As today is Independence Day in the United States, it seems only fitting that the quotation title of this entry is a quotation from the 1996 film named after this peculiar occasion. It also seems only fitting to choose today to talk about said film, but more importantly...the dubious nature of this rather awesome film getting a FRAKKING SEQUEL twenty years later.
Now for the traditional context portion.
Independence Day is one of my favourite films ever. It's kind of a classic from my teenage years and a film I shared in common with one of my best friends from school. In fact, it was part of our bonding process, along with our shared fascination with UFOs and aliens. In fact, this lady is the reason I received the nickname "Alien Dave". So yeah, Independence Day is an absolute classic for me and my friend. We would quote it and a couple of other choice films that we shared a love for. I even got her hooked on Firefly and Serenity. But I digress, so back on track.
Roland Emmerich...once I thought he was brilliant. He gave us Stargate, he made Independence Day. But in more recent years, his credentials have become ever more dubious. Now, he's making a sequel to Independence Day (without Will Smith but still keeping Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman) and talking about going back to Stargate (which he originally conceived as a trilogy of films). I want to frakkin' scream.
A while back I talked about my scepticism of remakes. I was proven wrong with Total Recall and I still want to scream at them for what they're going to do to RoboCop. And now Hollywood are making angry about sequels. They're not bad as a general concept. Some movies are fantastic as trilogies, some would have been better if you'd left things well enough alone. Perhaps a top ten list with some pretty pictures will illustrate my feelings on this one day, but not now. No, for now I want to make this point. All these sequels that work well as trilogies and the ones that don't...they were made within a couple of years of each other. Admittedly, we've been waiting some six years for the final part of Edgar Wright's Blood and Ice Cream trilogy, but it hasn't taken them twenty years.
If it takes you twenty years...I think there's a subtle message in there.
Don't frakkin' do it.
Now I could be entirely wrong. Come 2015, I could be back on this blog admitting to everyone that I was wrong to nay-say and that Independence Day 2 is amazing or at very least a passably enjoyable movie. And perhaps, somewhere, there's historical precedent for a sequel being made twenty odd years after the original being absolutely fantastic. But I can't help but think of the Die Hard movies and George Lucas' reprehensible treatment of Star Wars and seriously contemplate weeping. The historical precedent does not look good, Roland Emmerich. Oh no.
I'm now going to digress entirely into a new topic, since I don't think there's much more I can say about my hesitance regarding the Independence Day sequel. Intriguingly enough, I've just realised it could be construed as somewhat tying in to the subject. Although I'm not going to chat about sequels, I'm going to be talking about a particular reboot. A reboot known...as Man of Steel.
For all my geekdom, I'm not actually a big reader of comic books. In fact, I don't really have any. I have some graphic novels, but as for comic books...no. None. Alas. So when it comes to the Marvel and DC comic book superhero movies, I have to ask my friends about the source material for more information. Or look it up online. So many glorious hours of procrastination...
So, Man of Steel. Bottom line, I enjoyed it. But it seems to me that it's an incredibly divisive film. Once upon a many Moon ago, I talked about the Marmite Principle. I think it applies here. You either love Man of Steel or hate it. Or you can go completely middle of the road. But still. I've spoken to people who love it, people who hate it. And one of the most interesting things I've come to learn about this movie and what divides people, is the nature of the source material. Superman is the perfect superhero. He's invincible, he has pretty much every superpower crammed into one human being. Oh wait, sorry, crammed into Kryptonian being. Ahem. Anyway, as I've been told, in the comics he's the square-jawed perfect hero. He always saves the day and he's always a jovial, lovely chap.
So for this reboot, they make him all dark and brooding.
Now I didn't necessarily have a problem with this, given that I don't have an attachment to the source material and know very little about it. But apparently, this is not a good thing. Superman is not dark, he does not brood or seethe with repressed issues. He glides through existence with an almost child-like fascination at the actions of humanity and continues to save them all the while. And this leads me to an interesting point that one of my colleagues made...
...if you do not want spoilers, do not read on.
In the finale of the movie, Superman and General Zod are having themselves a fine old brawl. While they are beating the ever-loving crap out of each other, they are simultaneously laying waste to Metropolis. Seriously. The amount of damage they perpetrate is quite astonishing. I didn't think too much about it at first. But then my colleague made the point that, as Superman is the perfect square-jawed superhero, he would have been trying to save everyone. Or, at the very least, the director could have allowed for a couple of brief scenes showing people escaping from the carnage and devastation that Superman and his nemesis were causing. I found this to be...well, quite a compelling point.
However...
An interest counterpoint was presented to me - while it is inevitably true that Superman caused untold carnage that is uncharacteristic for him, it could be part of the backstory for the sequel (there's that word again...) and its potential villain, the one and only Lex Luthor. The devastation wrought upon Metropolis would give Luthor an opportunity to step in, rebuild the city and use the events of Man of Steel to poison the people against Superman. As a premise, it's very intriguing and I can see it working out. So we'll just have to wait and see I guess.
On that note, I wrap up today's babbling with the final thought - Independence Day 2, I really hope you don't suck but I won't hold my breath and Man of Steel, you were a really rather enjoyable movie, even if you do have some plot falls here and there.
Showing posts with label Total Recall (2012). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Total Recall (2012). Show all posts
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Monday, 28 January 2013
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one
The quotation for today's blog entry is, surprisingly, not from a TV show or movie. No, this quotation is attributed to the one and only Albert Einstein and has some tangential bearing on the topic of this blog entry. Today is going to be a bit of a random round-up of things. Life has been doing its thing, interfering with the regular course of my blogging activities, as well as the recreational activities that lead to blogging. It has, however, occurred to me that I never fully summarised my thoughts and feelings on Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome. So we're going to start there and work our way through the other random things I have to babble about. Because yes, it's random inane babbling time.
Now then. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.
My thoughts and feelings on this may be similar to my thoughts and feelings on the first two "episodes". Short and sweet. Blood and Chrome is very enjoyable and manages to do a lot in a small time-span. Luke Pasqualino pulled out a pretty damn good performance as a young Adama, considering where I'd seen him before and how unsure I was that he was the right choice for William Adama. Ben Cotton is a brilliant supporting lead as well, providing the requisite battle-hardened, war-weariness that was needed for an officer serving in the tenth year of the Cylon War.
Now my one continuing gripe with Blood and Chrome is the over-use of CGI. Pretty much all of the sets were CGI'd in some shape or form. Given that it's only a webseries, it can be forgiven. But I just didn't like the ways they changed my beloved Galactica. But as I said in my initial thoughts and feelings, I can get over it.
That one gripe aside, Blood and Chrome is a very worthy addition to the Battlestar Galactica canon. Particularly a scene in the final episode that I won't spoil, but does contain my favourite line of the whole webseries.
Next up is another series, but this time TV - The Unusuals. It's a cop show that ran for ten episodes in 2009. Set in New York City, it follows a group of detectives in the NYPD's 2nd Precinct. A complete bunch of mismatched, secretive yet talented and brilliant investigators. The main characters are Jason Walsh, a veteran of the 2nd played by Jeremy Renner, and his new partner Casey Shraeger, a recent transfer from the Vice Squad played by Amber Tamblyn.
In my eyes, The Unusuals was cruelly cancelled. I have only seen five episodes so far and they are all brilliant. The ensemble cast - which includes Harold Perrineau of Lost and Matrix fame and Adam Goldberg of Saving Private Ryan - are an absolutely brilliant mixture. It's a gem. And while I just said "cruelly cancelled", it might just be a stroke of luck, insofar as this gem won't have had the time to lose it's shine.
Now comes the real gushing. First up, the 2012 remake of Total Recall.
Many, many blog entries ago, I confronted the subject of remakes and nominated Total Recall as the one I had most faith in. Yesterday, I finally managed to get around to watching it. And it did not disappoint.
My biggest concern was the lack of Mars. For it was the secrets of what lay under Mars's surface that were contained in Douglas Quaid's (played then by Arnold Schwarzeneggar) mind. Well, they manage to tweak it and fit their own storyline, but still keep the flavour of the original 1990 Paul Verhoeven movie.
So, a brief note on plot - the time is never specified, but it's likely to be the 22nd Century. Earth has been ravaged by chemical warfare and only two habitable regions remain - the United Federation of Britain, which comprises most of Europe, and the Colony, which constitutes lonely Australia. The remnants of humanity are crammed into these areas, which living space becoming an incredibly precious resource. The Federation and the Colony are connected by the Fall, a massive (essentially elevator) shaft that goes directly through the Earth, passing right next to the core. The Federation is rich and the Colony is poor. Resistance fighters fight under the slogan "The Fall Enslaves Us All", trying to end the Federation's dominance. And about to be caught in the middle of it all - Douglas Quaid, a Colony-born and dwelling factory worker, who lives in blissful ignorance with his paramedic wife, Lori.
Fans of the original 1990 will know exactly where this is going and I don't want to risk spoiling anything, so I'm going to babble tangentially about the film in very general terms. It was brilliant. It contains enough small references to the original to cause the odd giggle or two, as well as many, many parallel scenes/scenarios which I found somewhat comforting but also dealt with in the context of the film itself, not just trying to emulate its predecessor. Colin Farrell was on absolutely top form as Douglas Quaid, with Kate Beckinsale brilliantly portraying his wife and Jessica Biel slipping in quite nicely as Melina. John Cho also makes a neat little appearance as the man at Rekall, the false-memory company. Finally, there's much kudos for Bryan Cranston as Vilos Cohaagen. Stepping into Ronny Cox's exceptionally brilliant villainous shoes was never going to be easy, but by gods the man does it well.
Kudos must also go to the production design team (and by extension the Special Effects team as well) for the beautiful set pieces and urban landscapes developed for the movie. All in all, Total Recall (2012) is a damn fine movie. Good job, ladies and menfolk.
Last and in absolutely no ways least, is Dredd.
Karl Urban deserves a whole frak ton of kudos here. The last time the character of Judge Dredd had been adapted for the big screen...well, let's put it this way - I watched it in my teens and enjoyed it. When it was on TV around the time the new Dredd was released, I couldn't do it. I'd been spoiled by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Too many good comic book movies highlighted that it...was bad. Beyond redemption. Luckily for Karl Urban and team behind Dredd, I don't feel they were seeking redemption. They were happy to forget their predecessor and do their own thing.
I must say, I'm not at all fussed about 3D. I think it's a bit of a fad and honestly, I'm hoping it'll pass pretty soon. But by gods I wish I'd seen Dredd in 3D. Now I watched Dredd after watching the aforementioned Total Recall and I'll be honest, it doesn't have the same depth of storyline. But it doesn't need it. Dredd is a straight-up, honest and solid action movie. Karl Urban...he is the frakking man. He is absolutely fantastic as Judge Dredd, solidifying my respect for him as an actor. Not that it needed much help, but still. And also, Olivia Thirlby. The only other film I've seen her in is Juno. And I honestly didn't hugely enjoy her character, though she didn't make me hate her either. But as psychic rookie Cassandra Anderson...she is amazing. Her journey through the movie and her interactions with Dredd are just...brilliant. My gods, I can't even gush eloquently anymore.
It appears, all there is to say, is that Dredd is a damn, damn good and enjoyable movie. Oh, but one last thing...
Lena Headey is frakking badass as the main villain. Not that anyone familiar with her performances as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones would have any cause at all to worry.
So there we have it. Much rambling and gushing. Maybe next time I'll be less excitable and a little more coherent...
Now then. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.
My thoughts and feelings on this may be similar to my thoughts and feelings on the first two "episodes". Short and sweet. Blood and Chrome is very enjoyable and manages to do a lot in a small time-span. Luke Pasqualino pulled out a pretty damn good performance as a young Adama, considering where I'd seen him before and how unsure I was that he was the right choice for William Adama. Ben Cotton is a brilliant supporting lead as well, providing the requisite battle-hardened, war-weariness that was needed for an officer serving in the tenth year of the Cylon War.
Now my one continuing gripe with Blood and Chrome is the over-use of CGI. Pretty much all of the sets were CGI'd in some shape or form. Given that it's only a webseries, it can be forgiven. But I just didn't like the ways they changed my beloved Galactica. But as I said in my initial thoughts and feelings, I can get over it.
That one gripe aside, Blood and Chrome is a very worthy addition to the Battlestar Galactica canon. Particularly a scene in the final episode that I won't spoil, but does contain my favourite line of the whole webseries.
Next up is another series, but this time TV - The Unusuals. It's a cop show that ran for ten episodes in 2009. Set in New York City, it follows a group of detectives in the NYPD's 2nd Precinct. A complete bunch of mismatched, secretive yet talented and brilliant investigators. The main characters are Jason Walsh, a veteran of the 2nd played by Jeremy Renner, and his new partner Casey Shraeger, a recent transfer from the Vice Squad played by Amber Tamblyn.
In my eyes, The Unusuals was cruelly cancelled. I have only seen five episodes so far and they are all brilliant. The ensemble cast - which includes Harold Perrineau of Lost and Matrix fame and Adam Goldberg of Saving Private Ryan - are an absolutely brilliant mixture. It's a gem. And while I just said "cruelly cancelled", it might just be a stroke of luck, insofar as this gem won't have had the time to lose it's shine.
Now comes the real gushing. First up, the 2012 remake of Total Recall.
Many, many blog entries ago, I confronted the subject of remakes and nominated Total Recall as the one I had most faith in. Yesterday, I finally managed to get around to watching it. And it did not disappoint.
My biggest concern was the lack of Mars. For it was the secrets of what lay under Mars's surface that were contained in Douglas Quaid's (played then by Arnold Schwarzeneggar) mind. Well, they manage to tweak it and fit their own storyline, but still keep the flavour of the original 1990 Paul Verhoeven movie.
So, a brief note on plot - the time is never specified, but it's likely to be the 22nd Century. Earth has been ravaged by chemical warfare and only two habitable regions remain - the United Federation of Britain, which comprises most of Europe, and the Colony, which constitutes lonely Australia. The remnants of humanity are crammed into these areas, which living space becoming an incredibly precious resource. The Federation and the Colony are connected by the Fall, a massive (essentially elevator) shaft that goes directly through the Earth, passing right next to the core. The Federation is rich and the Colony is poor. Resistance fighters fight under the slogan "The Fall Enslaves Us All", trying to end the Federation's dominance. And about to be caught in the middle of it all - Douglas Quaid, a Colony-born and dwelling factory worker, who lives in blissful ignorance with his paramedic wife, Lori.
Fans of the original 1990 will know exactly where this is going and I don't want to risk spoiling anything, so I'm going to babble tangentially about the film in very general terms. It was brilliant. It contains enough small references to the original to cause the odd giggle or two, as well as many, many parallel scenes/scenarios which I found somewhat comforting but also dealt with in the context of the film itself, not just trying to emulate its predecessor. Colin Farrell was on absolutely top form as Douglas Quaid, with Kate Beckinsale brilliantly portraying his wife and Jessica Biel slipping in quite nicely as Melina. John Cho also makes a neat little appearance as the man at Rekall, the false-memory company. Finally, there's much kudos for Bryan Cranston as Vilos Cohaagen. Stepping into Ronny Cox's exceptionally brilliant villainous shoes was never going to be easy, but by gods the man does it well.
Kudos must also go to the production design team (and by extension the Special Effects team as well) for the beautiful set pieces and urban landscapes developed for the movie. All in all, Total Recall (2012) is a damn fine movie. Good job, ladies and menfolk.
Last and in absolutely no ways least, is Dredd.
Karl Urban deserves a whole frak ton of kudos here. The last time the character of Judge Dredd had been adapted for the big screen...well, let's put it this way - I watched it in my teens and enjoyed it. When it was on TV around the time the new Dredd was released, I couldn't do it. I'd been spoiled by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Too many good comic book movies highlighted that it...was bad. Beyond redemption. Luckily for Karl Urban and team behind Dredd, I don't feel they were seeking redemption. They were happy to forget their predecessor and do their own thing.
I must say, I'm not at all fussed about 3D. I think it's a bit of a fad and honestly, I'm hoping it'll pass pretty soon. But by gods I wish I'd seen Dredd in 3D. Now I watched Dredd after watching the aforementioned Total Recall and I'll be honest, it doesn't have the same depth of storyline. But it doesn't need it. Dredd is a straight-up, honest and solid action movie. Karl Urban...he is the frakking man. He is absolutely fantastic as Judge Dredd, solidifying my respect for him as an actor. Not that it needed much help, but still. And also, Olivia Thirlby. The only other film I've seen her in is Juno. And I honestly didn't hugely enjoy her character, though she didn't make me hate her either. But as psychic rookie Cassandra Anderson...she is amazing. Her journey through the movie and her interactions with Dredd are just...brilliant. My gods, I can't even gush eloquently anymore.
It appears, all there is to say, is that Dredd is a damn, damn good and enjoyable movie. Oh, but one last thing...
Lena Headey is frakking badass as the main villain. Not that anyone familiar with her performances as Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones would have any cause at all to worry.
So there we have it. Much rambling and gushing. Maybe next time I'll be less excitable and a little more coherent...
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Say you're happy now - once more with feeling
Today's entry may turn into something of rant. For today I wish to touch upon a very delicate, oft controversial topic.
Remakes.
I bring this up because today I discovered that they (the mysterious, amalgam Hollywood "They") are remaking Starship Troopers. This is on top of Total Recall (coming out 29th August in the UK) and RoboCop (no release date as of yet as far as I know). The first thing I noticed here is the disturbing trend - these are all Paul Verhoeven films. And the first thing I want to say here - Leave Paul Verhoeven alone!
Okay, so I'll admit, I'm actually conflicted. First off, the trailers for Total Recall look pretty damn cool. I'm a little disappointed by the fact that there won't be any mention at all of Mars as there was in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger version because I'm quite fond of Mars as a planet and general sci-fi locale. But because of the lack of Mars, I'm intrigued as to what they're going to do with the film's plot. What is it that Doug Quaid has inside that head of his, eh? In the five seconds of that sentence I came up with a strange idea - are they going to go down a Prometheus-style route, have them discover (on Earth though) some kind of mysterious alien artefact that explains human existence or something like that? Or are they going to run away from that aspect of Total Recall (1990)?
From the look of the latest trailer though (kindly furnished by SFX magazine) it appears that, with the exception of Martian locales, Total Recall (2012) will be a straight up remake. Ish. Again, I'm conflicted. There are elements in the trailer that you can connect straight to the 1990 movie, but the sticking point for me is Mars. Without Mars, this should be an entirely different story. Also, they've cast Bill Nighy as Quato...or, well, the Quato-esque character as they appeared to have renamed him. Either way, Bill Nighy is in this film. I'm going to see it.
Next on the list of conflicted emotions about remakes is RoboCop. Now, the title of this blog is Sufficiently Cyberpunk. RoboCop is quite possibly one of the best existing examples of the cyberpunk genre in movies. It's a classic, a true product of the 1980s, where fear over escalations in the Cold War seemed to produce the perfect mindset for cyberpunk to arise - it was in this very decade that William Gibson wrote the iconic Sprawl Trilogy, the definitive starting point of cyberpunk, a vision of a decaying, dystopian future. A future everyone back then thought they were heading too.
Now the classic 1987 RoboCop wasn't 100% dystopia - okay, so Old Detroit, the movie's primary setting, was a crumbling, decaying cityscape that provided quite a beautifully gritty backdrop for the whole affair. No, the cyberpunk aspect that RoboCop elegantly captures is corporate greed and domination - represented perfectly by Omni Consumer Products and their Senior Vice President, Richard "Dick" Jones, wonderfully portrayed by Ronny Cox. If there was ever a definitive, vile corporate stooge villain, it's Dick Jones.
If the last two paragraphs haven't given it away yet, I love RoboCop. It's an incredible piece of cinema and like I've said, a brilliant, shining example of cyberpunk at work. Which is why I really, really want to say HELL FRAKKIN' NO to a remake. But from what I've read online about it, this isn't going to be a straight remake. It's apparently going to be set in the time between Alex Murphy being brutally murdered by Clarence Boddicker and his gang, taken to the hospital, then built into RoboCop. On some levels, this does sound intriguing - the director, José Padilha - has talked about exploring how OCP stripped Murphy of his humanity, thus turning him into RoboCop.
The other conflict - a similar one discussed about Total Recall (2012) - is casting. First off, we have Gary Oldman as an OCP scientist in charge of the project. This is good - we like Gary Oldman. Second and most conflicting is something of a casting rumour, but if it turns out to be true, I might be broken by this film.
Hugh Laurie as the villain.
Whether he plays it with his native British accent (Hollywood seems to love those British villains) or his gruff, American House accent, I will need to see this film. If the rumours are true. If Hugh Laurie is the villain...well, there's a Futurama meme going around, a picture of Fry, holding a fistful of dollars (yes, deliberate pun), with the words -"The Dark Knight Rises? Shut up and take my money". Confirmation of Hugh Laurie will result in a similar scene from me, substituting The Dark Knight Rises for, obviously, "Hugh Laurie in RoboCop".
It goes without saying that The Dark Knight Rises has already laid claim to my money.
Since I've only just discovered they're going to remake Starship Troopers, I feel no conflict. My precise feeling is "HELL FRAKKIN' NO". Starship Troopers is brilliant. As a kid, it was an exciting sci-fi action film where soldiers went around the galaxy killing massive bug-things. As an adult, it's a glorious satire of military fascism, which makes you giggle about the fact that, as a kid, you were totally rooting for a bunch of fascist, oppressive jerks.
Then some jackass went and made a second film. It was awful. All the satire was dropped. I haven't seen the third film. Not sure I want to. So this is the challenge to the poor unfortunate soul who has dared to even consider remaking Starship Troopers. If you leave out the satire, I don't care if you've faithfully decided to stick to the armoured exoskeletons used in Robert A. Heinlein's original novel. No satire, no monies for you. You got that? Good.
So, to sum up: Total Recall, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and watch you. RoboCop, cast Hugh Laurie and my money is yours. Starship Troopers...in the words of the Alan Rickman cut-away gag in Family Guy - "Do not disappoint me".
Remakes.
I bring this up because today I discovered that they (the mysterious, amalgam Hollywood "They") are remaking Starship Troopers. This is on top of Total Recall (coming out 29th August in the UK) and RoboCop (no release date as of yet as far as I know). The first thing I noticed here is the disturbing trend - these are all Paul Verhoeven films. And the first thing I want to say here - Leave Paul Verhoeven alone!
Okay, so I'll admit, I'm actually conflicted. First off, the trailers for Total Recall look pretty damn cool. I'm a little disappointed by the fact that there won't be any mention at all of Mars as there was in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger version because I'm quite fond of Mars as a planet and general sci-fi locale. But because of the lack of Mars, I'm intrigued as to what they're going to do with the film's plot. What is it that Doug Quaid has inside that head of his, eh? In the five seconds of that sentence I came up with a strange idea - are they going to go down a Prometheus-style route, have them discover (on Earth though) some kind of mysterious alien artefact that explains human existence or something like that? Or are they going to run away from that aspect of Total Recall (1990)?
From the look of the latest trailer though (kindly furnished by SFX magazine) it appears that, with the exception of Martian locales, Total Recall (2012) will be a straight up remake. Ish. Again, I'm conflicted. There are elements in the trailer that you can connect straight to the 1990 movie, but the sticking point for me is Mars. Without Mars, this should be an entirely different story. Also, they've cast Bill Nighy as Quato...or, well, the Quato-esque character as they appeared to have renamed him. Either way, Bill Nighy is in this film. I'm going to see it.
Next on the list of conflicted emotions about remakes is RoboCop. Now, the title of this blog is Sufficiently Cyberpunk. RoboCop is quite possibly one of the best existing examples of the cyberpunk genre in movies. It's a classic, a true product of the 1980s, where fear over escalations in the Cold War seemed to produce the perfect mindset for cyberpunk to arise - it was in this very decade that William Gibson wrote the iconic Sprawl Trilogy, the definitive starting point of cyberpunk, a vision of a decaying, dystopian future. A future everyone back then thought they were heading too.
Now the classic 1987 RoboCop wasn't 100% dystopia - okay, so Old Detroit, the movie's primary setting, was a crumbling, decaying cityscape that provided quite a beautifully gritty backdrop for the whole affair. No, the cyberpunk aspect that RoboCop elegantly captures is corporate greed and domination - represented perfectly by Omni Consumer Products and their Senior Vice President, Richard "Dick" Jones, wonderfully portrayed by Ronny Cox. If there was ever a definitive, vile corporate stooge villain, it's Dick Jones.
If the last two paragraphs haven't given it away yet, I love RoboCop. It's an incredible piece of cinema and like I've said, a brilliant, shining example of cyberpunk at work. Which is why I really, really want to say HELL FRAKKIN' NO to a remake. But from what I've read online about it, this isn't going to be a straight remake. It's apparently going to be set in the time between Alex Murphy being brutally murdered by Clarence Boddicker and his gang, taken to the hospital, then built into RoboCop. On some levels, this does sound intriguing - the director, José Padilha - has talked about exploring how OCP stripped Murphy of his humanity, thus turning him into RoboCop.
The other conflict - a similar one discussed about Total Recall (2012) - is casting. First off, we have Gary Oldman as an OCP scientist in charge of the project. This is good - we like Gary Oldman. Second and most conflicting is something of a casting rumour, but if it turns out to be true, I might be broken by this film.
Hugh Laurie as the villain.
Whether he plays it with his native British accent (Hollywood seems to love those British villains) or his gruff, American House accent, I will need to see this film. If the rumours are true. If Hugh Laurie is the villain...well, there's a Futurama meme going around, a picture of Fry, holding a fistful of dollars (yes, deliberate pun), with the words -"The Dark Knight Rises? Shut up and take my money". Confirmation of Hugh Laurie will result in a similar scene from me, substituting The Dark Knight Rises for, obviously, "Hugh Laurie in RoboCop".
It goes without saying that The Dark Knight Rises has already laid claim to my money.
Since I've only just discovered they're going to remake Starship Troopers, I feel no conflict. My precise feeling is "HELL FRAKKIN' NO". Starship Troopers is brilliant. As a kid, it was an exciting sci-fi action film where soldiers went around the galaxy killing massive bug-things. As an adult, it's a glorious satire of military fascism, which makes you giggle about the fact that, as a kid, you were totally rooting for a bunch of fascist, oppressive jerks.
Then some jackass went and made a second film. It was awful. All the satire was dropped. I haven't seen the third film. Not sure I want to. So this is the challenge to the poor unfortunate soul who has dared to even consider remaking Starship Troopers. If you leave out the satire, I don't care if you've faithfully decided to stick to the armoured exoskeletons used in Robert A. Heinlein's original novel. No satire, no monies for you. You got that? Good.
So, to sum up: Total Recall, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and watch you. RoboCop, cast Hugh Laurie and my money is yours. Starship Troopers...in the words of the Alan Rickman cut-away gag in Family Guy - "Do not disappoint me".
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