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The Novak Element! Favorite quotes?

posted 9 years ago by rooprect
6 replies | jump to latest

Gawd, Samuel L. Jackson had me in stitches. His portrayal of the psychotic "news" host Novak was hilarious, especially when he totally loses it towards the end and his hard hitting journalism is reduced to foaming & swearing like a sailor. I think fans of the original Robocop's satirical approach will agree that the interspersed clips of "The Novak Element" were a great sarcastic touch that plays homage to Veerhoven's acidic humor (Robocop, Starship Troopers). To be honest, I wish they'd release a new director's cut of Robocop '87 with Samuel L. Jackson spliced in there.

My favorite line has to be: "That this motherfBEEPker isn't serving time in some federal penitentiary is a huge, hot, heaping pile of horseshBEEPt!" (The beeps make it even more hilarious)

[–] chunkiefroth 9 years ago

I think fans of the original Robocop's satirical approach will agree that the interspersed clips of "The Novak Element" were a great sarcastic touch that plays homage to Veerhoven's acidic humor. . .

The Nuke 'Em commercial in the first was somehow less heavy handed and more relevant than any of the forced Novak tomfoolery.

To be honest, I wish they'd release a new director's cut of Robocop '87 with Samuel L. Jackson spliced in there.

Blasphemy!

[–] tomimt 9 years ago

While I though they were among the more interesting bits in the movie, I also though they didn't fit in the overall style of the movie which was as such pretty void of satire. More than anything else they felt like bits that were meant for an entirey different movie that was as a whole more satirical than the current movie.

[–] rooprect 9 years ago

Like a lot of elements in the film, it was nod to the original Veerhoven film. The original Robocop 1987 plot was also without satire, but the surreal news & TV clips were thick with hilarious satire. It was the extreme dynamic between Murphy's straightforward story and the odd TV clips that made it effective. While this version didn't have as many satirical clips, "The Novak Element" was right in line with the absurd news clips in the original, and the fact that people like Novak actually do exist today made it not as absurd as it might seem on first glance. Again, not as extreme as Veerhoven's dynamic but definitely right in line with it.

Some films play straight thick satire, like "Catch 22". Others, like the original 1987 "Robocop" play a straightforward story against extreme satire. And yet another bunch like 2014 "Robocop" as well as "All About Steve" and "The TV Set" approach a straightforward story but add muted bits of satire, just enough to keep a sense of irony. When it comes to satire (or storytelling for that matter) there are no rules.

[–] tomimt 9 years ago

I'd say there was a lot more satire in the original than just the news clips and the commercials. The whole corporate angle and how they ran not only the city but the police as well, just as lot of the violence has more satirical touch.

Sure, it's possible to watch original Robo as a straight action movie, it works that way as well, but my take on it is, that it is as a whole meant to be an all around satire.

[–] rooprect 9 years ago

You're right, the original Robo had so many bizarre & exaggerated moments, not just the clips, that you wonder if Veerhoven had his tongue in cheek the whole time. One that comes to mind is when the killer comes to the party, says "bitches, leave", and they pack up and scoot without a second thought. That cracks me up.

But still Veerhoven's Robocop had so many genuine human scenes, like Murphy visiting his old home, or his interaction with his new partner, that I still take the story as a straightforward one (peppered with satire). Contrast it against "Starship Troopers" which he did later, laying on the satire so thick that barely a scene goes by without making you laugh and shake your head.

I do think this 2014 version couldn've used a lot more satire to give it a personality. If you watch the bonus features, there are some "Omnicorp product ads" that are pretty funny and they set the tone more in line with Veerhoven's vision, along with the Novak Element stuff. Probably MGM dictated more of a straight action flick which is what we got.

[–] tomimt 9 years ago

You're right, original Robocop has a strong human element as well and the satire is not as in your face as it's on Starship Troopers (which at times borderlines a parody IMO). That's the biggest strenght that really has made Robocop very durable movie IMO: it's not just straigh, ultraviolent action piece, it has more suave layers in it, which this remake sorely lacks.