For when more Star Wars just isn't enough... - by N'Al
SubJeff on 7/9/2013 at 15:26
Quote Posted by henke
Two talented guys with something to prove front and center of the production? That can't be a bad thing.
There are loads of good people involved in this.
It'll still be a wreck because the entire idea has been f&cked from the start. Free will? Just get out.
Visually, I can get behind it. Thematically, it's already lost me. I luuuuuurve the original RoboCop . Its perfect - the cast, the aesthetic, the ott-ness. The script is amazing, the bad guys are great, Clarence is THE 80s badass imho. It almost works so well because it was made in the 80s. It hasn't aged though; compare it to other 80s films and it doesn't suffer from the "oh, so this is an 80s film" insta-feel you get from them (not that I'm knocking 80s films, I love the 80s, the 80s were the best).
This new thing? It just can't pull the right strings, hit the right spots. Like someone said in Vivian's FB thread - they just spent $120M on something that won't be as good as the original.
I'll see it though. I have to now.
I hate reboots.
faetal on 7/9/2013 at 19:17
It lacks one vitally important ingredient: Paul Verhoeven.
Angel Dust on 8/9/2013 at 03:58
And an R rating. I don't usually care about the whole PG-13 vs R thing but for Robocop? It's kinda a given that it needs to be R.
Quote:
Jose Padilha is the Brazillian guy who directed the excellent copthrillers Tropa de Elite 1 & 2. Just like Kinnaman he is making his Hollywood debut with this movie. Two talented guys with something to prove front and center of the production? That can't be a bad thing.
I liked the Elite Squad films too, especially the second, but there is a long history of promising foreign directors floundering once they move to Hollywood.
demagogue on 8/9/2013 at 05:59
With the possible exception of, you know, Paul Verhoeven. ;)
Angel Dust on 8/9/2013 at 10:23
Ha, fair point!
It does kind of throw it all into relief though, doesn't it? Verhoeven got a bit of a budget but a lot of free reign to indulge his whims and create a sci-fi classic. Padhila, on the other hand, gets an undoubtedly bigger budget but a whole lot of commercial, franchise and audience expectations. Verhoeven has laid his idiosyncratic template, now Padhila gets a chance to follow it as blandly and PG-13 as possible. The shitty thing is that the Elite Squad films do suggest that if Padhila was given the same amount of freedom as Verhoeven had, that he could certainly produce an intriguing take on the material.
Not that I'm likely to find out first hand; it would take near unanimous praise from everyone for me to throw down the cash to see it.
faetal on 8/9/2013 at 12:20
It's like Guillermo del Toro. When he has his own freedom, he makes wonderful films, when he's under the yoke of Hollywood, he makes pedestrian films with interesting visual style.
Nicker on 8/9/2013 at 17:36
I don't see any new moral or ethical ground for this story to cover, so it's just window dressing. I notice that they kept his human right hand, no doubt for some touching, predictable moment affirming his humanity. But that was a central point of the original, his only link to humanity was ultimately what's inside and does he have the strength to keep that?
If they had to do something it would have been better if they just spruced up the original film with some improved SFX and picked up the pacing a bit, for today's faster sensibilities.
SubJeff on 8/9/2013 at 17:54
The pacing? The pacing in the original is perfect. There is actually nothing at all wrong with the original. Nothing.
I get my orders from a higher source.
robthom on 10/10/2013 at 09:27
"...although we know Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to reprise his role so..."
Uhhhh,
No.
