A Few Words About A few words about...™ Robocop 2 & 3 -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

What fans of the Robocop series receive via Scream Factory's new releases, are quality extras, and quite a few of them.

As far as imagery goes, it's a been there - done that sort of thing, even though Robocop 2 proclaims "a new 2k scan of the interpositive."

There's nothing wrong here, but I still expect better for Blu-rays presumably prepared in 2016 for 17 release.

Two things could have kicked these releases up a notch.

Digital clean-up, and stabilization.

IPs are inherently dirty, meaning occasional lab defects, along with positive and negative dirt.

Easily fixed.

IPs are inherently jittery, unless they've been produced by some means other than continuous contact.

Bottom line.

Time and expense have gone into these releases by Shout Factory, but not by MGM.

Image - 3.75

Audio -5

4k Up-rez - 3.5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Recommended (for supplementary features)

RAH

 

[Richard Kaufman]

It's a pity these two movies aren't worth watching. The first one laid the groundwork for what could have been a fascinating exploration of Officer Murphy ... a Frankenstein for the 21st century.

 

[Dick]

I despised both of these sequels. The 1987 original (especially the unrated version) was visceral and pulse-pounding and actually contained some emotional resonance, unlike ROBOCOP 2 or 3. The third film isn't even R-rated, which means the producers decided to soft-pedal the gore, although not the violence, in order to expand their audience.

 

[Will*B]

The original Robocop is one of my favourite films of all-time.

However, I've always had a soft-spot for Robocop 2. Its garishly bright and colourful visuals (with Robocop himself looking almost purple at times) mixes very awkwardly with the extremely graphic and mean-spirited violence of the film as a whole. The execution of Officer Duffy and the film's bizarre and sudden empathy for the psychopath child after he's been shot are two examples of scenes that are eye-poppingly memorable, if for all the wrong reasons.

It also contains one of my favourite lines of the 90s, delivered by the always-excellent Tom Noonan: "Jesus had days like this".

I can't wait for this disc; Shout Factory have done it again. I recently said on another thread how pleased I am that labels such as Shout, Kino, Twilight Time, Arrow, Vinegar Syndrome, Severin, Code Red, Vestron, 88 Films, Indicator, etc. are really catering for those of us who collect these films as a hobby.

Robocop 3 on the other hand...

 

[Konstantinos]

So, there's no visible update in Robocop 2 in comparison to the previous bluray?
I was looking forward to that..

 

[WillG]

I didn't like when R2 when a first saw it when it was released on VHS, but over the years it grew on me somewhat. I think the satirical elements are fun if way more overt than R1. I also find it funny that OCP still uses live ammo for its Robocop prototype tests.

Never had any desire to watch R3 even though I technically own it via the trilogy DVD set

 

[Josh Steinberg]

This is my first time owning either of these films since the VHS days, so I don't have anything as a basis for comparison. That said, I watched the disc for 2 last night and I was really happy with it. I'm watching 3 right now and while it doesn't look quite as good, I agree that it's easily passable. The movie's less well made than the first two to begin with, so who knows how much of the lackluster look was there from the start.

I enjoyed 2 way more than I remembered. It's not as good as the original and it gets batshit insane in a few places, but it's compulsively watchable. 3 isn't as good as I remembered, and I didn't exactly have fond memories of it to begin with.

 

[Will*B]

...it gets batshit insane in a few places...

That's a perfect way of describing Robocop 2, and is definitely one of the reasons I love it.

I won't be buying Robocop 3 (unless I see it in an Amazon sale at some stage). I used to own it on an old pirated VHS I bought from a market stall in Bahrain before the movie even came out in the UK*. The picture quality was TERRIBLE (it was recorded on a camcorder in the cinema), and it had huge Chinese subtitles on it. Strangely, that's the way I like to remember the film!

*I should point out that this was in 1993 (I was 14 years old), and I no longer purchase / download pirated content of any kind!

 

[DVDvision]

From what I read on other forums, R2 is an upgrade over the original MGM disc. R3 is apparently the same master as the MGM disc, probably with minor tweaks.
The bonuses look yummy, esp. with Paul Sammon involvement (he shot in hi8 nearly everything about 1 & 2), there are many interviews, only thing missing is Weller & Miller, sadly. But it's made up with old footage. Again all this from fans reviews online.

 

[Konstantinos]

Hmmmmm..
Why do I think I see more detail in the old bluray of Robocop 2?
Is it because it's sharpened or something?
http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=9946&d2=9947&s1=96667&s2=96683&i=2&l=0
The scan seems the same to me, with the Shout not being sharpened and having warmer colors:
http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=9946&d2=9947&s1=96666&s2=96682&i=1&l=0

I thought that we'd have an upgrade in quality in the likes of eg. Firestarter:
http://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=9939&d2=9940&s1=96568&s2=96580&i=10&l=0