The Robocop Franchise

Well, there is apparently the new on the way.  This is for all things RoboCop.

ROBOCOP / ROBOCOP 2 / ROBOCOP 3 / ROBOCOCK

The first movie is awesome. Definitely my favourite Verhoeven. Second movie is just cruel and unpleasant and was gypped in the development process. Third film is like a complete 180 in tone from the second movie -- hard R to PG gives one pretty wicked whiplash. The TV series has a pretty good pilot but degrades into kiddie bullshit pretty quick. The mini-series had good intentions, but pretty obviously cheap. Peter Weller is the one true Robo, accept no substitutes.

Also -- RobertCop (look it up) is the best.

First film is great. Second one I never saw until last night and by the time it was 20 mins until the end I felt too tired to finish. The only thing I liked about 2 were some of the ads, especially with John Glover (WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN A VILLAIN!). I'm not even sure I'll try 3. I haven't seen the TV series since it aired. And I never even heard of the miniseries until looking it up last night.

With the reboot coming up, I don't see the point. If you want to make a movie about man+machine just do a whole different thing.

Oh yeah and the villains in 2 are the lamest I have ever seen. Some punk kid and a dude who looks more like a child molester. Clarence Boddidker would kill them with his voice.


"Bitches leave!"

LOVE the first film, utterly. Feel much the same way as I do about the Terminator franchise when it comes to the sequels though; Plenty of shooty-bang-bang stuff, but dumber by the minute with nothing remotely resembling the exploitation flick values and edge of the original.

And the Robo 1 arcade game rocked as well, back in the day:

http://medievalboddicker.ytmnd.com/

I know they did the PRIME DIRECTIVES miniseries, but I think an original, stand-alone miniseries could be cool. I'm thinking 10 episodes, 45 minutes each. Episode 10 would definitely be called "Murphy's Law".

I'd call the series THE ROBOCOP. For one, I don't like the idea of reusing the exact title of the film. Also, I think it sounds kinda cool and distant. THE ROBOCOP.

It would basically be the plot of the original film, but expanded. Episode 1 would be the introduction of Murphy to a new precinct, and the partnership with Lewis. He'd be shot up at the end of Episode 1. Episode 2 is him becoming RoboCop, and he'd start kicking ass by the end of Episode 2.

Episodes 3, 4, 5 and 6 would all deal with RoboCop taking down organized crime, while becoming more and more plagued by dreams and memories. Each new turn activates more memories in him. I'm just thinking of the number 10 for a number of episodes. I'm really just speculating here because I enjoy doing it. I was thinking of James Woods for Dick Jones.

I like the idea of a man robbed of his identity and his quest to put himself back together. That's why I think any kind of sequel to this story is irrelevant.

The satire would still be there. I'd have news stories about the "Liberty Party".

Robocop is the classic example of a studio attempting to form a franchise around a film and failing horribly.

ROBOCOP: Great film
ROBOCOP 2: Meh
ROBOCOP 3: OH GOD, MY EYES!

Then there's this:



How far the mighty have fallen.

It's strange that Robocop is basically a B-movie idea, but in the hands of Verhoeven, it turned into gold. But then some idiots took that same idea and made sequels that actually are B-movies. The same thing happened also to Basic Instinct and Starship Troopers, and it's probably going to even happen to Total Recall, even if it is "just a remake".

http://robocoppin.ytmnd.com/

Only seen the first film, which is awesome.

So are these:







The last one gets points for using The Alan Parsons Project.

The White Tuxedo wrote:

James Woods

He just can't avoid the body horror.

Mr. Trevelyan wrote:

It's strange that Robocop is basically a B-movie idea, but in the hands of Verhoeven, it turned into gold.

Same with Ridley Scott and Alien.

I saw the original "RoboCop" as a kid. Must've been one of my dad's films that I got a hold of. I can't remember.

But I also remember there being a toy line. Considering the graphic nature of the original film, and even the 2nd film, I'm not sure how "RoboCop" turned into a kiddie franchise. Not long after the 3rd film, I think they had some kid-friendly, live action TV show and also a cartoon show.

ambler wrote:

Mr. Trevelyan wrote:

It's strange that Robocop is basically a B-movie idea, but in the hands of Verhoeven, it turned into gold.

Same with Ridley Scott and Alien.

I think ALIEN, THE TERMINATOR, and ROBOCOP all have that in common. Seems ROBOCOP faired worst on his second film.

I'm nowhere as down on the sequel as the rest of you are. It has some nice symbolism from Kirshner, a startling portrait of urban depravity, and a Leonard Rosenman score. That's enough for me.

Sharky wrote:

I'm nowhere as down on the sequel as the rest of you are. It has some nice symbolism from Kirshner, a startling portrait of urban depravity, and a Leonard Rosenman score. That's enough for me.

I've watched the first half of RC2, and it's not so bad as I remember. Cruddy and aimless, but vaugely entertaining. I like the Rosenman theme for what it is. I'll watch the rest here soon.

I just watched ROBOCOP 2. When I put it in my list of films I'd seen in 2011 I put it in the "Good" category. Those categories are becoming a bit meaningless.

It's not a total wash, though. RC2. It's got good intentions, and it's got some good ideas. But it doesn't follow through on any of the ideas, and when it does it doesn't do it well.

Characters are totally different. Murphy had pretty much regained a lot of his humanity by the end of RC. That was the frakking story. But he's seemed have taken some steps backward in this. RC2 should have been about a pretty much human again Murphy living with being a cyborg. Then you can throw in the New Better RoboCop story. Perhaps it's not even a cyborg, just a robot. A totally inhuman robot. Then add the Nuke plot. The script of this film is a real mess. Much like this rambling post.

So The Old Man is Hitler now? And Johnson is evil, too? I always saw The Old Man as more aloof than evil, with Jones being evil. And Johnson was a toady. He was like comic relief. And actually a voice of reason next to Morton.

The one lady, Dr. Faxx, is awful.

Cool special effects. I like the score. I found the thing to be aimless, but entertaining. The big fight at the end was pretty cool.

Oh yeah, Lewis was in this? Barely. And there was not nearly enough Robert DoQui.

And the commercials are crap.

ROBOMETER
1. ROBOCOP
2. ROBOCOP 2

That's about my assessment -- except I also find that the whole thing comes across alot crueler and sadistic than the original, for no real reason either. It feels like about three scripts tossed in a blender, and the characters from the first movie reduced to caricatures.

I wanna start watching RC3 and the damn netflix site is down. I hate when this happens.

I fucking love this.



Cold War Satire FTW.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

the whole thing comes across alot crueler and sadistic than the original, for no real reason

This. You almost feel a little violated after watching it haha

The first Robocop was epic. The violence in parts of it actually traumatized me somewhat (the sequence where Murphy was "killed") when I first saw it as a whippersnapper. It's pretty intense.

Drax wrote:

when I first saw it as a whippersnapper. It's pretty intense.

How young were you? My parents rented it on videotape for me when I was in elementary because my dad looked at the cover and assumed it was a fun superhero type movie.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Drax wrote:

when I first saw it as a whippersnapper. It's pretty intense.

How young were you? My parents rented it on videotape for me when I was in elementary because my dad looked at the cover and assumed it was a fun superhero type movie.

It came out in '87 so I would have been either 11 or 12. Similar thing here-- my mom rented it for me when I was home sick from school one day. I don't think she knew what it was and I'm not sure if she ever even saw it.

The villains were great in that movie. Clarence Boddicker was a frightening bad ass and nobody played the evil corporate dickwad type better than Ronny Cox.

Drax wrote:

Clarence Boddicker was a frightening bad ass

What's funny is that I was a big RoboCop fan as a kid (I had a tape that was Batman Forever and then RoboCop after because my parents illegally copied tapes from the store) and then I was a big That 70s Show fan as a teenager -- but it took me YEARS to realize they were the same guy!