RoboCop 2 (1990) Retrospective / Review
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RoboCop 2 (1990) Retrospective / Review
Get the RoboCop 2 Collectors Edition Blu-ray here goo.gl/3V2n9V
Originally published February 2012.
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Has one of the best lines in film history.
"This may not look good for OCP Johnson... Scramble the best spin team we have!"
I have a feeling you've used this line once or twice in real life.
"also, whose idea was it to have our company logo on red-black banners, are we TRYING to look like a neo-fascist regime!?" czcams.com/video/74ErDbiG0-k/video.html
I like Robocop 2 very much. The final battle at the end was terrific and a must watch for any action fan!!
Where Tony Stark fought Jeff Bridges?
I think that final battle was epic in every sense. To be honest it was one of the best I had saw, including Terminator, Terminator 2, Aliens, Alien, Predator 1, Platoon, Die Hard 2 ...
I love the Stop Motion work in this movie
I do really really like Robocop 2, I know it's not as good as the original, but I certainly enjoyed it.
But the first time I saw it as a kid, I had nightmares for days, especially that brain removal scene, really freaked me out. Ironic really as I went on to be a post mortician for a bit so actually did it myself in real life.
blekhero 10 months and still no answer on this important topic from ***** .
Also, Larry, where is your promised review of the computer ports of Castlevania, like you did with Contra? I was really looking forward to that!
Disassembling Robocop, leaving him all chopped up on the ground with no legs and arms... that was the nightmare fuel for my childhood from Robocop 2, lol.
I was a medical student in 88 before the 1990 movie
@@CassandraCarter Same. That scene where they're taking him apart made me sick to my stomach. Also Murphys death in the original.
weller made it watchable to me. I didn't like the story much, but weller can make an average story pretty good by him playing the part perfectly. As Christopher reeve did the same for Superman 3 and saved that from being a total disappointment.
"Hob" was originally going to be a young girl. My sister read for the role and was almost cast but the shooting schedule conflicted with school so she passed on it. Kind of glad she did 😅
hillary clinton
Interesting 🧐
I loved working on RoboCop 2 it was a great film with a lot of new techniques used in the process and the people were just great to be around. I had a great oppritunity to work behind the scenes and also go to be an extra as well-(Police Officer).
@@FrancisSyCoCo ???
@@blackwolf_armory7990 is robocop 2 really that bad? i remember it vividly, obviously robocop 1 is far superior, but im trying to process everything now,, and i remember hating the kid actor lolz..
@@FrancisSyCoCo I personally loved working on it, so my view and perception is a bit different from yalls and I thought it was a great movie as a sequel. Yes there were some corny moments but that happens in movies. Yes the 1st was the best as it set the standard for that type of film and two followed it, but 3 crashed and 🔥 hard. The short lived TV series did as well cuz they tried to do their own thing. The remake within itself was pretty awesome, but not better then the original.
I watch robo 2 more. It's just a great comic book action movie
What was your job title on the film? Very rare for a crew member to comment on these reviews so I'm very curious
I'd much rather have a mean spirited violent Robocop movie rather than a light hearted PG-13 one
Me too. Murphy is not a superhero. Basically, Robo 2 is to RoboCop what Batman Returns is to Batman 89 just like Robo 3 is to RoboCop what Batman Forever is to Batman 89
i like this movie mostly because of robo-cain, incredible stop-motion and menacing design
Amazing work on kain
Agreed. Great final act as well.
I feel that Robocop 2 is similar to Predator 2, in the sense that they're both violent, cartoony and, while not better than their respective first films, a lot of fun. They also furthered their lore and are way better than some people remember them to be.
P.S. Frank Miller should have been given free reign over the script and RoboCop would have survived the holocaust known as Robocop 3.
beatlecost I had never considered this angle, despite both being childhood favorites. Good call.
With Predator, it is almost a toss up between the first two, IMO. 2 has shitty pacing, but the expansion of the "lore" was awesome.
I agree pretty strongly
I never bought into predator 2 being an inferior film, it was never about arnie. Go watch commando for that
Was Predator 2 cartoony? It could have existed in the same universe as Robocop 1
Kenneth Wilkinson
Good idea. Commando is awesome!
Robocop 2 it´s a classic for me. I loved it since a kid.
Criminally underrated film. This and "The Thing" are tied for my favorite film's of all time.
I love the thing, however, the plot and pacing of this movie pale in comparison to the original. Still a fun movie though.
Every time I see the deleted shower scene in Robocop 2 I can't help but feel what an incredible scene of emotional depth was taken away. Deep down all human beings have some form of physical desire. In the case of Murphy he knows he can no longer obtain any form of physical satisfaction. This is not a scene of a man/machine perving on a naked woman. It's a scene of loss that should have stayed in the finished film.
I just saw that scene for the first time and I see what you're getting at, though I really think that scene was meant to be spliced with a flashback of Murphy remembering his wife in the shower as it seems the perfect setup for it.
Matthew Hudson how when the clothes cop is looking at him looking at the naked female cop? It was totally suppose to make you feel sympathy but I guess some just saw it as perverted.
Hb 2N - I'm not sure that I'm understanding you correctly. There is a scene in Robocop 2 where Robo is having a flashback to a scene with Murphy and his wife where she enters their home shower. czcams.com/video/SuGEIsSjnBM/video.html It was this scene in the movie that I believe the deleted scene was meant to be connected to. I could be wrong though.
Also, that scene would have contrasted heavily with the scene of Robocain killing Angie: While Cain reaction to the realization he is no longer a flesh and blood human being who can engage in the pleasures of the sex makes him kill Angie in a fit of rage, Robocop simply accepts his condition and moves on.
I agree with you, but the first thing that I thought of was "PervoCop".
I love Robocop 1 and really enjoyed Robocop 2.
you got good taste.
Me too.
Get the RoboCop 2 Collectors Edition Blu-ray here goo.gl/3V2n9V
Originally published in Feb of 2012. Was actually my most popular review at the time but was blocked by MGM because they wanted their crappy remake to make the top list of search results on CZcams. A similar stunt SEGA pulled recently with its Shinning Force series. So pathetic.
Lame of them to do that to you Ollie. There abunch of tools.
Sadly that's Hollywood. They want to just re-write history. They should just stick to doing that in their films.
Haha! That goes to show that it is CZcamsrs like *you* that really own this fucking platform. What's more, you did it organically - with honest-to-god hard work, whereas *they* have to spend millions to fight for our eyeballs.
What I never got about this film was, why the kid gangster? Did like the final battle, though.
Loy Turns
_What I never got about this film was, why the kid gangster?_
What more immediate way to create a sense of unease for the audience, and convey how fucked up the society is in the film's setting.
Robocop 2 was a great movie that made me feel emotions as a 10 year old watching it. It's an exploitation film now looking back. Still well done.
It was crap.
Thomas Ferrugia it certainly was. Robocop was an absolute classic with brilliant cast and characters. Robocop 2 shit on all of that!!
The View Hore "Very cool, very cool" ! 😋
I cared a lot about how the scientists could mess with Robocop like he's their little plaything; love Robocop ;p
An interesting thing about the deleted scene in Robocop 2 (the scene where Robocop watches a woman take a shower) is that it used a tune from the Robocop 1 soundtrack.
I laughed at the Roger Ebert comments. Evidently he lived in Chicago and yet was completely oblivious of the violence involving kids on the South Side.
That kid was the future of today's"Call of Duty kids"!
@@RustyX2010: 🙁or high school shooters.
The idea that kids want to see a movie--especially a movie with robots and gunfights--only if it has other kids in it makes no sense. Not to mention the notion that Hob, though a really interesting character, is somehow "relatable" is hilarious. As a complaint it's pretty contrived.
I find the people who take offense to violence perpetrated by minors in films are identitarians who labour under the delusion that:
1. There are no kids like this in real life.
&
2. Movies influence kids to do bad things.
@Rico Williams that's true, as much as I will defend my watching of Terminator and Robocop at a young age myself.....I admit that media can sometimes be inappropiate for children at certain ages
Let's be real. Cain is criminally underrated as a scary villain. Holy crap the scene in the warehouse scared me.
That scene gave me the best nightmare ever, years later after viewing. I was right there trying to escape. OMG what a thrill ride was.
@@carlosmunoz632 Hahaa 😆 "Its a relief to hear the chaingun and screaming further in background giving me time to figure my ass out of here. Oh shit! There's the lights!!!"
This was filmed in Houston. i remember being downtown and hearing the explosion during the fight at the end they filmed it in an unoccupied convention center at the time. Williams tower (then Transco tower) was the building they fought in with the enterior being that of the George R. Brown convention center. one shot of the police station shows Chase Tower and im pretty sure where it was shot is where Minute Maid park (baseball field) is
Another commenter from Houston said he remembers seeing a couple of the OCP cop cars with bullet holes in the dumpster.
RoboCop2 wasn't a bad movie but it needed a major touch-up...I still enjoy it in the series since its the last of the original cast & some scenes were really enjoyable. & that mayor of Detroit was so funny!
Some may be unaware of this, Hob was played Gabriel Damon, the original voice of Littlefoot from the Don Bluth film "The Land Before Time".
Robocop 2 was a definitive film when I was young, I first watched it when I was about 9yo. I had a friend who would stay with his father two doors down every second weekend, in a cynical attempt to be the "favourite parent" he set absolutely no boundaries and let us do and watch what we wanted, even renting R rated films for us...
Robocop 2 stood out as being a film I thought about a lot and I think it shaped my sense of morality and right and wrong very much, I empathised with the kid, I didn't want to be him...
I had never even heard until recently this movie wasn't received that well. I felt like they took it in a great direction, and I loved it.
This movie was filmed in my hometown of Houston the summer I moved back from having lived in NYC for five years. I made friends quickly and we would pile into the back of one of the older kid’s cars to try to hopefully get a glimpse of them filming RoboCop at the newly completed George R Brown Convention Center. Peter Weller and the props department guys were super cool and they would occasionally let us see a glimpse of something cool. I’m sure they weren’t supposed to do that but you could tell they did it on purpose just to make our day. Across town, where they were filming “Powder” things were quite different.
Roger Ebert came off like a total Nancy in this review. I knew he wouldn’t like it, they never like good movies, but he didn’t need to pretend to be so offended on behalf of other people. You wouldn’t know it to watch his review, however, this was a full decade before the earliest days of the professionally offended movement that dominates our current culture.
No one will ever be able to convince me that “empathy” to this grand a scale is wholly genuine. At least some portion of it is the offended deriving a sick sort of pleasure by acting so offended. It’s fake and it pisses me right off.
Holy sh*t I didn't know that was Frank. He looks so young.
Nowadays he looks older then Stan Lee :P
I always loved the mayor he was really funny
this is bullshit
"That thing is a killah!" XD
Fuck yoU!
You old senile basterd! 😂
@@NavySharkz its a killah and i saw it
@@j3_g4m35 That dude was hilarious!!
This is a RoboCop film, not RegularCop. I think it could have afforded to have been even MORE mean spirited. There has to be a valid reason why a bulletproof cybernetic law enforcement cyborg is patrolling the means streets of Detroit. RC:2 is a worthy sequel. Too many Kids in it though, couldn't stand the Baseball rogues in that robbery, but Gabriel Damon was amazing! And definitely added some much needed creepiness to the proceedings, on top of Tom Noonan's frightening tour de force. Brilliant addition! 💖
I think anyone saying the movie fails for being "mean spirited" kinda misses the point of Robocop movies to exist at all
Except the first movie had a good balance of being mean spirited but in a fun campy way. The gore would be so outlandish it was almost funny. But the gore and violence here were harsh but not in an over-the-top way and were really dialed down.
Also, 9:09 is a good explanation of your argument.
Intresting. Mike from Redlettermedia said Robocop 2 is almost as good as the first one and i kinda agree. I tought the movie was hilarious.
It's unfrotunate that just as stop motion or go motion was almost perfected, it got wiped out completely by CGI. I think that old technology could still have a really advantageous place in cinema today, but sadly, I doubt there are many masters in that field still active in the industry today. If I saw stop motion animation in a film today, I'd flip out just at the nostalgic coolness factor of it.
There's something very visceral about stop motion that's missing from CGI
Because it is actually in frame. If it were still being used today I think it would beat CGI in some respects. Particularly in horror where it's just not as scary if you dont feel like it's really there in the scene. I wonder what a mixture of stop motion and CGI would look like? And I agree with Harper about the creepiness of it. Look no further than the original King Kong for that.
Yeah, especially in horror stop motion just gives it that extra creepiness with the jerky movement and it being done in-camera.
What's funny about that, is the fact, that CGI was not perfect in Jurassic park, they still had to rely on past technique! And stopmotion was one of those! But they applied a Stop-motion model for the T-rex in order to perfect its movements! Look up behind the scenes, you'll find this to be true.
This always felt like a bunch of TV episodes edited together to make a movie run time. It's so disjointed with plots it gives a few minutes each to develop with the main Nuke storyline running through in the background like you would get in a season of a TV series. The Robocop stalking his wife would be one episode, having 100s of directives added another, police strike yet another etc.
Fuck that. This film was good. So much fun. Not as good as the first one but very fun and action packed. Can't say the same for the third one though.
I don't think it was bad, I enjoy the movie but I think it would have worked better as a series so they could develop all the plot threads they add then dismiss so quickly. I wasn't necessarily saying it should be a TV show as a criticism.
isn't the moon wonderful tonight?
XD
It's daytime!!
It's the thought that counts
One rolling Stone is better than two on the roof... 🤷
Bad language makes for bad feelings.
I love RoboCaine. The character scared me. I covered my eyes when it was on screen. Very scary
REMEMBER KIDS BAD LANGUAGE MAKES BAD FEELINGS
And now a word on nutrition
I really like this movie. A worthy sequel to Robocop 1.
Kickass really is the spiritual successor to robocop
9:51 “It really disturbed me to see this.” Great! That was the point!
I was born during a time where I've seen the sequels before the original and Robocop 2 was one of those films. When I was a kid I loved Robocop 2 because I liked the whole good robot vs. Evil robot aspect. But when my mom rented the first Robocop for me, it scared the hell out of me because of the man who drove into the toxic waste lol. Ahhh memories lol.
The first two are unforgettable classics to me and that large robot in the second always had me tense up with fear when i was a kid.
I have great child hood memories of this film. Action classic in my eyes
Another great review as usual. But I honestly have to disagree on RoboCop 2 being disappointing. I love the first RoboCop. But I also really love RoboCop 2. I was never disappointed by the film. And I still think it is an incredibly underrated sequel that does not deserve nearly as much of the hate that it still gets to this day.
I never understood the "It's too violent" criticism. No offense. The first film was one of the most violent movies of the entire decade. Some of the violence in the first film was just as crass and brutal as it was here if not even more so. And I like the use of the kid Hob saying and doing things kids normally don't do. It really slammed the point home that this future is ugly and a really nasty one to boot. And in a lot of ways the script is actively satirizing PC culture and sensibilities and is honestly a lot more clever than it is given credit for. The snide humor is there, the action is top notch and really fun to watch, the direction is superb, Weller knocks his performance out of the park yet again, the rest of the cast is solid(Especially Tom Noonan), and the visual effects are still impressive to this day.
It also does maintain the human side of Murphy in my opinion as well. It just is a little more subtle this time around. I think the deleted scenes would have really helped flesh this out some more. But it is still there. And especially in the very powerful moving scene where Murphy has to tell his wife that her husband is dead. I mean the film even ends with this quote. "We're only human." It's definitely an aspect of the story.
The only problems I do have with it? Is the abrupt change of the Old Man character, Lewis's lack of further character development, bits of the score(Not a fan of the RoboCop choir...), and some aspects of the script. But even those things don't affect my overall enjoyment of the film that much.
I honestly think RoboCop 2 is an absolute classic and a great film in it's own right and sadly the last truly great let alone good RoboCop movie to date. It was all downhill from here.
Fuck that guy Robocop 2 is a very good and fun movie.
you guys both hit the nail on the head.
OcpCommunications
I don't mind the old man's character, since we didn't really know what kind of a person he was in 1.
I completely agree. And to people who say it doesn't explore Robocop's humanity, I would respond that exploring Robocop's humanity and agency is exactly what the film does. It also serves to define his character and illustrate how special Murphy is; that it is his character, his sense of duty, that elevates Robocop from simply a powerful OCP enforcer into a hero.
I agree. Actually, I think Robocop 2, while as you say, more subtle, nonetheless went deeper into the question of Robocop's humanity. The movie established that it was Murphy's human characteristics that paradoxically were the source of Robocop's at times seemingly inhuman commitment to his duties as a police officer; his very humanity led him to implicitly sacrifice life as a human. Cain was the only one able to live with the reality of life as a cyborg, for reasons that were basically the inverse of Robocop's. And the episode of the OCP directives established that it was indeed not programming, but rather Murphy's sense of duty, as when he finally expels OCP's directives, his first act is to rally together the police to raid Cain's headquarters.
Certainly, one of my favs. Pity the one who doesn't appreciate its awesomness!!!
First RoboCop is better but this is really good movie also.
Yeah, I thought it was enjoyable.
First one is a masterpiece, but this movie is still great and I knew a Mexican kid who sold weed, so the kid drug dealer thing for me cracked me up.
Roman Fox LOL
hot dog stand patron
" cops "
hot dog stand vender
" what "
hot dog stand patron
" cops man and they ain't carrying no
picket signs "
hot dog vender
" they're goin´ to kick
somebody's ass ! "
best line in
Robocop 2
The way how Mayor flips is just the way how I feel about Robocop sequels
At 6:27 when his hat flips up, you can see the makeup for the bullet wound he eventually gets which is why he pulls his hat down.
Nice catch.
Looks like they did most of the makeup and then touched it up for the next shot, adding the blood.
Makes sense because you have to prep all the makeup ahead of time.
While I've always liked Robocop 2 even when I first saw it as a kid, I knew then something was off about it. To me it was an almost mean spirited movie that had the same amount of violence but none of the inspiration of the first. The first movie while dark, violent and even funny, there was an underlying feeling of hope. The second one just didn't have that spirit. The second one was just way too dark without much redemption.
Robo2 has grown on me over the years. The Intrigue between city of Detroit and OCP is what interests me most.
I really liked Robocop 2, I thought it was a great sequel. Robocop 3 didn't really do anything for me.
I don't think Robocop 3 did anything for anyone.
Robocop 1 and Roocop 2 were epic in every sense. ... Robocop 3... meh... pretty empty and useless...
Not even half as good as the original, but still a great action movie. Peter Weller still does an awesome job as Robocop (all other Robocop actors pretty much suck compared to him), there's a lot of good action and cool special effects and there's some good humor there. A solid film and the last good Robocop we had, everything after 2 (3, tv series and the god awful prime directives) sucked big time.
6:58 his movements improved, and the fight scene was so good, they copied it for the first Ironman movie for the ending.
Good review. RoboCop 2 isn't as great as the 1st one but it's still a good action movie & Peter Weller once again gives an excellent performance. After seeing RoboCop 3 in the theaters back in the day, I was able to appreciate RoboCop 2 much more.
robocop 2 is a great film!!!!!!!!
Agreed
your reading my mind.
cheers dude! also i like the soundtrack of the movie, '' the kid goes wild'' by babylon a.c. is really cool did you hear it?
Hell yeah iv heard it and it's dope.
cheers dude , you got good taste
I got to be an extra in Robocop 2. I'm the first Nuke junkie you see in the film. Mohawk guy taking Nuke as soon as they cut away from the television news report to the street scene, that's me.
Awesome. My favorite film... Still remember being in the theater watching it.
Robocop 2 is one of the best movies I´d ever seen. I do not understand the bad reviews.
Great, underrated flick. The Hob character seemed sooo cool when I was 12.
I really miss animatronics.Im sick of cgi.
I honestly prefer Robocop 2 over the other movies. It contains several mini sub-plots, such as Alex Murphy confronting his wife, combating a terrorist organization that could be described as a drug-cult which was more-or-less an analogy of the crack epidemic of those times, and detailing how OCP is so controlling and manipulative that the City of Detroit, and even Robocop, is helplessly under their control. These sub-plots serve to flesh out the Robocop character and paints a more detailed and grim picture of Detroit under siege by OCP and Cain. Speaking of which, Cain was an excellent villain who evolved from an enigmatic and charismatic drug lord into a destructive gigantic cyborg that was the stuff of nightmares. Even without Verhoeven, it was produced by a pedigree of some of the best in the sci-fi industry, including Kershner and Miller, and the orchestrated score almost felt too good for the movie.
Simply put, Robocop 2 doesn't get the credit it deserves. It's a great sequel and a great movie.
However, no amount of retrospection will ever save Robocop 3. That was a disaster no mater how you try to bend it.
“What’s buggin’ you, Murph?” “CAIN! Cain’s bugging me!”
Well, I really loved “RoboCop 2” a lot, Oliver. I know there were mixed reviews by critics and fans, including Siskel and Ebert gave thumbs down as considered it one of the worst sequels of 1990. I understand, but I really disagreed with them and I thought it was awesome. The action scenes was really cool. I like a whirring sound effects where RoboCop was doing movements and walking. And I thought RoboCain was especially interesting. Cain had a serious armor, full of loaded ammunition, and very threatening. I liked the way that he or it interects some things, like, shooting people, getting shoot at by the Detroit Police Department, and attacking Robo. I think RoboCain was a much better interesting as an evil mechanical cyborg than ED-209. Don’t get me wrong, ED-209 was sort of a flop android, I mean it’s all right, but that’s just my only opinion. Anyway, the dialogue was probably underrated somehow, but it looks good. Now a mobster, Hob… he didn’t bother me. This movie is not as great as the original, and it’s not as that bad or mediocre as people say it was, but it is a fine truly worthy sequel. Sorry, Siskel and Ebert, but this movie is so good. A marginal thumbs up for me on "RoboCop 2".
RoboCop 2 (1990) 3.5/4 👍👍👍
The guy who played the Mayor of Detroit in Robocop 2 also played Goldie Wilson in the Back to the Future trilogy.
I thought it was! I wasn't sure when I watched it though.
What are you guys smoking? It's a completely different actor.
No he didn't.
Just learned today that all black people look the same.
There might be some small truth to that for some people; I'm always being confused for other people. :-D
I actually loved this one. The kid added so much to the film, because even if that critic does not realize it, he humanizes Robocop since his first appearance. The drug theming feels right at home with Robocop's satire. Sure, there are storytelling problems, like Robo's rushed re-humanization, but the movie isn't bad by any means.
I didn't read any reviews of it at the time but I remember the younger version of me loved this film. I remember being a little shocked by the violence at the time and loved the action set pieces and the humour.
With regards to the stop motion technique I did read in a magazine that they referred to it as 'go-motion', faking motion blur between frames so the movements didn't look so rigid.
Excellent review as always!
I absolutely loved this movie! It’s violent, funny, has good action scenes, and the stop-motion is strong.
I’ve probably seen this movie 30+ times. It’s actually my favorite one.
That scene when they were going to cut that guy open while he was awake disturbed me so much as a kid.
Favorite quote:
BEHAVE YOURSELVES!!
One thing I remember about this movie is the great sound. Even on crappy VHS it sounded awesome. And loud.
Love these vids. Great work, sir.
I love it how OCP flags resemble Nazi flags in this movie.
He calls it "mean spirited" well, in a world where the criminals are so bad a robotic cop is created is hardly all kittens and sunshine to begin with, now think about how criminals are going to adapt to a near invincible cyborg cop, they are going to respond with even more viciousness. A line in the film states that crime has gotten worse, requiring an upgrade in the form of Robocop 2. The use of the child was supposed to be a shock tactic to show people that not even innocent children are immune to corruption. And this is true in the real world with child soldiers in many African countries, and the exceptionally young age at which kids join gangs in Mexico.
The scene where Duffy is cut open disturbed me as even though they don't show what the surgeon does next you get the impression he has enough medical knowledge to keep Duffy alive as long as possible in extreme pain without him passing out or dying you get the impression he's going to suffer a drawn out and painful death
Yeah, same. Though, as a kid, it disgusted me. As an adult? Not as bad as I remember but goes to show you how dark Cain can be.
His monotone voice, forcing Hob to watch and Cain licking his lips in enjoyment and his “doesn’t he look scared” comment cements his character.
Tom Noonan did an outstanding job. His role in Heat (1995) was good also.
In all honesty, I find Alex Murphy’s death in the first film way more terrifying. Murphy having his limbs and body blown off left and right in a bloody, gory mess, all the while Clarence and his gang take pleasure watching him die? That made Murphy into RoboCop
On Hobb, I can tell you right now that it has more basis in reality than people would like to admit. I have read instances of kids as young as 12 and even younger joining street gangs like the Crips, the Hammerskins, the Gangsta Disciples, and the Latin Kings. It's unfortunate but true- kid criminals do exist. They don't make it to the "right hand man" status like Hobb did that quickly but they do join gangs and work their way up in today's underworld. I actually give them props for the having the guts to do it. It's a shame critics didn't realize this.
The stop-motion was great. It's sad that it's a forgotten medium. Sure it doesn't look like CGI but I often feel that Hollywood has overused CGI to where it's "lost its magic" so to speak.
I agree with much of what you've said. This was a great review. I will admit that I'm not a Frank Miller fan. Not saying he's a talentless hack. Just saying I've never been a fan of his. I didn't like how they changed the old man and the fact that they cut a lot of things that would've made it more entertaining. I do like the antagonist. Maybe it's where I first saw this as a kid but to me, Kane was just so much cooler and more menacing than ED-209 was.
Oliver, I give your review two thumbs up. :)
RoboCain - best! Forever! His model and action looks much better and more realistic than many mecha-things of this days!!
You're retrospectives are some of the best out there..anywhere. It's a shame they don't get more views.
Thank you for the kind comments. My channel has certainly got more popular over the last couple of months. Spread the word my friend.
Your*
Criminally underrated sequel. Excellent action scenes and the best stop frame motion FX before the advent of CGI.
Hilarious to me that Trustus from CB4 has the best scenes in Robocop 2
Every time I watched the original, I'll watch this one as well... but it ends there. There's no 3rd movie or reboot as far as I choose to know.
I was lucky enough to see this and Total Recall in the same summer at the theater when I was 15. Some of the best times of my life..💯
I loved the first 2 Robocop films, The 3rd one and the remake (especially) however were just reprehensible.
Robocop 2 could of been a classic like the first if they were given a chance to iron out the problems with the script, The end product was not far away from a good film and they didn't work on it enough, I felt the key things that worked was drug element, made sense to include that, A sort of depression in society would lead to crime and drugs so made sense, I felt the key battles in the film were very well made, The Police raid, Robocop being dismantled, And the way they introduced Kane as the cyborg was very very well made, and the end battle was brilliant, The use of stop motion was so well done, You kind of forget and immersed you self into the action..
The first one was very very violent but done with a comic book feel to it... But this I sort of have to agree, It was more mean spirited, The torture of the cop was shocking enough, I always hated how they ignored the ending of Robocop, Having Murphy lose his human voice, To basically have Lewis there as a stand in, She didn't have much to do in this film and don't get me started on the third film... Turning Murphy into a stalker was a bit too far, I knew what they were trying to portray but didn't work considering how Murphy dismissed his wife in the police station was cold which I felt was the wrong approach... They did a lot right with the film like keeping the original satire towards corporate america, But did so much wrong with the film...
I'm about to get all up in yo ass, son lol I'll admit that Robocop 2 isn't as good as the 1st one, but really, how could it be? The 1st one was a classic, and pretty much perfect in every way. How can something like that be reproduced? The 2nd film is still damn good, but people compare it to the original, so it looks like trash.
Now, let me get to your specific critiques. I love how people say Robocop 2 was "mean spirited", as if the 1st one wasn't? Did you catch the scene of Murphy being shot to bits by some thugs? How about the scene where an innocent OCP worker is shot damn near 100 times because of a malfunctioning ED209? Or how about when that one dude got MELTED, and he exploded into blood and guts after getting hit by a car? Those was pretty mean-spirited, and not in a comic book type way. You say the scene where officer Duffy got his stomach sliced was shocking, but was it more shocking than Murphy's hand being shot off, and then his arm, and then getting shot about 40 more times, and THEN being shot in the head at close range? There's a reason why Robo 1 received an "X" rating before it finally got downgraded to an "R" after being resubmitted 17 times. Because of it's "over-the-top mean-spirited" violence.
When it comes to his voice, they didn't ignore a thing. If you watch Robo 1, he only sounds robotic when he has the helmet on. But once it comes off, he sounds like himself again. This is the same in the 2nd film. Remember, at the end of Robo 1, he had the helmet off, so that's why he sounded human there. So again, nothing was ignored. I'd go so far as to say it was expanded on. In fact, everyone calls him Murphy or "Murph" at the station, and hardly anyone calls him Robocop in the 2nd film besides OCP workers.
When you mention he being a "stalker", again people forget that this was taken from the 1st film. Don't you remember him breaking into his family's old house and punching the TV when they weren't there? That's sounds like stalking behavior to me. lol Imagine if they HAD still lived there, what do you think he would have done? Walked right in and eaten some fried chicken with them? No, he would have stayed in the car and watched over them for a while, which is EXACTLY what he did in the 2nd film. The scene with his wife was cold for a reason. The man she loved WAS dead, and Robo realized that. Even though he may have wanted his family back in his life, he knew it was best for her to move on with her life, and then so could he.
When it comes to not giving Lewis anything to do, you........are 100% right. lol They really f*cked up there, and gave her hardly anything to do. She didn't need to be in this film at all, but it was still good to see her. They also f*cked up for not using the original score from the 1st film.
In summary, Robo 2 is very underrated, mostly due to the success of the 1st film. But I think if people would stop comparing it to the 1st film, and truly look at what it brings to the big screen, then they would enjoy it so much more.
Kool Keith Productions He come across as a stalker in this film because he was spying on his wife, And she caught him doing it, In the first film, He was slowly re-gaining his memories but couldn't really place them, So when he visited his home that was slightly different as nobody was there, The wife and son had moved on but Murphy was slowly remembering things about his past as he walked through the house and made him confused and angry which also fueled his need for revenge..
I agree the scene in the police station was done correctly but the reasoning of the visit could of be done differently
The violence in the first one had a reason behind it.. The killing of Murphy had to be brutal for him to be turned into Robocop and find revenge on Boddicker..
But take the killing of the Cop in Robocop 2, Was it really necessary ? No I don't think so and have the kid force to watch it? no I think that was poorly done
Or the Murder of the Gun store clerk? No wasn't really needed apart from to show these men are evil robbers...
I agree Robocop 2 is underrated but think with a revised script, It could of been a great film like the first...
kd84afc Well the reason why he went to the house in the 2nd film, was the same reason he went in the 1st. Because it made him feel more like the man he used to be, even though he clearly wasn't.
I compare the scene of officer Duffy being killed to that of Murphy's murder in the 1st film. It was to show how brutal and sadistic the main villain was. But in the actual scene itself, it wasn't that graphic at all. All you see is a red line of blood start to form, and then the camera shows the kid's face, and you have to imagine what's happening from then on. Now, compare that to Murphy's death where they left nothing to the imagination and showed you everything.
You bring up the point about the gun clerk, and no, I don't think it was really needed, but how about the OCP worker being shot 100 times in the 1st film? Was that really needed, other than to show that the ED-209 wasn't quite finished yet? See, there were unnecessary deaths in both films, but I just think the 2nd film gets a bad rap about this.
Kool Keith Productions Well depends which version of the you've seen, in the director's cut Kenny got shot 100 times by ed 209, but in the original cut it wasn't that bad as it doesn't show the shot as he lays on the model while the scientists try to stop 209 who continues to shoot Kenny but his death even though still brutal wasnt as bad with the cuts but it still served 3 purposes.
1 to show ED 209 was malfunctioning, 2 to show what kind of person Dick Jones is who passes of the malfunction as a glitch, a temporary set back as he was more worried about profits then the killing, 3 A reason for Bob Morton to pitch the RoboCop program to the old man, which then led Dick Jones killing Morton for stepping over him.
So even though Kenny was brutally murdered, It still played a part of the story to set up key points in the film..
We kind of know already that Cain isn't a nice guy so really the death of Duffy could of been done differently.
i never knew about those deleted scenes! thanks for the heads-up, will look into those!
Robocop didn't need a sequel in the first place. Murphy regained his humanity... the end.
Great review with classic scenes
the special effects are truly incredible
I often thought that Robocop 1 was actually more brutal than Robocop 2.
I love the stop motion Caine robot. It scared me as a kid. Awesome movie
Robocop 2 is the best robocop imo
I got this movie for Christmas when I was a kid. Loved it
The intro of robocain when the truck pulls up till he opens the door and unloads on the people in the warehouse was so dope
Hey! I was one of those kids that Ebert was talking about! When I was 11 I theater-hopped after buying a ticket for like... Ghost Dad or some shit. I saw it before I saw part 1. And, yeah. I really did love the fact that there was a little kid my age taking part in the ultra-violence and and dropping f-bombs like nobody's business. It was great. I think I actually missed the goofier aspects when I saw the first one, a couple of years later. Of course, in hindsight... yeah. MAJOR step down. But, at the time: brilliance!
Robocop 2 is AMAZING but it gave me horrible nightmares as a child.
I really enjoyed the movie. It isn’t Robocop 1, but it’s very good. I really enjoyed the kid character. I was ten when it debuted, and I remember the scene where the cop was murdered in the operating room really frightening me. Overall I enjoy it very much, including the farcical commercials
I always found it hard to believe that people, especially the fans consider this to be a bad movie. I think it's equally as awesome as the first one. I found that there was enough reason given to Murphy to understand his present place in society, and it's a bit stupid to call it mean spirited when this is supposed to be crime infested Detroit.
And the criticism addressed towards the kid is dumb, I mean have these critics ever been to more depraved parts of town in their life ? cause there exist kids that act and talk like that, because of the environment they lived in. This movie just gets a really bad reputation from most "critics" because of their politically correct attitude against artistic integrity.
i could't agree more with u ,u put it perfectly & once again eggy & hammy are not critic s there just people who live in there own world i h8 them with a passion they never truly understand any aspects of any movie iv yet to understand how they have a following sure every 1 has there own opinion but there critic s that is not there job
***** Well said, gentleman. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. Here's my reply to someone who I think unfairly judged this film.
"I'm about to get all up in yo ass, son lol I'll admit that Robocop 2 isn't as good as the 1st one, but really, how could it be? The 1st one was a classic, and pretty much perfect in every way. How can something like that be reproduced? The 2nd film is still damn good, but people compare it to the original, so it looks like trash.
Now, let me get to your specific critiques. I love how people say Robocop 2 was "mean spirited", as if the 1st one wasn't? Did you catch the scene of Murphy being shot to bits by some thugs? How about the scene where an innocent OCP worker is shot damn near 100 times because of a malfunctioning ED209? Or how about when that one dude got MELTED, and he exploded into blood and guts after getting hit by a car? Those was pretty mean-spirited, and not in a comic book type way. You say the scene where officer Duffy got his stomach sliced was shocking, but was it more shocking than Murphy's hand being shot off, and then his arm, and then getting shot about 40 more times, and THEN being shot in the head at close range? There's a reason why Robo 1 received an "X" rating before it finally got downgraded to an "R" after being resubmitted 17 times. Because of it's "over-the-top mean-spirited" violence.
When it comes to his voice, they didn't ignore a thing. If you watch Robo 1, he only sounds robotic when he has the helmet on. But once it comes off, he sounds like himself again. This is the same in the 2nd film. Remember, at the end of Robo 1, he had the helmet off, so that's why he sounded human there. So again, nothing was ignored. I'd go so far as to say it was expanded on. In fact, everyone calls him Murphy or "Murph" at the station, and hardly anyone calls him Robocop in the 2nd film besides OCP workers.
When you mention he being a "stalker", again people forget that this was taken from the 1st film. Don't you remember him breaking into his family's old house and punching the TV when they weren't there? That's sounds like stalking behavior to me. lol Imagine if they HAD still lived there, what do you think he would have done? Walked right in and eaten some fried chicken with them? No, he would have stayed in the car and watched over them for a while, which is EXACTLY what he did in the 2nd film. The scene with his wife was cold for a reason. The man she loved WAS dead, and Robo realized that. Even though he may have wanted his family back in his life, he knew it was best for her to move on with her life, and then so could he.
When it comes to not giving Lewis anything to do, you........are 100% right. lol They really f*cked up there, and gave her hardly anything to do. She didn't need to be in this film at all, but it was still good to see her. They also f*cked up for not using the original score from the 1st film.
In summary, Robo 2 is very underrated, mostly due to the success of the 1st film. But I think if people would stop comparing it to the 1st film, and truly look at what it brings to the big screen, then they would enjoy it so much more."
True words.
I watched this movie when I was that kid's age, I didn't feel I need to swear, take hard drugs or shoot people... it is fiction and I knew that back then.
Kool Keith Productions I got the fried chicken reference :-))
As much as I love the original Robocop I think that Robocop 2 is my actual favourite Robocop movie but I still do love the first one as well
My Lets Play of Robocop 2 Arcade czcams.com/video/Z7j4k0dANa4/video.html
Hi can you send me the montage picture from the opening of this video or do you have other? They look really good and i need one for my school presentation.
Thanks
TIM CASE Hi Tim, do you mean the retrospective/review intro graphics?. You can view them on my website - olivers-retrospectives.com under the artwork section.
A really guilty pleasure for me.
5:49 -
Mayor
" Ahhhhh "
That's a pretty good scream.
Think I may have found my next ringtone.
How was this not a good sequel! It had the potencial to explore Murphys humanity and reletionship with his family and had a director that is best known for one of the best movies of all time and specializes on character driven movies!
Adding the Oceanloader 5 was a nice little touch Oliver. Good job.
Robocop 2 had so much potential. If they included a more human Murphy that was left at the end of the first film it would have been so much better.
the movie would have been less flawed.
great reviewa as always!
have you ever done a review on the movie high spirit yet ?
The end battle was amazing. As a kid this was the closest thing we had to a Superhero battle minus Superman 2
Incredible video on one of my top ten favorite films. New subscriber. God bless!