with the plot of Robocop...
*bitchslaps you, twice, HARD*
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING EVEN GLANCING AT THIS REVIEW FOR?!!! GET YOUR HEATHEN EYES AWAY FROM THIS JOURNAL AND GO SEE ROBOCOP!!! NO, NOT THE GODDAMN SEQUELS!! THE ORIGINAL AND THE NEW ONE!! OH I AIN'T PLAYING BITCH!! *scruff-carries you to the door and tosses you out* GIT YO IGNORANT ASS OUT OF MY SIGHT!!
*dusts off hands* Alright, now that only the true movie-goers are left, let's talk business.
I've spent the better part of an hour since I got out of the theatre thinking about how the new Robocop movie compares to the old one. And frankly, I can't think of a single thing it does *worse* than the original. Instead, there are things that it does differently, things that it does better, and things that it plain skips.
Differently:
- Robocop ruthlessness. Robo was always fairly ruthless in the original, but there, you kinda got the impression (mostly from how slowly he moved) that he wasn't all that passionate or personal about it. The new Robo is slightly different, in that you can tell that he still acts with a kind of human passion, but he instead does it with machine-like efficiency. That's a step up on the awesome-scale in my book, and those people in the movie who are intimidating by him, you kinda wanna go "Nonono, you're not a coward, you're being sensible. That is one scary motherfucker.". And his speed! Holy shit! You so much as threaten this guy and there is no hesitation (which is also explained), you blink and the next moment you've been shot. Ruthless!
- Technology. The original movie came out in 1987, at a time when the Internet was still in its infancy, and wireless transfer of data was barely even a concept. Updated to a current-day perception of technology, and even a fairly generous view of what tech will be in a few decades, the amount of information (and by extension, power) and processing capability that 2014-Robo has access to with just a thought is light-years away from the original.
- Murphy's partner. Murphy original partner, the female Anne Lewis, was never really a favorite character of mine. I simply didn't like her that much. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when they teamed up Murphy with none other than Michael K. Williams (the guy who plays "Chalkie" White on Boardwalk Empire!!!). AWESOME!! Granted, their partnership isn't as extensive as in the original duo's, but they still get some good moments together.
- We only get to hear the original score *once* in this movie, which could very well be my only semi-real complaint. I heard cheers in the theatre when those oh so sweet notes came out of the speakers, and I joined in with the rest of the audience.
- Props go out to Samuel L. Jackson who plays the judgmental newscaster (they never flat out show that he's in OmniCorps pocket, but he's definitely biased towards them). He's actually a very interesting character, who's not flat-out a scumbag, but rather spiced with asshole-ness. And I actually thought we'd go an entire movie without heard a single cussword outta Jackson, but no, he get's exactly *two* cusses. Wow, I'm impressed.
Better:
- Character development. I cannot stress this enough. In the original, only Robo got something in the way of development, and that was bare bones at that. In this new version you get so much more. Robo, his wife, the CEO of OmniCorp (the new OCP), even the doctor who puts Murphy back together again, they all get a fair share of their time in the spotlight, and it works fantastically! Raymond Sellars, the new main bad guy, gets a hell of a lot more development. You get to see how he really works under the hood. Okay, he's still an arrogant asshole, but you get to see him make those defining decisions that ends up having such huge consequences.
Skips:
- That dystopia feeling. In the original there were a lot of pretty grim TV commercials that painted the world outside the one we mostly saw as a pretty grim place. Those are gone (mostly) and only one, the most often-quoted one ( you know which one I mean) only being referenced. I found this pretty refreshing, since the original tended to be a bit depressing. Sure, it was spice, but they kinda went a bit too far with it.
- Gore. Let's not mince words here, the original Robocop went through squibs like a coke addict goes through syringes, and it was frankly utterly ridiculous at times. Okay, an amusing kind of ridiculous, but still. The new one tones it way down, but thankfully doesn't go the CG blood route. There is still some gore in this movie, some of which actually made me cringe, but this movie *earns* it. I won't spoil it, but I'll rather just give you a quote that speaks volumes.
"Oh God, there's nothing left."
- Finally, a few gimmicks that weren't in the original, but that I am glad they restrained themselves from putting in. NO! 3D! NO! SLOW! MO! YYYYYEEEAAAAHHH!!!!
- Gun tricks. The original Murphy did a lot of gun twirling and tricks which he learned in order to emulate a TV hero that his son idolized. This was later one of the defining character traits after he became Robocop. The new version doesn't do those tricks (though he has one mean quickdraw). Nor is the new Robo's gun all that iconic. The original one was a Beretta M93R which has been modified to look bigger and badder, and it was awesome to hear that distinctive burst firing. The new one only gets the briefest of introductions, and it really kind of whizzes by. It's only been 2 hours since I saw the movie and I'm already having trouble remembering the new one.
- ED-209 no longer squeals like a pig. THANK! YOU! GOD! GOOD! FUCKING! RIDDANCE!
- No 1-shot-ing ED-209. This was one of the sweeter moments of the original, in which the middle of the movie Robo gets his ass kicked by ED, but the 2nd time they meet, Robo just straight-up bitchslaps ED to death. No such catharsis in this one, but Robo *does* have an ED fight, and it's pretty awesome.
All in all, I found Robocop to be a worthy equal to the original, if not even a little better with all the character development that get's *just* the right amount of screen time.
Once again, I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who's in the mood for some good quality action.
Seriously, any movie that can actually make me giggle with glee has *earned* that recommendation.
*takes a deep breath* Okay, okay. I'm calm. I'm cool.
I give the 2014 version of Robocop a heartfelt two thumbs up. And I *mean* that "heartfelt" comment.
I went into this movie feeling more than a little cautious. I saw the original when it came out, and frankly, I'm one of those that neither could see a way that it could be improved, nor did I see the need for anyone to try. Still, the trailers didn't look half-bad, so I decided to give it a chance.
And boy howdy was I glad I did.
Mind you, we're crossing into semi-spoilerific territory from here on out, so if you wanna savor the surprise, stop reading right now, go see the movie and judge for yourself. Okay?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Still here? Okay, I'll take that as consent to proceed.
I'm pretty sure that everybody already knows the plot of Robocop, so I don't feel the need to bring that up.
And by the way, in case you're actually unfamiliar with the plot of Robocop...
*bitchslaps you, twice, HARD*
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING EVEN GLANCING AT THIS REVIEW FOR?!!! GET YOUR HEATHEN EYES AWAY FROM THIS JOURNAL AND GO SEE ROBOCOP!!! NO, NOT THE GODDAMN SEQUELS!! THE ORIGINAL AND THE NEW ONE!! OH I AIN'T PLAYING BITCH!! *scruff-carries you to the door and tosses you out* GIT YO IGNORANT ASS OUT OF MY SIGHT!!
*dusts off hands* Alright, now that only the true movie-goers are left, let's talk business.
I've spent the better part of an hour since I got out of the theatre thinking about how the new Robocop movie compares to the old one. And frankly, I can't think of a single thing it does *worse* than the original. Instead, there are things that it does differently, things that it does better, and things that it plain skips.
Differently:
- Robocop ruthlessness. Robo was always fairly ruthless in the original, but there, you kinda got the impression (mostly from how slowly he moved) that he wasn't all that passionate or personal about it. The new Robo is slightly different, in that you can tell that he still acts with a kind of human passion, but he instead does it with machine-like efficiency. That's a step up on the awesome-scale in my book, and those people in the movie who are intimidating by him, you kinda wanna go "Nonono, you're not a coward, you're being sensible. That is one scary motherfucker.". And his speed! Holy shit! You so much as threaten this guy and there is no hesitation (which is also explained), you blink and the next moment you've been shot. Ruthless!
- Technology. The original movie came out in 1987, at a time when the Internet was still in its infancy, and wireless transfer of data was barely even a concept. Updated to a current-day perception of technology, and even a fairly generous view of what tech will be in a few decades, the amount of information (and by extension, power) and processing capability that 2014-Robo has access to with just a thought is light-years away from the original.
- Murphy's partner. Murphy original partner, the female Anne Lewis, was never really a favorite character of mine. I simply didn't like her that much. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when they teamed up Murphy with none other than Michael K. Williams (the guy who plays "Chalkie" White on Boardwalk Empire!!!). AWESOME!! Granted, their partnership isn't as extensive as in the original duo's, but they still get some good moments together.
- We only get to hear the original score *once* in this movie, which could very well be my only semi-real complaint. I heard cheers in the theatre when those oh so sweet notes came out of the speakers, and I joined in with the rest of the audience.
- Props go out to Samuel L. Jackson who plays the judgmental newscaster (they never flat out show that he's in OmniCorps pocket, but he's definitely biased towards them). He's actually a very interesting character, who's not flat-out a scumbag, but rather spiced with asshole-ness. And I actually thought we'd go an entire movie without heard a single cussword outta Jackson, but no, he get's exactly *two* cusses. Wow, I'm impressed.
Better:
- Character development. I cannot stress this enough. In the original, only Robo got something in the way of development, and that was bare bones at that. In this new version you get so much more. Robo, his wife, the CEO of OmniCorp (the new OCP), even the doctor who puts Murphy back together again, they all get a fair share of their time in the spotlight, and it works fantastically! Raymond Sellars, the new main bad guy, gets a hell of a lot more development. You get to see how he really works under the hood. Okay, he's still an arrogant asshole, but you get to see him make those defining decisions that ends up having such huge consequences.
Skips:
- That dystopia feeling. In the original there were a lot of pretty grim TV commercials that painted the world outside the one we mostly saw as a pretty grim place. Those are gone (mostly) and only one, the most often-quoted one ( you know which one I mean) only being referenced. I found this pretty refreshing, since the original tended to be a bit depressing. Sure, it was spice, but they kinda went a bit too far with it.
- Gore. Let's not mince words here, the original Robocop went through squibs like a coke addict goes through syringes, and it was frankly utterly ridiculous at times. Okay, an amusing kind of ridiculous, but still. The new one tones it way down, but thankfully doesn't go the CG blood route. There is still some gore in this movie, some of which actually made me cringe, but this movie *earns* it. I won't spoil it, but I'll rather just give you a quote that speaks volumes.
"Oh God, there's nothing left."
- Finally, a few gimmicks that weren't in the original, but that I am glad they restrained themselves from putting in. NO! 3D! NO! SLOW! MO! YYYYYEEEAAAAHHH!!!!
- Gun tricks. The original Murphy did a lot of gun twirling and tricks which he learned in order to emulate a TV hero that his son idolized. This was later one of the defining character traits after he became Robocop. The new version doesn't do those tricks (though he has one mean quickdraw). Nor is the new Robo's gun all that iconic. The original one was a Beretta M93R which has been modified to look bigger and badder, and it was awesome to hear that distinctive burst firing. The new one only gets the briefest of introductions, and it really kind of whizzes by. It's only been 2 hours since I saw the movie and I'm already having trouble remembering the new one.
- ED-209 no longer squeals like a pig. THANK! YOU! GOD! GOOD! FUCKING! RIDDANCE!
- No 1-shot-ing ED-209. This was one of the sweeter moments of the original, in which the middle of the movie Robo gets his ass kicked by ED, but the 2nd time they meet, Robo just straight-up bitchslaps ED to death. No such catharsis in this one, but Robo *does* have an ED fight, and it's pretty awesome.
All in all, I found Robocop to be a worthy equal to the original, if not even a little better with all the character development that get's *just* the right amount of screen time.
Once again, I heartily recommend this movie to anyone who's in the mood for some good quality action.
Seriously, any movie that can actually make me giggle with glee has *earned* that recommendation.
Defiantly gonna watch the movie now.
What fucked my mind is an ED-209 blasting a kid holding only a knife to bits on live television right before they cut the transmission, and yet, it's never brought up. I mean, someone *must* have recorded that, but they never even mention it again. Weird.
As for political messaging, I honestly can't detect much of one, other than maybe "there will always be immoral, selfish or downright cutthroat people in charge."
I haven't seen the remake and I've got 2 questions:
What was the name of the guy killed during the demonstration, is it still Kenny?
Will this version allow a sequel like old Robocop 3?
I see nothing preventing a sequel. But then again, if the producers get greedy, there really isn't anything that can prevent sequels. XD