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Joined: 17 Nov 2001
Post Count: 6540
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 9:56 am |
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The 2014 RoboCop remake had a lot of problems but the cast and crew have been surprisingly quiet about their real opinions about the movie through the years. Until now.
In a short audio interview with "The Playlist" podcast, Joel Kinnaman speaks about some of his problems with the remake and his view on why it failed.
Joel Kinnaman : | "That was the first big movie I did. I had to quell all my instincts for everything over the course of that film. I'm like, "Why am I wearing a black suit? That doesn't make any sense at all.""
"The first interview I did for "RoboCop," and it was right after I was cast. I got the first questions for "RoboCop," and the question was, "So, is it going to be R-rated?"
And I was like, "Of course, it's going to be R-rated! Only an idiot would make "RoboCop" a PG-13 movie." Cut to the next morning, 47 missed calls I woke up to."
"What I feel like the whole movie didn't take into account is what the fans loved about [the original ["RoboCop"], and you have to pay homage to that.
And I think the producers and the filmmakers and me included didn't really understand how to do that in the right way. I think it's a really solid movie, it just didn't fit the "RoboCop" concept." |
SOURCE: The Playlist Podcast January 22, 2021
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RoboPimp PIMPY SUPREME
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Post Count: 3124
Comment: "You dead wrong if ya think that pimpin' gon' die" - Snoop Dogg, P.I.M.P. (Remix)
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2021 3:32 pm |
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It is good to finally hear someone involved in that movie admit it was a failure, but this seems to be more making excuses to justify his role than admitting anything he himself did wrong. And this is why we are going to keep getting shitty remakes as long as someone is willing to take the paycheck to do it. From what he said here, it seems Kinnaman could tell from the start that something was wrong about this movie. But he stuck with it for the sake of his career... and how did that work out, byt the way? The only big name movie I can remember him being in since then was Suicide Squad, which was also a mess that left fans disappointed. And he did not bring much to either role. He had like 10x as much screentime as Alex Murphy as Peter Weller, and yet Weller was able to bring 10x more personality to the character in the scant few minutes he had to work with. Kinnaman does say "and me included didn't know how to do it the right way" so at least he can admit to that much, but then he goes on to say it is a 'solid film' which it really is not. If it was a solid film then it would have been well regarded by the general public, even if we superfans hated the changes. But nobody cared for the movie and it was quickly forgotten. Everything Kinnaman said was true but I also think he failed to see the bigger problems of the movie.
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Sean_001 Vault Dweller
Joined: 20 Mar 2003
Post Count: 2192
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 1:00 pm |
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RoboPimp : | It is good to finally hear someone involved in that movie admit it was a failure, but this seems to be more making excuses to justify his role than admitting anything he himself did wrong. |
Kind of have to wonder what you meant there. I don't really see the failure of the Remake as anything Kinneman did in the film, and more the direction he received from the Director.
I tend to think the failure of this remake was all the fault of the Director and the Studio Execs and Editors, and less about the actors in it. I may not have liked to movie, but Kinnamen did what he could with what he had to work with. Honestly, I've seen him in a few things, and he's not bad, but his acting range is still pretty shallow. There's room for improvement, to be sure.
RoboPimp : | And this is why we are going to keep getting shitty remakes as long as someone is willing to take the paycheck to do it. From what he said here, it seems Kinnaman could tell from the start that something was wrong about this movie. But he stuck with it for the sake of his career... and how did that work out, byt the way? The only big name movie I can remember him being in since then was Suicide Squad, which was also a mess that left fans disappointed. And he did not bring much to either role. He had like 10x as much screentime as Alex Murphy as Peter Weller, and yet Weller was able to bring 10x more personality to the character in the scant few minutes he had to work with. Kinnaman does say "and me included didn't know how to do it the right way" so at least he can admit to that much, but then he goes on to say it is a 'solid film' which it really is not. If it was a solid film then it would have been well regarded by the general public, even if we superfans hated the changes. But nobody cared for the movie and it was quickly forgotten. Everything Kinnaman said was true but I also think he failed to see the bigger problems of the movie. |
Again, I feel whether he could see the problems or not, Kinnaman didn't have the benefits that Weller had; less studio interference and more than a little pull when it came to how he portrayed the character. I agree that Weller acted circles around Kinnamen, but we are talking about two different types of actors and movie studios. Dare I say that ORION actually took a chance on original projects, and MGM/Sony had only the bottom line in mind. Far less concerned with telling an original story, and more concerned with how many tickets they can sell.
Hopefully, the remake will stay dead in the eyes of people who saw it, and forgotten by those who never did.
All that said, I'm happy that someone cared enough to apologize for this steaming pile.
And, Joel Kinnaman, if you're a member here, I got a +PT for you!
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ChAnOoD DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2774
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2021 6:29 pm |
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I really dig when he asked the podcast guy if he was one of these who hated it
I find it interesting he´s aware of the reaction from the film. Maybe he does because he was the main character on it, but I remember when people like Oldman or Keaton said that this one was the good one instead of the original
It´d be great to know more about his opinions of the Verhoeven one, since he claimed he was a Robo-Nerd himself (like Cornish also claimed). If he really was/is, I wonder how it´d feel having the chance to play Robo when you know it won´t be anything closer to the original character.
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Mindchamber DC-L4
Joined: 22 Mar 2003
Post Count: 2746
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2021 10:51 pm |
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that was a pretty safe answer,
the movie tried to be a bit more cerebral than the original since it didn't have any bite, but it was too shallow to pull that off as well.
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JohnBoyAdvance Sgt-L1
Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Post Count: 188
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:38 pm |
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Quote: | “The first interview I did for ‘RoboCop,’ and it was right after I was cast…I got the first questions for ‘RoboCop,’ and the question was, ‘So, is it going to be R-rated?’
And I was like, ‘Of course, it’s going to be R-rated! Only an idiot would make “RoboCop” a PG-13 movie.’ Cut to the next morning—47 missed calls I woke up to.” |
Legend.
But yeah Reboot was lacking in story vs world building.
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artuditu mio Cid
Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Post Count: 1446
Comment: Stay out of trouble!
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 11:41 am |
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I give them credit for trying to do something different, it was not a lame remake like Total Recall or an unapologetic cash grab like Die Hard 5, they really thought there was a story to tell about the future of AI, robotics, and law enforcement.
Their main flaw was to go for a serious tone, take it at face value style, ignoring the fun satire and over-the-top action and violence of the original.
Eventually, they did not know which type of movie they wanted it to be, a cerebral essay on the advent of law enforcement A.I. robotics (serious tone) or a superheroesque movie that could sell toys for kids and teenagers (light tone), these 2 movies clashing against each resulted in a very weak ending and resolution.
As a nitpicky fan, I don't dislike that much the black suit as I did when the first pictures leaked, in fact, I actually prefer it over their metallic suit version, although the hand always bothered me, it was distracting and did not make sense, and the screenplay did not even address it or made anything with it (you would expect others commenting on it or a scene where Murphy looks at his hand and that brings him back some kind of reckoning).
However, the biggest change I felt came from not killing Murphy. And it makes sense from a more realistic take that they departed from the "resurrecting a brain" idea, however they just did not know what to do with the robodad story, which is further more depressing than the original death and lost family theme.
Anyway, back to topic, Joel talking trash of a failed movie of his is not that uncommon, Tarantino has trashed Death Proof and Scorsesse has trashed New York New York, Kyle MacLachlan has talked harshly of Showgirls and blame it for killing his career; all these movies I think deserve more credit than they get and yet their creators and actors are happy to bury them now. It's easy, human and even liberating for an artist to look back at something that was a failure and take part of the public bonfire.
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RoboPimp PIMPY SUPREME
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Post Count: 3124
Comment: "You dead wrong if ya think that pimpin' gon' die" - Snoop Dogg, P.I.M.P. (Remix)
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2021 10:23 pm |
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artuditu : | Their main flaw was to go for a serious tone, take it at face value style, ignoring the fun satire and over-the-top action and violence of the original.
Eventually, they did not know which type of movie they wanted it to be, a cerebral essay on the advent of law enforcement A.I. robotics (serious tone) or a superheroesque movie that could sell toys for kids and teenagers (light tone), these 2 movies clashing against each resulted in a very weak ending and resolution. |
I totally agree that the tonal clash was at the heart of this movie's problems. It's easy to point to the rating or the suit and say "that's where it went wrong" but the problem's are much deeper. If the movie was well written and directed and had tonal consistency, then it would be remember as a great movie, even if us superfans hated the changes. But nobody thinks it is a great movie because it is not, it's mediocre at best. And I blame Padhila the most for going for the serious tone. After RoboCop 3 there is no going back. Sure, you can still do something dark and cerebral with RoboCop, but he is also a toy selling superhero, at least to the people who are funding the movie, so maybe listen to the people with the money, that's my take. I think it would have been better to accept the character for what it is from the start and try to weave your own vision into that framework than the other way around. The ending was rushed because he was so focused on the narrative being told in the beginning, and the two ends didn't connect to each other. But this is a RoboCop film, you should be expecting it to end with a huge over the top action scene, that's what RoboCop is all about. So if they had build the beginning to fit a masterfully crafted ending instead of doing it the other way around they would have had a better film. If they hadn't snubbed their nose at the idea that the movie was going to be a glorified toy ad then they could have made a great film. That's my take at least.
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ChAnOoD DC-L4
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Post Count: 2774
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Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:00 pm |
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RoboPimp : | But this is a RoboCop film, you should be expecting it to end with a huge over the top action scene, that's what RoboCop is all about. |
Not sure about that. And the over-the-top action we love isn´t usually the modern, current over-the-top action from blockbusters. I meant, I enjoy RoboCop busting a coke factory; I don´t like RoboCop jumping like Mario Bros over two (smart, perfect, 100% efficient) Ed-209.
Anyway, I think RebootCop works as a mirror of the original: people usually says RoboCop (the 1987 one) is a smart film playing dumb, and the reboot is the exact opposite. I remember Padilha´s interviews prior to the premiere, talking about AI, philosophy, art in general. Keaton and Oldman mocking the original, saying this one is the smart one. The final film isn´t coherent and it almost feels embarrased to be linked to the character, which is the stupidest way to film a new entry of a franchise. They borrowed way too much from Nolan´s Batman films, from the music to the cast. They tried to be smart, but RebootCop is plain stupid.
That said, I take a look to some scenes from time to time, and I think there are ideas that could work. But the overall movie feels like a lifeless story no one really cared about.
artuditu : | Anyway, back to topic, Joel talking trash of a failed movie of his is not that uncommon, |
In the case of RebootCop, yes it is. This is the first time we heard something critical about the movie from the people who worked on it. Not rumors (like Padilha shitting on the studio while taking him all his ideas), but a direct quote from the source. I don´t remember anyone from the film saying anything bad or admitting the failure of the reboot.
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RoboJOF Sgt-L4
Joined: 17 May 2015
Post Count: 306
Comment: Bitches, leave!
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 11:15 pm |
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I liked Joel and his contribution to the RoboCop story. The movie itself has some issues, but Joel's acting is not something that I see as part of the problem. The movie had a lot of the RoboCop story hallmarks, but I think that it gets lost in some of the details. Some of the choices made by the director/writers annoy us because they were either too similar or too different than the original that we love. It can be so distracting that we end up missing the things that the movie got right AND the things that are thought provoking (the use of technology to sedate the human part of RoboCop as a way to make him less human is a completely novel interpretation of a cyborg's nature. In the RoboCop films and many others, the humanity was always the elusive and unknown factor. In this movie, Murphy is still Murphy, but OCP is making him a robot with their technology). There are also a number of evils in this movie, gangsters, crooked cops, military jerks, corporate criminals, etc. But the one evil that is really downplayed is Murphy's loss of humanity, which he suffers with in the original. I think that it ends up losing some of the heart of the original film.
Joel did a great job in the role of Murphy (especially in the scenes before his death with Lewis) and as RoboCop, but there is so much action injected into the movie (and other characters and their activity, dialogue, etc.), you don't get many chances to see him "in character."
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RoboFan R-L2
Joined: 05 Oct 2019
Post Count: 17
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 5:57 pm |
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I have never watched RoboCop 2014 all the way through.
I found it to be a really bland movie that cut it's own balls off not being an 18 rated picture.
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RoboLewis O-L2
Joined: 26 Jun 2020
Post Count: 73
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 11:18 pm |
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And isn’t Joel Kinnaman in the Suicide Squad? And it’s funny to see Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson together again in The Protégé.
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RoboPimp PIMPY SUPREME
Joined: 10 Mar 2007
Post Count: 3124
Comment: "You dead wrong if ya think that pimpin' gon' die" - Snoop Dogg, P.I.M.P. (Remix)
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:19 pm |
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RoboLewis : | And isn’t Joel Kinnaman in the Suicide Squad? And it’s funny to see Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson together again in The Protégé. |
Yes, Joel Kinnaman was in both Suicide Squad movies, and the new one really surprised me... the dude can act! I had only seen him in the first SS and RoboCop reboot before this one so I had a very negative opinion of him as an actor. He seemed stiff an incapable of expressing emotion or depth. TSS isn't exactly Citizen Kane, but Kinnaman's performance in TSS was night and day compared to the first SS. I guess the director really makes all the difference.
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Fummelcop Sgt-L3
Joined: 18 Mar 2011
Post Count: 284
Comment: There will be trouble!
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2021 9:11 pm |
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I liked that movie a lot more than Robocop 3.
It's just that it could have been so much more.
What I really hated was his unmasked look. Especially compared to the original unmasked Robo head.
That looked absolutely badass while in the new movie he looked like some Doofus in a scuba suit. Eyebrows and everything.
That was just weak.
If you look at all the cool cyborg designs they had in Alita Battle Angel, it makes me sad how half assed this one was.
It did have some cool fight scenes but even those were pretty bland compared to the original.
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