CinemaDome: Robocop vs Total Recall

For some reason, I kept wanting to get Robocop into a dome, but was having a hard time finding a match. I had considered Die Hard as another big violent hit, or Starship Troopers or They Live for the social commentary angle. Dawned on me I could go with another Paul Verhoeven flick also known at the time for its violence. Seems like a good pair.



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Wow, there are some great matchups coming thick and fast. This may be one of the most difficult yet for me.

They're both great films that, perhaps, have not aged all that well due to their effects being superseded by CGI and their levels of extreme violence becoming rather unfashionable. In the late 80's however, they were two of the best pieces of sci-fi around and I had to think awhile before choosing a favourite.

In the end, the vote had to go to: Total Recall.

Why? Mostly because its messages simply resonate better down the years. Robocop was interesting because it was unusual to see social commentary in a sci-fi action piece at all. When you step away from it, there's not anything particularly interesting or novel about what it has to say. Humans are not machines. Corporations are bad. Police states veer towards facism no matter how noble their intentions. It makes its messages obvious, and offers them without subtlety.

Total Recall on the other hand is fascinatingly ambiguous. There are no certain answers to the questions it poses. Indeed my thoughts on what it represents change from viewing to viewing. As a bonus, I'm not a big fan of narrative ambiguity in films but Total Recall nails hard how to do it right. Keep the audience so entertained that it doesn't much matter what the right answer is: they can think it over afterward and be comforted by the fact that they still had a great time finding out.

They Live vs Dawn of the Dead would be good.

Anyway, this is an amazing match-up. I honestly don't know which i'm going to pick right now as I'm typing this...

I assume we're talking about the originals. Both had awful remakes but the Robocop remake was way better. Total Recall remake was the worst movie of that year.

I'm not going to read Matt's post cuz I don't want to be influenced. Man, this is a tough pick.

Total Recall got attention at the Oscars and I think in fact it might be the first time that nothing else got nominated cuz there was no point. It took down the Visual Effects oscar without even blinking.

However, Robocop holds a special place in my heart. I went to see the original with my grandmother and her boyfriend (also very old) and they both LOVED it. So much that we all saw the sequel together and hated that equally. But Robocop is just plain fun and feels VERY real (I don't know how they did that). Those fake commercials, the news anchors, all of that does great world-building into what Detroit is in the very near future. That ED209 thing looks horrible now special effects wise but it scared the crap out of me as a kid. That board meeting...

Ok so my heart is with Robocop, that's for sure. But the more I think about it, and knowing a thing or two about movies, i would also say that Robocop is the better movie. The pacing is better, the characters are better. You wouldn't think that Red from That 70's Show would make for a better villian than Michael Ironside, but he totally does.

Also, the main antagonist is the same in both movies! Isn't that weird? And he's way more of a dick in Robocop. "I killed Bob Morton cuz he made a mistake...Now it's time to erase that mistake. "

plus, Robocop is SOOOOO violent but it's done in a hilarious way.

yeah, absolutely... ROBOCOP all the way.

SCREW YOU!

Total Recall all the way. One of my favorite Schwarzeneggers

Robocop: Lots of action. Decent practical effects. Viciously funny fake commercials. Paul Verhoeven is an interesting director who deserves more respect than he will ever get, thanks to Showgirls.

Total Recall: Arnold and Sharon Stone at their peak popularity. Some good quotes and few unforgettable scenes. B-movie quality effects for the most part. Loosely based on a story by Philip K. Dick.

Vote: Robocop, for being an intense movie with a distinctive viewpoint. By comparison, Total Recall felt like the cynical result of various studio compromises in search of a wide audience, despite the overall B-movie quality.

Vote: quato and Sharon stone being all sexy.

Total Recall cuz I got five kids to feed.

Get your ass to Mars!

Vote: Total Recall

ugh, looks like i should get ready FOR A SURPRIIIIIISE!!

Damn up to this point all the prior CinemaDomes my answer was easy and required no thought. This one....gonna have to get back to you on this.

wait for Jackwraith to tell you what to do

I feel like this should be close in my mind but it isn't. Total Recall is one of the best sci-fis of the late 80s/early 90s and Robocop is just violence with the odd laugh (shooting the guy in the dick is the epitome of the film, funny, but not really that clever).

Total Recall.

It's aged better and the violence is a lot less gratuitous. But the three-breasted hooker is a lot more gratuitous. Win-win.

dysjunct wrote: Total Recall.

It's aged better and the violence is a lot less gratuitous. .

I dunno. Most people are probably used to seeing Total Recall on basic cable. But the original cut was pretty fucking violent. Richter's arms getting ripped off, and especially the escalator shoot out where Quaid uses the corpse as a shield against gunfire. I'd stack that up against Murphy's execution at the start of Robocop.

Total Recall, but as usual this isn't a gimme.

I saw Total Recall the weekend it came out. There was a couple in front of us in the theater that thought, "Phillip K. Dick," and wasn't quite up for that much violence. Ahnuld using a bystander as a human shield was enough for them, and they left in a huff.

ETA: msample beat me to it, and did a better job of describing it.