RoboCop’ Returns

[Drizzle]

Ehh, getting really sick of seeing superheroes (guess Murphy counts as that) upgrading their look every movie. Makes total sense with Iron Man, but it's starting to bug me with Cap specifically, and I guess Batman to an extent. Not everyone's that type of character.

Cap? He's had the same outfit since Age of Ultron, which even then was a modification of his stealth outfit from TWS. The beard and tattered look of his costume in Infinity War fit his character because he was essentially off the grid.

But regardless, I think if anything they'll keep Robocop's classic look in this while giving him some upgrades at the same time hidden within the suit. More like when they gave R2-D2 hidden booster rockets in the prequels than a Hulkbuster type of upgrade.

 

[Doctor Jones]

My concern is it needs to be a satire first, social commentary second. Blomkampf might go directly to just social commentary.

This is my concern too. Verhoeven struck an ideal balance. Blomkamp is about as subtle as a sledgehammer. But it helps he's not writing the script.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I think Robocop 2 theme is underrated. Not as iconic as the first, but still very nice. Since I like both themes for R1 and R2, I wanted them to come up with something new for Returns..

 

[-JKR-]

I think Robocop 2 theme is underrated. Not as iconic as the first, but still very nice. Since I like both themes for R1 and R2, I wanted them to come up with something new for Returns..

I think it's a lackluster sequel, which lacks the heart and soul of the original and doesn't hold a candle to it. Irvin Kerschner was a good craftsman, but just wasn't cut for the material. I actually find it to be overrated, and not much better than 'RoboCop 3.' So I'm all for a new movie based on the original writers' unused 'RoboCop 2' script.

 

[The Guard]

I'm in just for his take on Detroit.

Glad to see some positivity about this. Robocop is a character and franchise that still has a lot of potential.

 

[StarLord]

I think it's a lackluster sequel, which lacks the heart and soul of the original and doesn't hold a candle to it. Irvin Kerschner was a good craftsman, but just wasn't cut for the material. I actually find it to be overrated, and not much better than 'RoboCop 3.' So I'm all for a new movie based on the original writers' unused 'RoboCop 2' script.

GTFO here with that nonsense! At least Robocop 2 still has Peter Weller and Tom Noonan.

 

[Aximili86]

Cap? He's had the same outfit since Age of Ultron

No, he hasn't. The differences are negligible and it's purely cosmetic, but they tinker with it film to film. And it's not even a particularly big deal, but I guess that's sort of the point - it's so minor and it's not even worth explaining on-film as an upgrade, there's really no reason to do it, other than the high-end figure companies get to put out a new cool variant. Steve could be rocking the AoU suit in CW and IW and you lose nothing.

Guys like Stark are constantly tinkering tech-wise, updating, upgrading, prototyping, and of course that's absolutely a part of the character. Guess Cap's just more the Indiana Jones type - he doesn't give a crap what he looks like, so as long as the suit's functional and proudly flying the red-white-and-blue there's no reason for him to change it. Iconography and his trusty shield, boom, good to go.

I sorta just see Robocop more that way. Updates of new tools & weapons along the way as OCP thinks up new stuff is just fine, like the hand-spike and stuff, maybe a secondary gun somewhere, or something else police-y like some ultra-strong riot shield type of thing. But given this is the same continuity as Verhoeven's, I just want the broad big-picture look to be way closer to the original than the Kinnaman flick. Helmet and torso should be identical or close-to, at least, and it should all have that same bulk. He felt way too limber & quick on his feet last time around with the reboot, and just too "every other sci-fi robot ever".

And yeah, Guard, Neill's Detroit should be a hoot. Hope he doesn't go too futuristic though, it should all feel kinda 10-15 years from now tops, basically just ultra-modern but still loosely "present". Hope they actually shoot in Detroit this time around too (did they for the reboot? can't recall), think the originals were Texas from memory. It'd be nice throwing some jobs Detroit's way for this, all they've been through.

Starlord, Burke wasn't really the problem with 3, it's not like it would have been magically a great movie with Weller with the same script. And hell, 3's still a blast, that's a fun movie just in a whole different way. Bad, but fun. I actually really enjoy the hell out of 2, even with all the "why is he all robotic again?" nonsensical stuff. That's a brutal movie too, disturbing and hilarious at once.

 

[#root]

I'm not as excited as everyone else here seems to be. Blomkamp's work has been disappointing tbh. But let's see how he handles this. The visuals should be great at the very least.

 

[Gold Samurai]

LOL, so would he prefer that people talk to him about The Order and Naked Lunch? I’m sure fans get annoying but I always wonder why some actors want to distance themselves from the only roles they ever played that people gave a crap about.

If you work 30 years as an actor and all you're remembered for is a movie in 1987 you'd be annoyed too.

 

[-JKR-]

GTFO here with that nonsense! At least Robocop 2 still has Peter Weller and Tom Noonan.

I said 'NOT MUCH better.'
Yeah, it has Peter Weller, who is (unfortunately) wasted and doesn't have much to chew on, except for the brief comical deviation. And Tom Noonan was also pretty good. But in the end, it's still a shallow and dumb sequel, which simply lacks the substance the original screenwriters and a visionary filmmaker such as Paul Verhoeven.
It may be better than 'RoboCop 3,' but not by much. I simply don't care about either of the two sequels and am more than happy to stick with the original and rewatch it over and over again.

 

[Pennywise]

Weller mentioned in an interview that he was done with RoboCop. He doesn't want to partake in anymore discussions about the character or the Robo movies he starred in. Unless they pay him a ton a money I doubt he'd reprise a role that he last portrayed nearly 30 years ago and has officially put behind him.

Really? That sucks!

 

[Aximili86]

Yeah, Gold. Weller's career's been a little hit-and-miss, but he does seem the "serious respectable actor" type. If 90 out of 100 people approaching him over a year in the street are wanting to talk Robocop, that'd grind anyone's nerves at a certain point.

Go bug Bale about Batman in another 20 years, heh. See how that goes down.

 

[Vaibow]

No, he hasn't. The differences are negligible and it's purely cosmetic, but they tinker with it film to film. And it's not even a particularly big deal, but I guess that's sort of the point - it's so minor and it's not even worth explaining on-film as an upgrade, there's really no reason to do it, other than the high-end figure companies get to put out a new cool variant. Steve could be rocking the AoU suit in CW and IW and you lose nothing.

Guys like Stark are constantly tinkering tech-wise, updating, upgrading, prototyping, and of course that's absolutely a part of the character. Guess Cap's just more the Indiana Jones type - he doesn't give a crap what he looks like, so as long as the suit's functional and proudly flying the red-white-and-blue there's no reason for him to change it. Iconography and his trusty shield, boom, good to go.

I sorta just see Robocop more that way. Updates of new tools & weapons along the way as OCP thinks up new stuff is just fine, like the hand-spike and stuff, maybe a secondary gun somewhere, or something else police-y like some ultra-strong riot shield type of thing. But given this is the same continuity as Verhoeven's, I just want the broad big-picture look to be way closer to the original than the Kinnaman flick. Helmet and torso should be identical or close-to, at least, and it should all have that same bulk. He felt way too limber & quick on his feet last time around with the reboot, and just too "every other sci-fi robot ever".

And yeah, Guard, Neill's Detroit should be a hoot. Hope he doesn't go too futuristic though, it should all feel kinda 10-15 years from now tops, basically just ultra-modern but still loosely "present". Hope they actually shoot in Detroit this time around too (did they for the reboot? can't recall), think the originals were Texas from memory. It'd be nice throwing some jobs Detroit's way for this, all they've been through.

Starlord, Burke wasn't really the problem with 3, it's not like it would have been magically a great movie with Weller with the same script. And hell, 3's still a blast, that's a fun movie just in a whole different way. Bad, but fun. I actually really enjoy the hell out of 2, even with all the "why is he all robotic again?" nonsensical stuff. That's a brutal movie too, disturbing and hilarious at once.

I must admit, i am interested to see what happens, with this robocop reboot, but the whole 'ignore sequels' like with terminator, halloween etc, i just hope it doesn't become a trend (unless DC do it just for MOS lol).

It makes me wonder why studio's try and reboot such beloved characters/movies. Which is why i am pleased Harrison Ford is attached to indy 5.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

I think Robocop 2 theme is underrated. Not as iconic as the first, but still very nice. Since I like both themes for R1 and R2, I wanted them to come up with something new for Returns..

Spoiler

[YT]DL_jKzpSBuc[/YT]

And here's another fun theme connected to that movie

[YT]DKkbAuULZ64[/YT]

 

[Drizzle]

I think they'd keep the theme from the original. It's so iconic that they even brought it back for the remake, although they Frankensteined the hell out of it.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Spoiler

[YT]DL_jKzpSBuc[/YT]

And here's another fun theme connected to that movie

[YT]DKkbAuULZ64[/YT]

I accepted we have dramatically different tastes, but looks like there's something we agree on.

The second track sounds like inspired by PTP - Show Me Your Spine from the first film. Good fit.

I think they'd keep the theme from the original. It's so iconic that they even brought it back for the remake, although they Frankensteined the hell out of it.

Keeping it for the sake of fan service is wrong. Will it fit the tone of the new film? Or it will require massive rework that will probably make it entirely pointless and it's better to come up with something new...

 

[Drizzle]

Keeping it for the sake of fan service is wrong. Will it fit the tone of the new film? Or it will require massive rework that will probably make it entirely pointless and it's better to come up with something new...

If they still keep it an action film, and they should, then I don't see why it wouldn't fit the tone.

 

[Aximili86]

Blasphemy, OutOfBoose.

Orchestral stuff never gets dated. You could make an argument on paper that the Poledouris sound was "outdated" at the time of the original too, and isn't tech-y sounding or whatever. It still worked, because it's evoking the heroic & human side of the guy.

They will probably Zimmer-or-Zimmer-cronies this thing though, unfortunately. Lots of "WAAOORR REEEEE ROOOOAAARR bup bup WRRAAOORR."

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

I said 'NOT MUCH better.'
Yeah, it has Peter Weller, who is (unfortunately) wasted and doesn't have much to chew on, except for the brief comical deviation. And Tom Noonan was also pretty good. But in the end, it's still a shallow and dumb sequel, which simply lacks the substance the original screenwriters and a visionary filmmaker such as Paul Verhoeven.
It may be better than 'RoboCop 3,' but not by much. I simply don't care about either of the two sequels and am more than happy to stick with the original and rewatch it over and over again.

Oh yes it is. I re-watched R3 last year, it's a TV movie in all the worst senses of the term.

 

[Deck Rickard]

If you work 30 years as an actor and all you're remembered for is a movie in 1987 you'd be annoyed too.

Not if that movie happened to be good and I followed it up by decades of crap.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

https://deadline.com/2018/07/roboco...des-ed-neumeier-michael-miner-mgm-1202424639/

I'm down with that.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Blasphemy, OutOfBoose.

Orchestral stuff never gets dated. You could make an argument on paper that the Poledouris sound was "outdated" at the time of the original too, and isn't tech-y sounding or whatever. It still worked, because it's evoking the heroic & human side of the guy.

They will probably Zimmer-or-Zimmer-cronies this thing though, unfortunately. Lots of "WAAOORR REEEEE ROOOOAAARR bup bup WRRAAOORR."

I struggle to find anything on the Poledouris score being obsolete in my post.

IMO, it's application is rather singular. It's not the case with Star Wars or Indie or Back to the Future, where theme melody sets the tone for the entire franchise.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I didn’t mind the score in the 2nd movie, but the original theme/score is a bonafide classic, and should never have been changed out for the sequel. I really hope they bring it back here.

In terms of Blomkamp, his movies have slowly got worse for me. District 9 is a sci-if classic, and still one of my favourite movies of all time. I really enjoyed Elysium also, but it was quite a large step down from D9, a good Sci Fi action movie though.

I thought Chappie was awful, never heard of Die Antwood before, but the guy annoyed the hell out of me in the movie, and was also apparently an ******* on set, so it made me dislike him even more. But even the movie in general wasn’t very good.

If we get something between D9 and Elysium for RR, I will be a happy man.

 

[TheVileOne]

Peter Weller is kind of old to be doing this film anyway. Isn't he in his 70s now? Or he's close to 70.

I recall the remake only kept a short motif from the original score, but it sounded awful overall. It was just another example of how the remake didn't get it. Made it PG-13. Awful looking "suit" etc. It was an abomination.

 

[-JKR-]

Oh yes it is. I re-watched R3 last year, it's a TV movie in all the worst senses of the term.

The point is that, no matter how much better than the third one it is, it's still not a good movie or sequel IMO.