Frank Miller, Juan Jose Ryp
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Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General
Subjects -> Comics & Graphic Novels -> Graphic Novels -> General AAS
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Awful, worse than the movie 2 out of 5 stars.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful.
I was hyped when I bought "Frank Miller's Robocop". I seemed to be the ideal audience: I thoroughly enjoyed the first movie, thought the second wasn't nearly as bad as it was made out to be, and enjoyed Frank Miller's Sin City. Once I heard there was a graphic novel version of Miller's original Robocop 2 script, I bought it immediately.
Well... It's completely disappointing. Miller's screenplay had been derided as being "unfilmable", which is the kiss of death in the screenwriting world. I had assumed that was merely because it asked for special effects and shots that might not have been technically possible when it was penned in the late 1980s (compare that to today, with the CG-infused film version of Sin City demonstrating that almost anything is possible). While Miller's version does have some difficult-to-film moments, the main problem is that the story itself is shallow, unfocused and basically a mess.
Interestingly enough, the best ideas from this script _did_ find their way into the final movie, but with better development. For example: in this comic, the plot (when it finally coalesces) surrounds a "Robocop 2" that's built to compete with the original but goes haywire; there is a conniving female executive who gets to toy around with Robocop's programming; the cops are on strike; there is mention of Alex Murphy's previous life before becoming Robocop --the problem is they're barely half-baked in this script. Instead the story surrounds the total breakdown of the police force in Detroit and the failing effort of a handful of cops (including Robocop) to keep the city together; and it doesn't tell it very well --we exchange much less Robocop action for paper-thin cop drama. There's a lot of violence and action, but it never feels compelling in any way.
The worst part of this version surrounds the introduction of a paramilitary force by Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to keep control. The characters are obviously a plot device to introduce the candidate for the second Robocop; outside of that their presence is hard to justify. The actual soldier chosen for Robocop 2 is completely ridiculous --a supposedly "insane" soldier who comes off as a incredibly one-dimensional, well-armed buffoon. Meanwhile, OCP, a source of great amusement in the films, is reduced to something completely uninteresting in this version: all of the wit and corporate stupidity is drained away --replaced by other, very generic characters. The ending is a sham, I don't care what opinion you might have of the series --but it doesn't fit in at all with the Robocop character in the films, or even the dull characterization of him made here.
Oddly enough, the movie brought in ideas that might have made this version better: Bringing in a serious narcotic that's affecting the population, using a drug addicted maniac (Kane) as the basis for a second Robocop, playing up the internal corporate politics of OCP, and the infamous sociopath child criminal. The movie was by no means a masterpiece, but it had a better kernel of story elements --more potential-- to work with than what's present here.
What makes this version worth reading? There is an aspect of Robocop still in here, and there are some of the absurdly funny commercials breaking up the action (again, the best made it into the film to sit alongside some other funny segments not present here). However, because the Robocop character is developed so thinly it doesn't do justice to the name. At best, it would be interesting to read this version in conjunction with watching the film to see how a movie can change on its way to the screen. Just don't expect this to be better than the film.
Bottom line: the story in "Frank Miller's Robocop" is disorganized, not very interesting, and ultimately insulting to soul of the first movie it was supposed to follow.
Editorial Review:
Robocop was one of the truly great bits of movie and pop culture magic from the 1980s, and Frank Miller wanted to deliver a masterpiece with his original movie script, but Hollywood massively edited his work. In full-on action, the Robocop story is told as Frank Miller always intended, composed straight from the master's original writings and scripts! The vast majority of Miller's insane ideas, vicious black humor and robotic mayhem never made it to the screen, but every last bit is finally unleashed in this series! With sequential adaptation from Steven Grant and art by superstar Juan Jose Ryp, this sci-fi epic is not to be missed!
