Zen Peckinpah

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robocop/news/1680139

RoboCop is such an iconic film that I really would not want a remake of it. The first film is a masterpiece in cinematic violence, action, sci-fi, and one of the most brilliant satires ever written that doesn't get touched upon often for that aspect. RoboCop 2 isn't bad, but it's nowhere near the original and comes across extremely silly at several points, and RoboCop 3 is just...RoboCop 3. It's a synonym for bad.

If someone like a Brett Ratner got a hold of this and royally fucked it up, we'd be in bad hands, but I think the way it could work is is to do the following:

-Update the politics, have OCP somehow cause atrocities over in the Middle East with an ED-209-like fiasco or be the only savior in the oil crisis, meaning that gas is $15 per gallon.

-Keep the action in Detroit, for the love of Dan O'Herlihy's spirit. L.A. COULD work, but I don't encourage it.

-Don't make Dick Jones a Bush-like joke, keep him as vicious but also portray him as a complete embarrassment to ethical practices.

-Embellish Alex Murphy's character a bit more. The original doesn't waste much time in turning him into RoboCop, but to see some more character development would be nice.

-Keep ED-209.

-The social commentary, as I said, has to stay. I'd kill to see Robo handle a Columbine-like hostage crisis, or have the Media Breaks be even more like a Fox News-type hot box in addition to the normal news updates (again, as long as the execution is right, we can have some real Bill O'Reilly/Ann Coulter "RoboCop is the second coming" bullshit; if a Ratner asshat does it wrong this will be smearing an homage in our faces, but as long as it's right...).

-Get Danny Huston to play Clarence Boddicker, for fuck's sake.

Liver&Onions

It's already been Sweded - no remake necessary.

Zen Peckinpah

So true. That movie was brilliant for the first two acts.

Nick Martin

There was extensive talk of a remake happening a few years ago, with "The Crow" / "Dark City" / "I, Robot" director Alex Proyas at the helm. Never happened. Hopefully it never will.

Bluelitespecial

I don't even know how to respond to this. Robocop is a landmark film in cinema violence, money hungry hollywood would probably water it down. Hopefully this won't happen. Robocop is still a lot of fun to watch, and still holds up well more than 20 years later.

Shazam

Simply stupid. They could just pretend that Robocop 2 and 3 never happened and just go from there.

Giles

exactly why fix something that ain't broke. The outlandlish gore was it's charm and notoriety.

Rogue588

Don't forget they'd have to make Robocop bluetooth accessable..

Seriously, they really need to stop raping old movies and come up with some fresh ideas..

UAIOE

I already do that. I have also decided that "Robocop 3" isn't real, and was just a terrible nightmare.


Also, Robocop doesn't need a remake...ever.

islandclaws

Close the thread, this says it all. I couldn't agree more.

lopper

Every time the mention of a remake comes up, people start screaming about studios lack of fresh and original material.

However, I'm sure there are dozens if not hundreds of foreign and independent films released per year that would qualify as being "fresh". So, it's not like there's nothing else out there to watch, ya know.

Every major studio could probably focus exclusively on remakes and sequels and you'd still not be lacking in the variety of original material to enjoy.

Some people like to complain just to give them something to do, I guess.

Ronnie Dobbs

Next they'll be remaking Psycho.

fitprod

Again?

fitprod

DonnachaOne

I love the Danny Huston idea, but I can't shake how cool it'd be to see Steve Buscemi playing the lead villain (or rather, the most obvious villain). Oh, and OCP=Halliburton. Keep the Robocop helmet design too.

Zen Peckinpah

"What's a RoboCop, Walter?"

"Shut the fuck up, Clarence!"

Eric D.

Ugh.

I hope they at least keep the tone, social commentary and brutal violence from the first film instead of, "let's PG-13 this bitch up. Make the kids think it's like Iron Man 2 or something!"

DthRdrX

They should try something different instead. Maybe put Robocop in New Detroit instead of rehashing. The sad thing is the third movie could have had so much potential if it wasn't made as a last resort of a sinking studio to appeal to a wider audience.

wm lopez

I didn't realize that today's young generation hasn't seen ROBO COP.
They won't even watch a movie from 1987?!!

stingermck

Ill take a true sequel any day, over a remake.

DarkEye

I'd rather Verhoeven, Neumeier and Miner do a genuine follow up to the original rather than a PG-13 CGI heavy remake, I honestly have no idea what Hollowwood is thinking by rehashing the past, its just desperation on their part because their too chicken to bankroll anything involving new ideas, bad move boys.

Zen Peckinpah

I'm 20 (was born in '87) and I try to make a point with friends to watch the movie because it's so friggin' awesome. One friend was blown away by how genuinely good it was, and another watched it and was completely mesmerized by how the action actually had a social backbone to it.

My friends who are the same age, luckily, can tolerate this stuff. I just watched Repo Man with two 20-year-olds and a 19-year-old tonight. My friends and I idolize John Carpenter, and one of them grew up on Big Trouble in Little China...in the 90's. And I might be the only 20-year-old on Earth who confides that Warren Oates was some sort of god.

When Live Free or Die Hard came out last year, for example, I had a contemptuous reaction to the PG-13 rating, not because they were trying to get kids to see it, but because I had grown up with the first three movies and to completely bastardize something that worked perfectly before was insulting.

The difference I see with people around my age is that average young adult will see Superbad and be all "Holy shit that movie was fucking hilarious! Best movie ever!" whereas I view it with not only the notion of frequently quoting it, but also realizing its merit at WHY it's such a great comedy.

Not to sound narcissistic, but I feel like an exception to a rule of some sort. I'm the guy who remembers Johnny Depp for Fear and Loathing and Ed Wood and not the Pirates movies (which I hate), the one who doesn't have a cable box in his room, the guy that would choose Animal House over Wedding Crashers every day of the week.

DeputyDave

I can't tell what would disgust me worse. Turning Robocop "serious", forgetting it was an over the top satire or making a "Bush is bad, conservatives are evil, and Fox News is a propaganda tool" crapfest the OP and others suggest.

Regardless I hope the idea dies a quick death.

Neeb

If a Robocop film is ever made with a PG-13 rating, then the terrorists will have won.

riotinmyskull

uhm, robocop 3 was pg-13

cleaver

My pick to play Murphy