RoboCop Reboot

[bubbadoom]

Scott has a really good reason to be covering his eyes unless you saying that Robocop should shoot lasers out of his eyes.

Joking - right?

There's a good reason for Robo's eyes to be covered at first, re-read Saint's post above yours as to why. I think he pretty much sums up what I have been saying, don't know how to make it any clear.

As far as jacking with the mythos - how do you guys feel about the rumor that the new Spider-Man movie is playing down, if not dropping, the entire plot point about Peter letting the crook get away who then kills Uncle Ben. I was amazed that the Broadway musical dropped this too, do these guys not get what makes these characters work? Or perhaps, this little change is not important either?

 

[bubbadoom]

Disgruntled fanboy reasoning.

Not really. Why not let Cyclops be able to control his powers so he does not have to cover his eyes all the time? Is that detail really that important to who he is? It's a nice layer to his character, but not nearly as intrinsic as what we are talking about with Robo.

 

[Saint]

Back when Aronofsky was attached to the project there was a really cool (and totally bogus) rumour that it would be a DKR-esque sequel, seeing Robocop brought of of storage years after his original activation in a Detroit now completely over run with crime.

That's a movie I would have loved to see. That movie could keep all the things that worked in the original film, while still doing something decidedly new. I love the idea of OCP being so callous that they would just say "Well, this product never turned a profit," and then proceed to turn a human being off and mothball him in a warehouse somewhere. Then you get an obsolete Robocop in a world even more technologically advanced, where's he's like a creaky old tank. Cool, cool stuff.

I'm nowhere near writing this movie off yet, though I am skeptical of some of these thematic choices. Again, I don't think Robocop's humanity is something that's meant to be put on display minute one. Still, nothing could possibly be as horrible as the godawful Prime Directive TV movies. Give me ****ing nightmares.

 

[bubbadoom]

I too see no reason to "reboot" this, just do a sequel - move forward...

 

[Gold Samurai]

My movie is between those two cuts. How do you make RoboCop? How do you slowly bring a guy to be a robot? How do you actually take humanity out of someone and how do you program a brain, so to speak, and how does that affect an individual?"

"In the first 'RoboCop' when Alex Murphy is shot, gunned down, then you see some hospitals and stuff and then you cut to him as RoboCop. My movie is between those two cuts. How do you make RoboCop? How do you slowly bring a guy to be a robot? How do you actually take humanity out of someone and how do you program a brain, so to speak, and how does that affect an individual?"

"I have my take on it," he continued, "And I can tell you this: In the first 'RoboCop' when Alex Murphy is shot, gunned down, then you see some hospitals and stuff and then you cut to him as RoboCop. My movie is between those two cuts. How do you make RoboCop? How do you slowly bring a guy to be a robot? How do you actually take humanity out of someone and how do you program a brain, so to speak, and how does that affect an individual?"

It's going to be a long year if that quote from the director keeps popping up

I could see a scene where Murphy's face is grafted on to the robo skull.

 

[obin_gam]

Kinnaman talks about the film:

There’s a lot of neuroscience now raising the question, ‘Is all the intelligence in the human body in the brain?’ and they’re finding out that, no, it’s not like that. The body has intelligence itself, and we’re much more of an organic creature in that way. It’s not a control tower that does everything.

It’s a re-imagination of it. There’s a lot of stuff from the original. There are some details and throwbacks, but this version is a much better acting piece, for Alex Murphy and especially when he is RoboCop. It’s much more challenging… [The helmet is] not going to be jaw action. They’re still working on the suit and how it’s going to look, but the visor is going to be see-through. You’re going to see his eyes.

Really digging the neuroscience part! I am also glad they're playing around with the design of the costume and making it their own.

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

this movie sounds like it will have little to no action scenes. it feels more like a science project movie

 

[Octoberist]

if you saw Elite Squad, that director is all about raw action, man.

 

[Mike_D202]

They're giving Robocop an identity, that theme alone totally takes away what made that character interesting. The big corporation stripped this guy's identity/humanity away and made him a product. What possible reasoning do they have to give this guy a transparant visor? His friends/family will recognize him for god sakes. He will no longer be a "product."

I desperately, desperately want a new Robocop movie--but I am wary of these latest comments.

I understand that they want to update the look. It doesn't need to be updated (quite frankly, it's perfect--and that's not something I'd normally say about anything), but of course no artist wants to come along and just repeat someone else's work. So updates are inevitable, and I'll accept that.

My issue is the "More human" bit. Robocop was very human--but it wasn't out in the open right away. Much of the original film revolved around the question of exactly how much humanity was left. Weller's performance went from extremely robotic and inhuman to gradually and subtly more human. In the first hour, what was underneath all the metal was a mystery.

Think about this "show the eyes" comment. This isn't just about how Robocop looks; the amount of humanity the suit put on display was integral to the film's narrative. In Robocop, the audience couldn't be sure Robocop even had eyes until the visor shattered. That was an incredible moment. All those little touches that made you wonder are what make the film great. Robocop's humanity isn't on display, it's something that is gradually uncovered and unraveled.

I don't like the implication that his humanity should be on display right off the bat.

I respect and understand that this guy wants to make his own movie. He's right to not want to repeat what came before. That said, I'm not sure that what he wants to make is what I'm looking for in Robocop. Maybe it's for the best that he does something completely, because honestly, you can't top Peter Welller's performance and you can't top the original Robocop design anyway. So take it another way.

I'm just not sure if it's going to do it for me as a Robocop movie. Of course, it's too soon to tell.

 

[Destructus86]

Well...there goes that movie. Just based on what we've read so far...it seems like the director has already missed the mark. Why do we always have to see the actors face???

 

[obin_gam]

Well...there goes that movie. Just based on what we've read so far...it seems like the director has already missed the mark. Why do we always have to see the actors face???

We saw Murphys face plenty of time as RoboCop in the oringials .

 

[Art_of_Crime]

I hear where the detractors are coming from. Saying that the eventual reveal of his eyes and face mirrored the reemergence of his humanity. It is kind of a shame that that aspect might be lost, but keep in mind that is not the only way to show something, and its not like they reedited the other movie.

I am kind of excited to see his transformation more. That part interests me a lot.

 

[Gold Samurai]

Well...there goes that movie. Just based on what we've read so far...it seems like the director has already missed the mark. Why do we always have to see the actors face???

Because some movies can't completely trust the movie character to hold the movie behind a mask.

Plus the actor is the true star. He/She needs to shine in the final act.

The Spider-man movies did this constantly

Final act? Show Maguires face!


Robocop 2 and Nolan's Batman movies have successfully escaped this.

 

[DorkyFresh]

Personally, I haven't read anything that makes me throw my hands up and or facepalm. My only concern is making him too human too soon, but even then I'm open to them dealing more with Murphy's struggle with his humanity. Nothing about the plot or approach has made me think "well that's just dumb" the way they're making the Ninja Turtles come from outer space made me think.

As for as the design, I don't really care what changes they make as long as it looks cool.

 

[GoldGoblin]

Next thing,they tell us he is gonna be gold colored.

 

[Raiden]

I'm not sure I like the idea of the visor being transparent enough so we can see Murphy's eyes. I thought the visor was a metaphor for Murphy's humanity, and early on when his eyes were covered it signaled that Murphy was more machine than human. But after his visor got cracked and then the entire helmet was removed, Murphy was making the progress to reclaim his memories and humanity. Making the visor see-through would pretty much destroy this metaphor.

 

[Blue Sugar]

Not sold on the see-through visor idea on paper. But let's see how it turns out, it's not like it's a huge detail that will ruin the movie.

 

[Paroxysm]

I though his robotic body and movements were more of an indication that he had lost his humanity. The visor just looked cool.

He didn't look anymore human with his skin stretched back over half a metal skull.

 

[The Guard]

I think people are looking at this backwards. Yes, the original ROBOCOP movie was about a robot rediscovering its humanity. But as the director has pretty clearly said, this movie will deal with what happens in between the death of Alex Murphy and the point where Robocop emerges, a fully functional cyborg. With how a human develops into a robotic cop. We'll see his humanity lessened, taken from him, and, I would imagine, then rediscovered. For something like that, something the original film never truly explored in depth, the eyes are very important.

And you never know. The visor may well be something that looks opaque, but that you can see through at certain angles, or in certain lighting, like some kinds of sunglasses. You know, "glimpses" of humanity.

 

[Tanin]

Joking - right?

Not at all.

Scott Summer's eyes are covered for a practical reason. He can't control his powers that happen to come out of his eyes. Unless you change his mythos he requires his eyes covered or he can not see. There is also a thematic reasoning behind it but he has a very practical reason unless you change his background.

Murphy has absolutely no 'practical' purpose to have his eyes not showing, and it may very well actually be better to have his eyes showing while he is in public anyhow.

How well is the general public going to take to a 'machine' running around policing them? Having him showing off his eyes, even if he doesn't NEED to do it would soften the blow on the general public willing to actually listen to him without having to use force. Honestly... it would be a PR move on the company making him. All in all it really depends of the director and what 'tone' he is going for.

There are plenty of ways the original showed off he had lost his humanity then just his eyes not there, from he way he walked to the his speech patterns, and not remembering who he is.

I personally was more impacted in him regaining his humanity when he called himself Murphy and smiled at the end then just seeing his face.

So, yes I wasn't joking. And I don't appreciate you assuming I don't know what I am talking about just because I am not as verbose as some of the other posters here.

 

[SpitCurl]

Not at all.

Scott Summer's eyes are covered for a practical reason. He can't control his powers that happen to come out of his eyes. Unless you change his mythos he requires his eyes covered or he can not see. There is also a thematic reasoning behind it but he has a very practical reason unless you change his background.

Murphy has absolutely no 'practical' purpose to have his eyes not showing, and it may very well actually be better to have his eyes showing while he is in public anyhow.

How well is the general public going to take to a 'machine' running around policing them? Having him showing off his eyes, even if he doesn't NEED to do it would soften the blow on the general public willing to actually listen to him without having to use force. Honestly... it would be a PR move on the company making him. All in all it really depends of the director and what 'tone' he is going for.

There are plenty of ways the original showed off he had lost his humanity then just his eyes not there, from he way he walked to the his speech patterns, and not remembering who he is.

I personally was more impacted in him regaining his humanity when he called himself Murphy and smiled at the end then just seeing his face.

So, yes I wasn't joking. And I don't appreciate you assuming I don't know what I am talking about just because I am not as verbose as some of the other posters here.

I admittedly don't have a dog in this race - solid, see-through, just make a decent film - but I think I can see where you might be missing some of the point of the corporation.

It was always my interpretation that they're not supposed to be seen as giving 2 s***s about PR or public perception, as they've got an AI tank essentially, that will scare and intimidate people into compliance.

It's part of the social/political satire that the guys running the company are ass****s. In that respect, covering his eyes to make him more intimidating/less human actually plays into that depiction.

 

[spider_rob]

Not at all.

Scott Summer's eyes are covered for a practical reason. He can't control his powers that happen to come out of his eyes. Unless you change his mythos he requires his eyes covered or he can not see. There is also a thematic reasoning behind it but he has a very practical reason unless you change his background.

Murphy has absolutely no 'practical' purpose to have his eyes not showing, and it may very well actually be better to have his eyes showing while he is in public anyhow.

How well is the general public going to take to a 'machine' running around policing them? Having him showing off his eyes, even if he doesn't NEED to do it would soften the blow on the general public willing to actually listen to him without having to use force. Honestly... it would be a PR move on the company making him. All in all it really depends of the director and what 'tone' he is going for.

There are plenty of ways the original showed off he had lost his humanity then just his eyes not there, from he way he walked to the his speech patterns, and not remembering who he is.

I personally was more impacted in him regaining his humanity when he called himself Murphy and smiled at the end then just seeing his face.

So, yes I wasn't joking. And I don't appreciate you assuming I don't know what I am talking about just because I am not as verbose as some of the other posters here.

Showing the eyes might actually freak some people out. Look up Uncanny Valley.

But anyways, I agree with your other point. Who really cares in the end. They're obviously wanting to take a different approach with the character. Maybe the visor doesn't factor in the same way, or they're taking a different route. Calm down.

 

[Webhead2006]

Saw the comments joel made of a more human robocop. I hope he doesn't mean that literally. If they take too much of robo out that will piss the fandom. As for possibbly seeing his eyes. I took that more probably just costume wise joel will be abble to see when in suit. Which could be altered in post to a darker visor or what have you.

 

[Saint]

I think people are looking at this backwards. Yes, the original ROBOCOP movie was about a robot rediscovering its humanity. But as the director has pretty clearly said, this movie will deal with what happens in between the death of Alex Murphy and the point where Robocop emerges, a fully functional cyborg. With how a human develops into a robotic cop. We'll see his humanity lessened, taken from him, and, I would imagine, then rediscovered. For something like that, something the original film never truly explored in depth, the eyes are very important.

Yeah, I'd watch that.

 

[Saint]

There are some details and throwbacks, but this version is a much better acting piece, for Alex Murphy and especially when he is RoboCop.

Honestly, I don't think anyone is going to squeeze more out of Robocop than Peter Weller did. His body language alone carried that entire movie.