Posted August 22, 2015
Also, impressed by the Robocop remake. Great scifi movie, taking the robocop premise to make something different with it, to refocus on other aspects, to explicit some philosophical subtext of the original, in a way swapping around the foreground and the background. So, different enough to be its own story, and still amusing with its occasional shout outs to the original (familiar musical bits, re-use of quotes and visuals in different contexts), just the perfect blend of close and different to make it a movie worth making and watching.
It's a good, clever film. It is clumsy at parts (a huge left-hand right-hand goof had actually violently distracted me from the film, and the "action movie" plot is much more cheap than the original, something that the focus on the political/philosophical plot does not excuse), Michael Keaton completely steals the show (which seems kinda accidental, but heck, it's the sort of thing that Keaton does), and yes I do prefer the Verhoeven movie for many reason (though it's like comparing films from different genres). But still, this remake is a high quality science fiction movie, and, referential winks aside, deserves to be watched as if there was no other film of the same title.
In short : this is how remakes should be done. This film is great, and doesn't step on the feet of the original. Doesn't try to "do the same but better". I don't know how it could have been named differently, but it should be apprehended as if it was.
Also watched Elysium. Heh, unimpressed. Lots of sympathy for Neill Blomkamp and what he attempted to do, several good ideas and cool scenes, but, meh, this is not District 9. The caricature, here, is too anchored in tired scifi plot devices (e-voting x-treme, magical medbays, exoskeletons that also make each bit of exposed flesh invulnerable, etc) to not defeat its own allegory. Great trailer, but self-sufficient trailer. Got the idea, nice idea, but no need to stretch it to two hours of videogame-level action with absurd cutscenes. But nice visuals, at least.
Somehow, watching the Robocop remake, I had the impression that this was the sort of thing that Elysium wanted to be. I wish it was, the idea deserved to be. Well it's not.
Anyway, if someone (like me) was reluctant to watch the Robocop remake out of mere antiremake principle, I'd say it's a mistake. And if someone (like me) was eager to watch Elysium just for its pitch, I'd say the same. Surprising outcome, there.
It's a good, clever film. It is clumsy at parts (a huge left-hand right-hand goof had actually violently distracted me from the film, and the "action movie" plot is much more cheap than the original, something that the focus on the political/philosophical plot does not excuse), Michael Keaton completely steals the show (which seems kinda accidental, but heck, it's the sort of thing that Keaton does), and yes I do prefer the Verhoeven movie for many reason (though it's like comparing films from different genres). But still, this remake is a high quality science fiction movie, and, referential winks aside, deserves to be watched as if there was no other film of the same title.
In short : this is how remakes should be done. This film is great, and doesn't step on the feet of the original. Doesn't try to "do the same but better". I don't know how it could have been named differently, but it should be apprehended as if it was.
Also watched Elysium. Heh, unimpressed. Lots of sympathy for Neill Blomkamp and what he attempted to do, several good ideas and cool scenes, but, meh, this is not District 9. The caricature, here, is too anchored in tired scifi plot devices (e-voting x-treme, magical medbays, exoskeletons that also make each bit of exposed flesh invulnerable, etc) to not defeat its own allegory. Great trailer, but self-sufficient trailer. Got the idea, nice idea, but no need to stretch it to two hours of videogame-level action with absurd cutscenes. But nice visuals, at least.
Somehow, watching the Robocop remake, I had the impression that this was the sort of thing that Elysium wanted to be. I wish it was, the idea deserved to be. Well it's not.
Anyway, if someone (like me) was reluctant to watch the Robocop remake out of mere antiremake principle, I'd say it's a mistake. And if someone (like me) was eager to watch Elysium just for its pitch, I'd say the same. Surprising outcome, there.
