I had been meaning to do a rewatch of the trilogy for a while now, but I don't actually own any of the films. But as luck would have it Encore had them all at various times over the weekend. So I DVRed those suckers and watched them in order. I'm not going to bother with long drawn out reviews, just a few thoughts.
The first film is still a classic, there is not a whole lot to be said about it. It's one of those rare movies where everything comes together perfectly. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the film, I do have a quick question about something though, and hoping maybe someone can answer it for me:
Near the end of the film when Murphy heads back to OCP and is confronted by Ed-209 outside, Murphy's car appears to be rather beat to shit. This never bothered me before except this time I realized the last time we see Lewis' car it looks to be in pretty good shape. I think I read somewhere that there was an extra car chase filmed but cut, but this doesn't make too much sense as there's no bad guys left to chase Robo. Anyone have any info to shed on this?
I've been one to defend Robocop 2 around here, but I suppose watching it in such close proximity to the first film really exposes it's flaws. For starters Robocop and Lewis are barely even characters, they appear just long enough to move the story forward, and that is rather disappointing since in the first film they are such major characters. There is so much they could have explored with Murphy and how he continues to deal with being a cyborg. Except for a brief scene with his wife at the beginning, this issue is dropped completely. Clearly the result of too many chefs in the kitchen.
And yet, Robocop 2 is not a boring film. I enjoy all the scenes set at OCP. Watching as they manipulate everyone and everything in an attempt to get their Robocop 2 program online. It's definitely interesting, and I suppose is one takes the title Robocop 2 literally, you can make a case that the movie is about OCP and Cain and how they came together to create the new Robocop. I suppose in that regard it succeeds. But coming off of the first film it's a shame that Peter Weller and Nancy Allen have almost nothing to do.
Robocop 3 is just a weird little film, it's one that I change my mind on a lot. Like with part 2 though, I imagine watching this one so close to the first film really exposes it's flaws...and this one has them big time. In theory I have no problem with Peter Weller being replaced, but this time out Robert Burke just did not work for me. His voice isn't low enough for starters, meaning that Robocop no longer sounds intimidating, imagine the exchange at the end "How can I help you officer?" "By resisting arrest." said by Weller, and you can see why Burke doesn't work in the role. He also appears bulkier then Weller in the suit, which is weird, cause I read he's a little taller then Weller was.
This movie also threw a lot of stuff in because it probably sounded like a good idea on paper. Giving Robocop a gun arm and a jet pack just reeks of someone thinking it'd be cool and doesn't have much of a purpose in the film itself. The introduction of Robocop in this film is also pretty silly: to save Lewis he drives his car off a ramp and happens to land right next to her, where then blows holes in the roof to make an entrance...ugh. At least with the second film I was able to enjoy the story-line with OCP, here they're made out to look like a bunch of bafoons. The only interesting angle about OCP here is that they got bought out by the Japanese, but nothing interesting is ever done with that and it only feels like they did it so they could include the Japanese robots.
Robocop is awesome, I will always love it as a movie. But the sequels just come off as Robocop movies made by people who had no idea why Robocop was so successful. Prime Directives was awful, the cartoons were silly. I'm starting to agree with the people who say you should stick with the first film and ignore the rest.
The first film is still a classic, there is not a whole lot to be said about it. It's one of those rare movies where everything comes together perfectly. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about the film, I do have a quick question about something though, and hoping maybe someone can answer it for me:
Near the end of the film when Murphy heads back to OCP and is confronted by Ed-209 outside, Murphy's car appears to be rather beat to shit. This never bothered me before except this time I realized the last time we see Lewis' car it looks to be in pretty good shape. I think I read somewhere that there was an extra car chase filmed but cut, but this doesn't make too much sense as there's no bad guys left to chase Robo. Anyone have any info to shed on this?
I've been one to defend Robocop 2 around here, but I suppose watching it in such close proximity to the first film really exposes it's flaws. For starters Robocop and Lewis are barely even characters, they appear just long enough to move the story forward, and that is rather disappointing since in the first film they are such major characters. There is so much they could have explored with Murphy and how he continues to deal with being a cyborg. Except for a brief scene with his wife at the beginning, this issue is dropped completely. Clearly the result of too many chefs in the kitchen.
And yet, Robocop 2 is not a boring film. I enjoy all the scenes set at OCP. Watching as they manipulate everyone and everything in an attempt to get their Robocop 2 program online. It's definitely interesting, and I suppose is one takes the title Robocop 2 literally, you can make a case that the movie is about OCP and Cain and how they came together to create the new Robocop. I suppose in that regard it succeeds. But coming off of the first film it's a shame that Peter Weller and Nancy Allen have almost nothing to do.
Robocop 3 is just a weird little film, it's one that I change my mind on a lot. Like with part 2 though, I imagine watching this one so close to the first film really exposes it's flaws...and this one has them big time. In theory I have no problem with Peter Weller being replaced, but this time out Robert Burke just did not work for me. His voice isn't low enough for starters, meaning that Robocop no longer sounds intimidating, imagine the exchange at the end "How can I help you officer?" "By resisting arrest." said by Weller, and you can see why Burke doesn't work in the role. He also appears bulkier then Weller in the suit, which is weird, cause I read he's a little taller then Weller was.
This movie also threw a lot of stuff in because it probably sounded like a good idea on paper. Giving Robocop a gun arm and a jet pack just reeks of someone thinking it'd be cool and doesn't have much of a purpose in the film itself. The introduction of Robocop in this film is also pretty silly: to save Lewis he drives his car off a ramp and happens to land right next to her, where then blows holes in the roof to make an entrance...ugh. At least with the second film I was able to enjoy the story-line with OCP, here they're made out to look like a bunch of bafoons. The only interesting angle about OCP here is that they got bought out by the Japanese, but nothing interesting is ever done with that and it only feels like they did it so they could include the Japanese robots.
Robocop is awesome, I will always love it as a movie. But the sequels just come off as Robocop movies made by people who had no idea why Robocop was so successful. Prime Directives was awful, the cartoons were silly. I'm starting to agree with the people who say you should stick with the first film and ignore the rest.
