Actually looks like a decent remake. Could hold p to the original. I kinda like the fact his family knows who he is this time. Helps Murphy retain some "humanity".
His Family did know, but not until the very end of 1 / beginning of 2. I think that will be one of the larger ideas in the movie. IE in the original movie series, it was up to murphy himself to truly define if he was man or machine. You see the emotions he goes through without his family, and even when his family knows the full story, he refuses to once again be part of their life, were as with this version, it seems as if his family this time is what allows him to directly keep his humanity. Nature Vs. Nurture in a sense when in the 80s Murphy mostly relied on his past experiences, where I take the idea that in the new film without his family, he is nothing more than a machine
This trailer did its job. This went from being 'pass' to 'maybe' right up until Dead or alive, you're coming with me. when it went right up until 'hell yes.'
Was rolling my eyes up until viewing the trailer. Now, I'm pretty much sold. Hopefully it doesn't go the route of The Phantom Menace where the trailer ended up being better than the movie.
No it's going to be PG-13. They spent WAY too much money to cut themselves off at the knees with an R rating.
^ Lol - yeah, exactly. A movie that's entertaining with a good story > extra blood and violence for "shock value". It worked in the original I think in part because so many movies during that time were almost expected to have things like that. Plus the humor offset quite a bit of it.
Oddly enough, my thoughts after the trailer were that this could be like the Die Hard 4 of the franchise or the Die Hard 5.
It'll be worth a look. Maybe they thought it would be less creepy than a robot hand for if he feels up his wife. Posted previously... Cape's at the cleaner's.
I'm a sucker for 'the difference between men and machine' type stories. Finally saw the trailer today watching Riddick. Looks okay. Will watch.
RoboCop TRAILER 1 (2014) - Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish Movie HD - YouTube Not sure what to think about it...
Robocop was satire. For all of its violence, dark brooding and story line about a modern day (or slightly futuristic) Frankenstein, it was also had a sense of humor. It used that humor to shine a light on themes involving gentrification, corruption, privatization, capitalism, identity, dystopia and human nature itself. It was a social commentary that used violence and humor to discuss capitalism unhinged, the privatization of public services, corporate corruption, and rampant consumerism. Some of the allegory practically hits you over the head - Murphy’s employers literally turn him in to a robot. They purge him of his emotions, of his humanity so that he may perform his job more efficiently, but in the end, Murphy retains his humanity, and the suffering that comes along with a life lost, but still remembered. To me the movie is a classic and was perfect as it was. It appears, from what I saw in this trailer, that they have changed up the story so much as to have ripped the heart out of it. The event that turns Murphy from a man into a machine is no longer a brutal and sadistic murder, setting you up to really hate the “bad guys” with a passion. It’s now inflicted by a car-bomb that leaves him with burns over 80 percent of his body. In the original, he was basically dead and had his body harvested as to use his brain simply as a biological computer to control his robot body. There are scenes in the trailer depicting Murphy, as Robocop, interacting with his son. Actually, the trailer left me with impression that Robocop remembers his life as Murphy from the outset. I feel this would take a lot out of the story’s commentary on human identity. It would take a lot of the sense of tragedy and suffering experienced in the original story when Robocop begins to remember his previous life. It takes away the impact of seeing this shining hero, this media sensation, and realizing that inside he is isolated, fragments of a mind trapped inside a machine. The original Robocop was not a mindless action movie. While it appeared to be, superficially, there was a very deep story and a strong satirical commentary on capitalist culture. Judging from this trailer and some script reviews I have read, it appears some of the satirical commentary is still intact. There was talk of scene where they do testing with focus groups to see which Robocop design is the most intimidating. It also appears that the commentary on a corrupt corporation being in league with organized crime is still there. The problem I have with what I saw is that in giving Robocop his humanity from the outset, the story will lose its humanity. While it is still tragic to be turned into a cyborg due to massive bodily injuries, it lacks the impact of Robocop slowly remembering his previous life and realizing he can’t go back to it. It loses the isolation, the fragmented memories dissociated from the emotions that go along with them. There was also a line in the trailer about him, “overriding his parameters” in the original movie he didn’t do this. He found a way to bring down OPC’s corrupt boss by working within his parameters. He became clever as more of Murphy’s personality began shining though the programming, but he was still restricted by his programming, still fragments of a mind trapped within a machine. Robocop himself was a tragic figure, a statement about what makes a human, a human, about our identity as an individual. From what I saw in the trailer, it feels like this remake will lose a lot of that.
I think your post pretty much summed up what I felt after watching the trailer. The old movies were about Robocop who is a robot for most of the time but slowly regains his human emotions while still being Robocop. He didn't make a fuss about his new changed life and accepted his new duty. The new one seems to be about Murphy not wanting to accept that he's a robot and won't be human again. That killed the whole character to me. I didn't grow up with Robocop, but I have watched the older movies and for recap, here were my thoughts:
I agree with your commentary on the original RoboCop. And while that one explored humanity, from the trailer I think the new one is going down a different path. That maybe either Freewill, or Identity. Again this is just a guess on my part from the trailer, but the line in their about the computer programing making him think he is making a choice or making him think he has free will. they could really play on the whole concept of do we actually make free will choices or are we controlled and led to think we do from all the corporate advertising, goverment watch dogs, ETC ETC. Maybe he is suppose to be just a computer program with the memories of the human cop he was, that way it can approximate being human and making everyone think he is a cyborg when he is suppose to be a robot. the scene in the trailer where the wife is telling him to stop ignoring his son (or something along those lines I dont remember the exact words) could support that. And maybe the computer program becomes AI and with the memories of the human parts effectivley becomes Murphy again. So the question would be is a computer with the memories and body of Murphy really Murphy? I know those ideas have been in other movies, but they could be explored again with a Robocop flair. Hopefully they will do it well.
while i agree with your summation of the original i think its a bit premature to judge based off a 2 and ahalf minute trailer weather the tragedy of the characters death/injury or his disasociated memories will come into play or not. the overriding his parameters isn't new they did that in Robocop 2, To improve his PR. Where he then electrocuted himself to purge the programming. and correct me if im wrong but didn't he remember his old life in the originals as well but he chose not to interact because of his appearance and the inability of that form to be accepted by his wife and child (not directly said but eluded to) From the trailer I like the fact they mentioned that his brain still feels in control by how things are interpreted but its really something else controlling him. makes me think of crisis legion (the book) where its mentioned that the suit has a control system that eventually takes over some funtions (motor skills and subconscious) due to prolonged exposure to the suit this was titled S.E.C.O.N.D. and it eventually developed its own personality by the end of the second game though that persona was the previous person in the suit on a side note..... is that Michael Keaton?
