RoboCop

[00:00:05] Speaker A: Hello and welcome to Pugsley Crew Reviews, a podcast that talks about all manner of films. And this week we have a returning guest, Kerr 9000. [00:00:15] Speaker B: Hi, everyone. [00:00:17] Speaker A: How you doing, Kerr? I hope you've been well. [00:00:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I've been well. Have you been? [00:00:21] Speaker A: Yeah, not too bad. Just been playing games. This. Have you played any of Palworld? [00:00:28] Speaker B: No. I've seen people talk about it and it basically being Pokemon with guns and some people loving it and others basically having a paddy know it's infringing on Nintendo's sort of turf. [00:00:41] Speaker A: I think if Nintendo have a problem with it, Nintendo can deal with it, know? Yeah. [00:00:47] Speaker B: Nintendo have never been shy about going the legal route, so if they have a major issue, I think they'd be all over it by now anyway. [00:00:55] Speaker A: Yeah, well, I played a little bit of it. So far. I have no guns. I have a bow and arrow, and that's about it. And none of my pals have any guns either, which is disappointing. [00:01:08] Speaker B: Speaking of guns, anything people are talking about, is it looking like Pokemon and there being guns in it? [00:01:13] Speaker A: Yeah, to be fair, it's kind of like, gameplay wise, it's kind of like a mixture of, like, arc survival evolved and Pokemon. It's like a mixture of those two games, like Survival Game where you also capture monsters and. Yeah, some of the monsters that I've seen are pretty much edited versions of Pokemon. But at the same time, it's all right. It's not amazing, don't get me wrong, but it is all right. It's worth having a look at. [00:01:44] Speaker B: Cool. [00:01:48] Speaker A: So today's film is from 1987. It was directed by Paul Verhoven. I think that's how you pronounce his name. [00:01:59] Speaker B: Yeah, sounds right. [00:02:00] Speaker A: And it's Robocop. And like I said, all manner of films. We don't just watch shit films, we watch good films as well. We'll watch anything, whether it's good or bad. And for me, Robocop is in the good camp. [00:02:16] Speaker B: Definitely. [00:02:17] Speaker A: It's really fucking good. So have you seen this film before. [00:02:25] Speaker B: By this director I'm a big fan of. [00:02:27] Speaker A: All right. Yeah. Starship troopers. [00:02:30] Speaker B: Yep. Love it. Total recall. [00:02:34] Speaker A: Well, the original was done by him. [00:02:36] Speaker B: Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah, he's the director on that. And him and Schwarzenegger together is a good. [00:02:46] Speaker A: Can't remember. I think I've seen Hollow man, but I've only seen it once and I can't really remember. [00:02:50] Speaker B: Heaven bacon. And it's basically like a remake of the Invisible man. [00:02:55] Speaker A: Yeah. 90s film, I think, isn't it? [00:02:59] Speaker B: I think it's just 2001st year of 2000. [00:03:06] Speaker A: Close enough, yeah. So you've seen this film before, then, I take it? [00:03:13] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, lots of times. I think the first time was when I was a kid, but it's 18. [00:03:18] Speaker A: How. How was you able to watch it as a child? [00:03:21] Speaker B: I think my parents didn't really care about violence as long as there wasn't a lot of nudity in it. Shooting stuff in half was okay. [00:03:30] Speaker A: Shooting stuff in half, brilliant. [00:03:35] Speaker B: This film's got to go down as having, like, the most brutal execution scene possible. [00:03:41] Speaker A: Yeah, it has got a pretty brutal shit going on in there. Well, for those who aren't aware, Robocop is a good film and you should watch it. But no, seriously, it starts off right. It starts off with news reports. It does. Talking about shit that's going on in the world and everything is shit, basically. Loads of bad shit going on. So pretty much like now pretty much like it is anyway. But one of the things I loved instantly was like, they tell in the news, fair enough, it's the news. But then there's adverts during the news to get, like, a better heart instead of a real heart, having a fake heart and that kind of thing. And it's like adverts during news reports. What's all that about? [00:04:30] Speaker B: But the adverts are brilliant. I think they really do add a sense of humor to this film, especially since there's one where kids are playing a war game which has, like, mini nuclear bombs on it or summit. [00:04:42] Speaker A: Yeah. Called Nukem. It's like a family playing a game of Nukem. It's like, right, that's it. Your peace treaty is over. Boom. Something like that. It's great. [00:05:00] Speaker B: But they do add some fun to the film. The adverts like that guy. I'll buy that for a dollar. [00:05:06] Speaker A: Yeah, that's great. See him quite often, like, seems to be his catchphrase on it. [00:05:11] Speaker B: Yeah. There's just some craziness on top of what could be Quite a dark film in other ways. [00:05:17] Speaker A: Yeah. But he seems to do a satire quite well. Oh, definitely done in there nice and subtly, but not at the same time. Like Ed, 29, when he first turns up and he comes in and he's like, you have 30 seconds to comply and then he starts shooting the guy. Because even though he does comply, there's a glitch of some sort. And the fucking amount that he shoots, the ambulance, it's like, I don't think a fucking ambulance is going to be more holes and swish. [00:05:53] Speaker B: Jeez, couple of mops and buckets would probably be better than an ambulance. [00:05:58] Speaker A: Exactly. Pure brutalized. Just fucking shot the fuck. But I was looking at something, and it was saying that that scene, or when it was televised was shortened. Yeah, because it was cut down. Probably more in the film. But that scene was cut down because it was so brutal. But I think the reason why it was so long, it was meant to be like, you get over the shock and it becomes a little bit silly and funny. And because it was cut down, then it was just. You don't really get over the shock of the guy getting brutally murdered. You just see a guy get brutally murdered, and that's the takeaway then. But I thought that was great. [00:06:49] Speaker B: Oh, definitely. [00:06:53] Speaker A: I haven't watched it for a few years now because I've seen it several times myself. But obviously Paul Weller shows up as Officer Murphy, and I didn't realize just how little he was in the film as, like, an actual. Not Robocop. He's there for, like, a couple of scenes before he gets brutally executed. He has his hand blown off, the rest of his arm blown off. He gets shot about 50 fucking times with the shotguns. Then he gets shot through the head. [00:07:26] Speaker B: You know, that's supposed to be like an allegory for the crucifixion of Jesus. That's why he gets shot through the center of his hand and shot through the head, supposed with, like, the crown of thorns. But, yeah, you can't die in a film much more brutally than he does. Unless you're the Ed 209 guy. [00:07:48] Speaker A: The what guy? [00:07:49] Speaker B: The guy that Ed 209 wastes. [00:07:53] Speaker A: Yeah, my brain is not working properly. [00:07:56] Speaker B: And then the guy being acidified and then hit by a car or van. [00:08:02] Speaker A: Yeah, that was great. I love that. I did laugh. Not even pace. It was just like liquid, proper liquefied across the car. [00:08:12] Speaker B: Films would do well to have one death that extreme in to say, this film has all three of those in one film. Whoa. [00:08:21] Speaker A: Yeah. Obviously, Murphy is like, hey, I'm a good cop. I'm going to kick ass, and you're a slam. That kind of thing. Yeah, my voice is awful. I know. Who cares? And even when he's being fucking threatened by a big group of people, he kind of does stand up for himself a little and tells the guy he's scum. [00:08:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:08:43] Speaker A: And then they brutally murder him. But then I like the sequence where they. Because obviously, I think it would have been done differently by some. I think it would have been shown as him being made instead of it just being like, from his perspective, you see little bits happening at a time where he's coming on and offline. And I think other things may have done it differently, where you see him being constructed in some way or shape or form, which obviously would be interesting. But I think the route they went is a good thing. I don't know if there was any. It was the director's decision or if it was written like that, but I think that was cool. [00:09:26] Speaker B: Puts you in his shoes, doesn't it? What it would be like to be suddenly being changed? [00:09:31] Speaker A: Yeah. But the first night, obviously, Robocop goes out into the streets and starts shooting people. He's like. He doesn't have much of a problem just taking people out. And, like, the one guy he shoots, he shoots him right in the dick, man. And that looks fucking brutal through the girl's dress, right into his dick. And there's a YouTube video I saw. I don't know if it was YouTube. It was on something where that scene was played out, but differently where I'm sure he shoots a guy in the dick and then another person comes along with his dick flapping about and he shoots him in the dick. And then 30 people is just like, shoots the dicks. Just like Saturday. It is great. [00:10:20] Speaker B: Not only the shooting, but after the woman's screaming and crying and, oh, thank you. [00:10:25] Speaker A: Thank you. [00:10:26] Speaker B: And he's just like, you have been a part of a horrible assault. I will contact a rape crisis center. Good day, ma'am. Walked off. [00:10:36] Speaker A: Yeah, there's no emotion there. Which by the end of the film, obviously, there, you know, is Robocop Murphy by the end of it, or is he still robocop that has, like, a hint of Murphy in him? [00:10:51] Speaker B: I mean, it's an interesting question because the film does end basically with the head of the corporation saying, what's your name, son? Or whatever? And he does say Murphy. [00:11:02] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:03] Speaker B: So he clearly knows who he was and he's sort of regained his humanity. [00:11:08] Speaker A: But has he come fully around and is probably Murphy, or is it just some of that? Memory lingers, so to speak? [00:11:17] Speaker B: I'd say he's a halfway house, isn't he? He was a man, then he was a machine, and now he is a cop cyborg. He's half and half. [00:11:27] Speaker A: Sorry, I take the piss because of the tagline. [00:11:32] Speaker B: That went over my head then. [00:11:37] Speaker A: But the thing with robot is it's really fun. It's just genuinely a fun film. It's, like, so over the top with everything it does. It's like, oh, look, they're doing lines, and then they're all about, like, it smells so good and they're doing lords and lords of Cork. The guy snorting her off this other woman's tits and everything. And it's just like. It's really over the top. Simple as. Really, everything is, like, turned up to eleven. [00:12:07] Speaker B: The one thing I'll say about this film, which is total different to a lot of the films we've watched, not all, but a lot. This film is infinitely rewatchable. [00:12:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:18] Speaker B: Amazing scenes, amazing lines. It's the stuff like when you were young and you saw it, you'd be quoting it all day, you'd be saying stuff to your friends, repeating what characters have said. No matter how long since you've seen this film, there's always some snippets that you'll be able to play in your head and remember what happens. [00:12:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:43] Speaker B: Even though it comes on tv, like, any day, wherever you are, if you're on holiday in the middle of nowhere, you'll quite happily watch it. Even if you turn on and you're halfway through, you'll go, yeah, I'll watch any of this. [00:12:53] Speaker A: Yeah. Another film I've done that with quite a few times recently has just been on tv. And I'm like, oh, I'll watch. This is Terminator, the first one. [00:13:00] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:13:02] Speaker A: Another cracking film about a robot. Which is why, if you've never played it, you should play the game Robocop versus Terminator. [00:13:09] Speaker B: Yeah. It's a shame we never got a Robocop versus Terminator film, seeing as we did get aliens versus Predator. [00:13:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Which wasn't very good, in my opinion. Not very good films. [00:13:23] Speaker B: No. To say the two AvP films, I don't really like them. They're passable at best, but they could have been amazing, the stuff you could have done with them. [00:13:35] Speaker A: Such huge disappointments. Especially when some of the books have been really good. [00:13:44] Speaker B: The old Capcom, side scrolling, beat them up, alien verse, Predator. I think that's amazing. I play that all the time. [00:13:51] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a really fun one. I've only played through once, but that's really good. So with Robocop, right, you have Ed 209, which is kind of like the villainous full on machine. It's not really a villain, really. It's just like fucking. Just listens to what is told when he works. [00:14:18] Speaker B: All right. [00:14:19] Speaker A: Nice thing to call her. What if he thinks you're a tool? But obviously, I think one of my favorite bits with Ed 209 is when he falls down the stairs and it's making like a bomb. Like it's crying. Like having a tantrum. I don't know why. But what makes me think of a kid having a tantrum? Even though it's a machine. [00:14:46] Speaker B: It's done like old fashioned stuff in it. Like. It's a Ray Harryhausen type effect. [00:14:51] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:14:52] Speaker B: And I think it works well for it. I think it looks a lot better than it would if it was done with early computer sort of graphics. [00:14:59] Speaker A: Oh, definitely. Some of those films are God awful now to look back at. Even at the time, some of the stuff was bad. Like. I know it's a later film and they come out a while later. But mortal Kombat reptile in that looks fucking dreadful. [00:15:15] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. I like that film. But it could have done better with more practical effects for reptile. [00:15:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Joanne could have done better with. If it wasn't a twelve and they went for an 18. [00:15:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. If you. Proper red heads coming off and stuff. [00:15:33] Speaker A: The most violent bit is a bloody nose or something. And maybe Shang Tsung landed on spikes. But now, generally speaking, it was quite a tame beast. [00:15:47] Speaker B: A tame film based off what kind of game it came from. [00:15:51] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely. [00:15:54] Speaker B: Although, speaking of Mortal Kombat. One day we'll have to do Street Fighter the movie. Because that is a sight to behold. [00:16:02] Speaker A: I'll watch that again. It's amazing. That's not a good film. [00:16:11] Speaker B: No. But I think. Is it Raul Julia, the guy that plays bison? [00:16:15] Speaker A: He's great. [00:16:16] Speaker B: He just like a shakespearean performance amidst what basically across from him as a school panther. [00:16:27] Speaker A: Good analogy. I like it. He's great in there. Shame he was ill. Yeah, it is. With Robocop, obviously we've touched on some of the basic things. But there seems to be a lot of things going on in this. There's the whole corruption in corporations. The fact that corporations are taking over. The satirizing of how the world is going to become. Because it's set in the future. Which is probably like ten years ago now or something. Stupid. [00:17:02] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:03] Speaker A: But some of the things. It seems to be kind of right. It's like corporations are taking over and people are beginning shittier. Police are getting more brutal. [00:17:17] Speaker B: Yeah. There's definitely social commentary there. Dressed up in chin violence and stuff. [00:17:23] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:17:26] Speaker B: And it does make the film all the more meaningful for it. It's not just a dumb action film. It does have statements to make. [00:17:36] Speaker A: Yeah. I think if it was just a dumb action film. I don't think it would be anywhere near as popular as it is. Or still have kind of the same kind of legacy to it. I know Robocop two onwards is considered to be much lesser films, but the original one is top notch. [00:18:04] Speaker B: I love number one and I do have a soft spot for number two. [00:18:07] Speaker A: I do as well, to be fair. [00:18:09] Speaker B: My favorite thing in number two, I'll just say, in case we never get around to that one, is where they're trying to make Robocop two and the failed units are walking out and one literally pulls its helmet off and screams and drops dead or whatever. [00:18:27] Speaker A: Gruesome. We should watch Robocop two at some point. Maybe in a couple of weeks or something. Go through the entire series, Robocop three and then Robocop reboot. [00:18:37] Speaker B: Id yeah, definitely worth doing. [00:18:43] Speaker A: The thing is, right, when you have a good film like this, it's hard to talk about a lot. We've been going for around 18 minutes, 19 minutes, and I don't really know what to say about this because it's a fucking great film. It has some really funny moments in there. It has some brutal moments in there. Social commentary to add along with it. It's just like. It comes to a point with certain films. It's like the best way to. For someone, like, if someone's not seen in they list this again, it sounds interesting. Best thing I can do is advise you to just go fucking watch it. Fucking brilliant. It's just well worth a look. [00:19:21] Speaker B: There's some great actors in it giving some amazing think. You know, Peter Weller is great as Murphy and Robocop. Kurt Wood Smith, I have to say. Clarence Bodhica. Yeah, he is amazing in he. [00:19:38] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:39] Speaker B: You really do believe. He's a total bastard. I love that bit where he throws the guy out the van. He goes, can you fly, Bobby? [00:19:47] Speaker A: Yeah. That is great. There's some good lines in this. We'll have plenty to pick from to stick at the end of the episode. [00:19:56] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, that's probably my favorite. Can you fly, Bobby? It's just the way he delivers it. So cold hearted. Ronnie Cox is good in it as Dick Jones. Proper, proper bastard. Got to love him to the degree, I think of Robocop so much with him. He turns up in Star Trek the Next Generation as a captain. I think it's Captain Jericho. I was instantly like, oh, it's Captain Robocop. It would be a dick. And he was a dick in that as well. So that's kind of how he's probably been typecasted. [00:20:29] Speaker A: Robocop. That's brilliant. [00:20:38] Speaker B: Is it Daniel O'Hurley or Healy? Is the old man the boss of OCP. And I'm sure he's the guy that was the old man villain in Halloween season of the Witch. So I kind of expected him to be a dick in this. And he's quite a nice man for a corporation running rich bastard. [00:21:01] Speaker A: Yeah, that's the funny thing. It's like they try to portray the corporation as. They're not evil. There's just some evil people in there, but they're all trying to one each. Like, they talk about certain things, they all one up each other, but. [00:21:18] Speaker B: It'S. [00:21:18] Speaker A: Like really shitty practices and shitty people. Like, the other guy is like, he's trying to do nonprofit things. The other guy's like, yeah, your business is what you make of it. And he's obviously making money from it because he's a bastard. I think. I think at the end of the day, Robocop is a film that will stand up because at the end of the day, he's got a lot to say. And he fucking says it. And it's bang on the money. [00:21:52] Speaker B: Yeah, says it. And it says it with style and death and explosions. [00:22:01] Speaker A: I tell you what, one death I liked was the guy at the end, not right at the end. He drops a lot of metal shit goudas and stuff onto Robocop. It's like, got him. I got him. Fucking Lewis shoots the thing and it blows up. It's just like, fuck you, you knob. [00:22:22] Speaker B: Yeah, it's satisfying in it. [00:22:24] Speaker A: It is. And thinking about it, that guy was in dead, still was the great grandfather. [00:22:28] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:22:31] Speaker A: Look, we've come full circle to a previous film. We've obviously said a lot of positive things about this film, but would you recommend this film? [00:22:44] Speaker B: Oh, definitely. This is definite. You have to see it. It's possibly a film I'd even give a ten to. I think it is an incredible film. I just can't recommend it hard enough. If you've not seen it, go watch Robocop. [00:23:05] Speaker A: Yeah, I would agree with that. Like I said previously, it's got a story to say about the way things are, way things are becoming as well as it's got good action scenes. Considering a lot of it is way over the top, it's still fucking great. It's brutal. That's just good fun. And everyone needs to check it out. Even if you don't get a social commentary behind the film on your first watch, you've still got a really good action film to get into. And then you could look at the other aspect another time of watching it. [00:23:51] Speaker B: Yeah, I think you get more out of it with every watch, even when I've seen it a bunch of times when you throw it on, something will take your eye and you go, oh, I didn't notice that before. Yeah, probably a lot of the satire flew over my head when I first saw it was just a kick ass robot cop exploding things and stabbing people. [00:24:17] Speaker A: Bloody robocop kicking people's asses. What a dick. Again, I haven't really got much else to say about the film, so this is another episode that's shorter than usual. But I genuinely think if you've never seen it, you should go out and pick it up and give it a watch because it is a fun film with a lot to say and I think it says more than some will give it credit for. It's not just a dumb action film, it's deeper than that. [00:24:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I think back in the day some sort of people and places tried to crap on it and mech out that it was all blood and guts and yeah, there's a lot of that, but they missed the mark. There's something special here that talks about the world around it and about the greed of corporations and where we're possibly going. [00:25:18] Speaker A: We've already gone. [00:25:20] Speaker B: Well, yeah. [00:25:23] Speaker A: Back then is where we were going. Now is more where we already are. Feel like 30 years since it come out of it roughly. [00:25:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it must be. Made me feel old. [00:25:36] Speaker A: Yeah, 30 od years. 34 years. [00:25:40] Speaker B: And yet we probably still couldn't build Robocop's leg, let alone an entire robocop. [00:25:46] Speaker A: I know, it sucks. [00:25:49] Speaker B: Yeah. Where are hoverboards and flying cars? And this future is lame compared to the one we were shown as kids. I know. [00:25:58] Speaker A: Bastards. Back to the future has a lot to answer for. [00:26:03] Speaker B: Yes, it certainly does. [00:26:09] Speaker A: I think that is going to be us again then. Is there anything you'd like to say about the film actually, before we end or are you good? [00:26:17] Speaker B: No, I think I'm good. Just watch it. That's it. That's all I've got to say. [00:26:21] Speaker A: Yeah, and I agree with that statement. Is there anything you would like to plug now before we end? [00:26:27] Speaker B: Just my YouTube channel where I'm Ker 9000 and I talk about all sorts of films and video games. [00:26:36] Speaker A: There you go then. I'm Pence. I don't know if I said that. Beginning of the episode. Thank you for everyone who's tuned in. Thank you, Kerr again for taking part. [00:26:45] Speaker B: You're welcome. Thanks for having me all. [00:26:47] Speaker A: No worries at all. That'll be us. We'll be back in a fortnight. Not sure what with, but yeah. Catch you all soon. And bye. Bye. [00:26:58] Speaker B: Bye. Can you fly, Bobby?