Actor Benedict Cumberbatch confirmed this week that he has signed on to play the villain in the next Star Trek film, hopefully dispelling rumors once and for all that the prequel’s sequel won’t be about Khan, originally seen in Star Trek II.  Then again, he does look a bit like the crew stranded with Khan all those years on Ceti Alpha V…

Nah.  But it does make you want to get out the Photoshop and check out whether he makes a better Vulcan, Romulan or Klingon, or maybe J.J. Abrams will really mix things up and feature him as a member of The Borg.  And it puts the new Star Trek prequel’s sequel (say that ten times fast) in the #1 spot for most anticipated movie coming out in 2013.  (I think he’d make a great Romulan).

New Line Cinema only recently announced that Cumberbatch was going to be the evil voice of the Necromancer (and Smaug the dragon) in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and its sequel The Hobbit: There and Back Again, the former scheduled to be released in theaters in December.  Playing the villain in two of the biggest sci-fi/fantasy franchises is almost unprecedented.  Almost, because you have to consider fellow British actor Christopher Lee playing the villain Sauron in The Lord of the Rings and equally villainous Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels.  And then you have Karl Urban who played both Dr. McCoy in Star Trek 2009 and Eomer in The Lord of the Rings franchise, and Ian McKellen who played both Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and Magneto in the X-Men movies, and John Rhys-Davies who played Gimli in The Lord of the Rings and Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies… on second thought scratch that “unprecedented” reference.  But that certainly is good company for Cumberbatch, who has spring-boarded into international celebrity in the past year.

His role as Sherlock Holmes in Doctor Who creator Steven Moffat’s BBC/Public Television’s Masterpiece Mystery series Sherlock first put Cumberbatch opposite The Hobbit star Martin Freeman.  Freeman has a similarly huge year coming as Bilbo Baggins in addition to reprising his Dr. Watson role.  In Sherlock, the classic detective is brought into the 21st century, but his skills and sleuthing is very familiar.  Masterpiece Mystery confirmed this week that the Sherlock series 2/season 2 is scheduled to begin this May, and that they plan to bring back Cumberbatch for a third year after season 2.

Since his first roles in 2002, including a small part in the BBC mini-series Tipping the Velvet with Ashes to Ashes/Identity star Keeley Hawes, Cumberbatch had memorable smaller parts in 2006’s Amazing Grace as William Pitt…

in 2008’s The Other Boleyn Girl as William Carey, and in 2011 he played Major Stewart in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed film War Horse…

and as Peter Guillam in this season’s spy thriller (opening in general release this weekend finally) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Cumberbatch joins the Enterprise crew from Star Trek 2009, Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana, and former Robocop Peter Weller as a yet-to-be-named character in the yet-to-be-named new Star Trek film.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

Speaking of yesterday’s discussion of Cybermen and The Borg, another well known borg sci-fi character was the subject of a New York Times article this week:  RoboCop is being resurrected for the big screen this year, one of several remakes of 1980s properties, such as 21 Jump Street and Dirty Dancing, coming soon to a theater near you.

Unfortunately there is not much information yet released, especially no photos yet of the police uniform for the 2013 RoboCop production.  Peter Weller, who we learned this year will be featured in the next Star Trek movie, originally dawned the steel armor of the downed cop who, like the Bionic Man, was rebuilt to fight the forces of evil in the U.S.  The original costume is instantly recognizable, but early word from production is that we will see a very different police armor uniform for the new RoboCop.

Although it is not quite as cool as the original RoboCop, I am a fan of the Iowa State Patrol uniform worn by the officer hunting down a young James T. Kirk in the future Riverside, Iowa in Star Trek 2009:

I’m still not sure if that was a good protective outfit for a human cop, or whether that android face mask reflects an actual android, or this was meant to be a cyborg creation.  Either way, it’s a pretty good outfit.

Years ago Academy Award winners Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock showed us the prim and proper cops of the future city of San Angeles, where we learned “In the future, all restaurants are Taco Bell.”

My fellow Trekkies will recognize those belts being re-used in the Mirror Universe of the Enterprise TV series by evil Captain Archer & Co.  These guys looked believable.  But no armor!

And this year’s coming remake of Total Recall features another slick looking future cop:

Note that the new Total Recall takes no obvious design queues from Paul Verhoeven’s original Total Recall.  So it should be no surprise if the new RoboCop takes no design queues from Verhoeven’s RoboCop.  Verhoeven’s RoboCop was inspired by the future cop from the comic book 2000 A.D., Judge Dredd, and Verhoeven’s RoboCop has been interpreted as a retelling of sorts of the original Judge Dredd story because of several common themes, and, of course, the mask.  Although the Sylvester Stallone future cop in Judge Dredd didn’t adhere totally to the original story, he did have a mask, but his uniform was a bit strange:

Future cops are definitely “in” these days.  Karl Urban (Bones in Star Trek 2009, Eomer in Lord of the Rings, Xena, Bourne Supremacy, Chronicles of Riddick) will be starring in a new version of Judge Dredd, that Urban says comes more from the course material, titled Dredd and expected to be released in September 2012.

Far less interesting are the precrime future cop uniforms from Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, based on Philip K. Dick’s short story of the same name:

For the new RoboCop, José Padilha is slated to direct a screenplay by Nick Schenk and Joshua Zetumer.  Thirty-three year old actor Joel Kinnaman has been tapped for the lead role as Murphy/RoboCop.  Of the creative trio, Schenk is the best known for his sceenplay for Clint Eastwood’s (awesome) film, Gran Torino.  Kinnaman had a small role in last year’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and as Stephen Holder in the TV series, The Killing.

Here is the the marketing blurb for the new film: “In a crime-ridden city, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg with submerged memories haunting him.”

Unlike the new RoboCop, the original RoboCop rarely removed his helmet.

Padilha and Kinnaman have disclosed thus far that the new RoboCop will be a very different film than the original, with a costume where you can see the RoboCop’s eyes, and they’d said that the focus of the new story will be the period from Murphy getting shot to becoming RoboCop, as opposed to an action film where RoboCop serves as a futuristic officer.  So this seems a bit like the path of Martin Caidin’s original Bionic Man story as told in his novel Cyborg.

Ronny Cox and the earlier, non-cyborg version, from the original film

My favorite scene, and the one I hope they do include in some way, is the scene where the non-cyborg RoboCop before Weller’s is revealed to be flawed and destroys one of the executives in the board room at the big reveal.

The current release date is scheduled for August 9, 2013.

C.J. Bunce

Editor

borg.com

By C.J. Bunce

Eclipsing the highly anticipated live action summer release The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight Returns is up next.  An animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s 1986 seminal dystopian look at Batman is being produced by Warner Premiere/DC Comics Premiere Movies.

The news is somewhat bittersweet for diehard The Dark Knight Returns fans.  On the one hand, any well-done video adaptation would be a welcome sight.  That said, until we see a live action version of this major graphic novel, anything else is just something less than the potential that this property could realize in both viewers and revenues for DC.  Until we see Warner and DC Comics put this work on the big screen, we can’t get too excited here.

Providing the voice for the grim and hardened Batman is Peter Weller, who has been in several TV shows and movies, such as guest roles on House, M.D., Psych, Dexter, Fringe, Monk, 24, Star Trek: Enterprise, and key roles in the films Screamers, Leviathan, Buckaroo Bonzai, and of course, Robocop. It’s too bad this isn’t live action, as Weller’s great Robocop jaw could pull off the look of a 50-something Bruce Wayne.

This should be a good year for Weller, who also has an as yet-undisclosed role in the new Star Trek movie. And a resurgence of Robocop in light of a new big screen remake announced here previously should also shine a light on the original borg police officer.

Ariel Winter (Modern Family) will voice Robin, with Wade Williams (Prison Break) as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and genre favorite Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap, Homeland, Smallville, Sesame Street, The X-Files, Star Trek Voyager, Saturday Night Live, Coneheads, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Clue), expected to portray the doctor from Arkham Asylum, and David Selby, likely to portray one of the villains.  (We hear Mckean got hit by a car this week, so we all hope he recovers quickly).

What should be highly anticipated, and has not yet been released, are the voice actors who will portray the key guest appearances in Frank Miller’s novel: Alfred Pennyworth, the Joker, Superman, and Green Arrow.  I’d expect some key voice actors for the various newscasters, too, assuming this film follows the original’s focus on economic turmoil and 1980s excess.

Fans of the animated Batman: Year One, released last year, may appreciate this new animated feature the most.  The plan is for The Dark Knight Returns to be released on two parts, the first by year end and the second in early 2013.  Unfortunately it is also direct to video—so you won’t find this one at a theater unless Warner gives a preview at the San Diego Comic-Con this year as they did with Batman: Year One last year.  The first photos released yesterday really don’t seem to grab Frank Miller’s rugged style, so hopefully the actual release is able to attain some of that from the original sourcework.

Bob Goodman (Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Static Shock) is writing the script for the film.  Storyboard artist and animation director Jay Oliva is directing.

This next animated Warner Brothers/DC Comics movie will be pretty hard to pass up and prompted me to check out Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One animated movie, which I plan to review here soon.  But what’s coming this month is the most talked about graphic novel of all time, Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 in its first adaptation, coming direct to video.  DC Comics must have done some research to indicate it wouldn’t make enough money for this movie to hit the theaters, which is unfortunate, because I think even the simple animation style used wouldn’t matter–DKR fans would go to the theater to see this.  The negative is that, like so many other movies these days, it is being broken into two parts, so maybe the length was the problem.

That said, it looks a lot better than I thought it would just based on my viewing of the initial preview stills.  I’m still not a fan of this Robin.  That said, I understand her significance in this story.  And that character is a very Frank Miller-defining element, for better or worse.

So here is the long version of the trailer:

A great selling point is Peter Weller (Robocop, Star Trek Enterprise) as Batman.  Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap, Star Trek Voyager, Mighty Wind, Clue, Laverne and Shirley) will provide the voice for Dr. Wolper.  Popular child actress Ariel Winter is Robin.  Mega-genre supporting baddie actor Wade Williams (Tru Calling, X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Enterprise, Monk, Burn Notice, Leverage, Star Trek Voyager) provides the voice of Two-Face/Harvey Dent.  Original Dark Shadows actor David Selby provides the voice of Commissioner Gordon.

The other thing is the imagery and Frank Miller’s blocky style for Batman.  It’s the image of Batman in the graphic novel, apparent in this trailer, that has been built upon by so many other artists, including Jim Lee.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 will be released September 25, 2012, direct to Blu-Ray and DVD, and available for discount pre-order here.  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 will be released in 2013, and you can expect some good surprises with that part of the adaptation, too, including Lost’s Michael Emerson as the voice of the Joker.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

More than 25 years after Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s four-part prestige format comic book series/graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns changed the landscape for comic books thereafter, DC Animation produced a quality animated adaptation.  Released in two parts, we reviewed The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 here last year.   Part 1 was a faithful adaptation of roughly the first half of the original graphic novel.  It proved first and foremost that Christopher Nolan really pulled his key story elements in his Dark Knight trilogy of films from Frank Miller’s work.  Part 1 really keyed in on Nolan’s Bane character.  Both Part 1 and the Dark Knight trilogy failed to provide an exciting narrative, however, when compared to  The Dark Knight Returns Part 2, now on video.

Part 2 is every bit as faithful to the original as Part 1.  Commissioner Gordon has already stepped down and was replaced by a new commissioner whose first act is issuing a warrant for Batman.  The vacuous Doctor Wolper brings his patient The Joker to appear on Miller’s take on The David Letterman Show, only for The Joker to release a gas bombing that kills the entire audience as well as the host, leaving The Joker’s trademark grin on all their faces.  From the first sentences of Part 2, you know this is not a kid’s Batman film.  The Joker escapes and proceeds to bloodily murder everyone in his path until he confronts Batman in the bowels of Gotham City.  Here the classic confrontation between the long-time foes plays out exactly as it should.

Peter Weller’s Batman voice work is not a traditional Batman, but it is the Batman/Bruce Wayne required of Miller’s story–an older Batman without the energy he had in his prime, a bit out of steam.  We even see what appear to be either borg hand workings or possibly it’s just part of his elaborate armor, a must-need for Batman to be able to believably take on his next epic battle in the film.  Lost’s Michael Emerson similarly portrays not the classic over-the-top animated Joker of Mark Hamill, but his Joker also is more grizzled by time (and likely decades in prison?).

Ariel Winter continues as the female sidekick Robin, and enough time has passed in the story between Part 1 and Part 2 that we see a genuine partnership between Batman and Robin, if a bit more of Batman watching over Robin than prior incarnations of his wily sidekick.  Winter’s performance is spot-on for the eager and excited kid superhero.  Fringe star Mark Valley (who we’ve said before would make a great Steve Austin/Bionic Man) voices Superman.  His performance is actually better than Miller’s weak Superman deserves.

The musical score, as was Part 1, is cinematic and possibly equal to that of The Dark Knight Rises.  As we mentioned in our review of Part 1, if you close yours eyes it is easy to imagine that what is in front of you is a complete live-action movie.

Memorable scenes from the book are plentiful:  When Superman fails to prevent a nuclear warhead from detonating, the power grid in the northern hemisphere dims, including loss of batteries, leading to Batman and Robin rallying on horseback the Sons of Batman to help keep peace in the city instead of continuing their thuggish ways.  For Batman’s classic battle to the death with Superman, Alfred again burns down Wayne Manor, dying of a heart attack as he finishes his work.

But it’s Batman’s scheming with Green Arrow/Oliver Queen that provides the high points of the film’s climax.  Now primarily bald but with a classic Robin Hood-esque appearance and minus one arm thanks to a previous battle with Superman, Oliver returns again with a bow and quiver full of arrows to save the day and allow Batman to prove Superman can be beaten.  Where Miller’s story revealed the days of the World’s Finest team-up long gone, we are left at the end with the Batman-Green Arrow duo from the pages of The Brave and the Bold forging ahead.  I’ve always appreciated Miller’s choice to include only Oliver Queen from the Justice League of America outside of Superman and Batman in his classic work instead of the Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman, or even Wonder Woman.  It leaves a great future Oliver Queen vs. Superman story to be told by someone else at another time.

What we missed the most from the standard DVD version were any extras, which are available on the Blu-ray edition.  Make sure you check which version you buy if you want to view any extra features about the film.  A Blu-Ray edition includes a “Making of” featurette.

Taking both Part 1 and Part 2 together, DC Animation successfully adapted a key graphic novel for the screen.  What doesn’t possibly stand-up today are the talking head broadcasters that push a lot of the original plot forward.  The animated film might have benefitted from Bruce Wayne/Batman’s inner-narration, which is such a key part of the graphic novel.  And the animation doesn’t approach the grittiness of Miller’s original pencil work.  Ultimately you either love or hate what Miller did to these beloved characters:  Batman’s role in retirement and beyond is not that surprising, but Robin was completely reworked and Superman becomes a stooge for President Ronald Reagan.  The political battle undercutting the story between Russian and U.S. relations also does not carry the weight it did in the 1980s.  And as format is concerned, releasing the movie in two parts seems simply a way to make more money off the film.  There’s no reason for this movie not to be released in a single release, and no reason why it shouldn’t have had some kind of even limited run in theaters.

Together Part 1 and Part 2 create a fun ride, more fun in Part 2 than in Part 1, but it will hold your attention with great animation, colors, music, and action.  Both are available in video stores, via Netflix and at Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

BOOM! Studio announced this week that Steven Grant will be writing an adaptation of Frank Miller’s unproduced original RoboCop 3 screenplay, in an 8-issue mini-series titled RoboCop: Last Stand.  The series will be illustrated by Korkut Oztekin with cover art by Declan Shalvey and is expected to wrap up Miller’s early vision of the future cop.

Grant also wrote an adaptation of Frank Miller’s script for Robocop 2 with Avatar Press.  Now holding the RoboCop rights previously held by Dynamite Comics, BOOM! is planning on releasing that earlier series as a deluxe hardcover.  Marvel, Dark Horse, Avatar, and Dynamite have all previously published RoboCop titles, making BOOM! the fifth publisher to take on the classic borg policeman.

So far only this teaser and a few images of the new RoboCop have been released by BOOM!

The classic character made famous by Peter Weller was previously announced as a reboot film scheduled for a 2014 release.  Here is the new RoboCop in town:

RoboCop (2014) will star Joel Kinnaman as Alex Murphy/RoboCop, with Samuel L. Jackson (Jackie Brown, Django Unchained, Star Wars prequels), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Fifth Element), Jennifer Ehle (The Adjustment Bureau, The King’s Speech, Pride and Prejudice), Michael Keaton (Batman, Beetlejuice, Mr. Mom, Night Shift), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, Bad News Bears), Jay Baruchel (The Sorceror’s Apprentice, Fanboys), and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace).

Robocop: Last Stand Issue#1 is scheduled for release in August 2013.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

After more trailers than we can count, more minutes of screen-time revealed in advance, and more advertising and hype than any Star Trek film in recent memory, Star Trek Into Darkness is not only better than you’ve heard, it’s the best Star Trek movie since Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Considering all my fellow uber-Trek fan friends had more negative to say than positive on this 12th motion picture entry, I was scratching my head to try to figure why this was the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in years–or maybe why they didn’t have as much fun as me.

Star Trek, the Original Series, is pretty much sacred, and not only sacred, its sacrosanct in the eyes of loyal fans, so J.J. Abrams was taking a risk by getting his claws into the franchise in 2009’s Star Trek.  When I read that he was taking on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan material specifically, I thought he was just plain nuts.  But then I asked myself, if I had the keys to the candy store what would I do if I wanted to make my mark on the franchise?  Bring back Christopher Lloyd’s Klingon Commander Kruge or Ricardo Montalban’s regal Khan?  Kill off a main character?  Abrams did just what any of us would love to do, and I expect, this should set our expectations for what he will do with the third trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, which will have a much larger international audience and implications for Abrams’ own future.

As a viewer well-versed in the minutia of Star Trek, I expected to nitpick this film to death when walking into the theater and actually put off watching the film instead of seeing it on opening weekend like I had historically viewed the past films back to Star Trek VI.  But not 15 minutes into the movie, when Kirk is being scolded by Admiral Christopher Pike (played deftly again by Bruce Greenwood) for violating the prime directive and then rightfully demoted, I was reeled into a cleverly twisting plot that delivered the goods at every level with a non-stop, action packed thrill ride that also managed to offer some of the best characterization for key roles than has been given to them in any prior Star Trek film, period.

Take for instance Simon Pegg’s Scotty.  Not since the TV series was Scotty given the opportunity to play a key role in the story of a Trek film.  Here he plants the seeds not as the throwaway silly Scottish chap, but as the moral voice for the film.  Karl Urban’s Bones similarly gets many lines–good lines– and we learn something about him other than his “wait a damn minute” grunting, which was all we ever saw from him in Star Trek: The Motion Picture through Star Trek VI.  We learn for example that he once gave a C section to a pregnant Gorn (with octuplets).  And that they bite.  Awesome!  This sheds some light on why he later would try to work on the dying Klingon ambassador in Star Trek VI.  And someone finally, onscreen, calls out Bones for his repeated metaphors.

But it doesn’t stop there–Uhura (Zoe Saldana) finally gets to do what she is supposed to do: use her communications skills to communicate with other species, and she does that here by trying to negotiate with some renegade Klingons.  Although John Cho’s Sulu gets to test drive the captain’s chair with one good speech uttered against Harriman/Khan, his role seems merely as set-up for helming the Excelsior later on.  Anton Yelchin’s Chekov, however, finally gets to don the red shirt as head of Engineering, something that was planned for the character before the creation of Star Trek: The Motion Picture for the almost-series Star Trek: Phase II.  His role, too, was slight, but with a cast this big something had to give.

Where their opening performances in Star Trek 2009 were a bit lackluster, Chris Pine’s Kirk and Zachary Quinto’s Mr. Spock are flawless as replacements for the irreplaceable William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, at last comfortably settling into their roles as the best duo ever to helm a starship (although it can be said both seemed a bit unnecessarily emotional through the first two-thirds of the film).

Which brings us to the new cast of characters introduced in Star Trek Into Darkness.  Science Officer Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) is dynamite as an intelligent one-woman spy trying to investigate her own father.  Her father, Admiral Marcus, played by Peter Weller, is superb as a familiar but believable Star Trek villain archetype, made from the same mold as Admiral Matthew Dougherty in Star Trek: Insurrection, Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Captain Benjamin Maxwell (Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “The Wounded”), and Captain Erik Pressman (TNG’s “The Pegasus”).

Then there is Benedict Cumberbatch as rogue Section 31 operative John Harrison, and ultimately we find, as the genetically superior Khan himself, complete with parkour skills and the ability to out-bat’leth a platoon of Klingons.  Cumberbatch is probably the best actor of his generation, and with his eloquent voice, steely eyes, and stage presence, on the one hand the choice is almost a no-brainer.  If you’re shying away from impersonations of prior characters–which is the best you can say of Anton Yelchin’s Chekov–then, if you’re J.J. Abrams–you’re going to be taking a risk with whomever you choose.  Would we have been happier with his rumored first choice, Javier Bardem?  Surprisingly for me, I liked Cumberbatch’s performance so much (and am a fan of his acting more than Bardem’s) that I wouldn’t have changed a thing.  In the story that unfolds of Khan, and the performance by Cumberbatch, Cumberbatch became Khan.  Unthinkable?  Impossible?  Not for me.  And I’m a big believer in Wrath of Khan as THE Trek of Trek films.

What really worked for me was what the story writers–Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof–were successful at in this film versus the 2009 film.  They actually improved our look at these characters.  Kill off James T. Kirk in a way befitting the 50-year-old character instead of the pathetic death he suffered in Star Trek: Generations?  Good call.  Flip the classic Wrath of Khan climax to leave Spock to scream KHAAAAN!!?  Hilarious.  Show us instead of telling us why Kirk always referred to Scotty as “the miracle worker”?  And they even brought back Scotty’s cool alien sidekick, Keenser, one of the updates I liked from the 2009 movie.  Finally, FINALLY focus on the fact that Spock is half human, not just a green-blooded logical Vulcan?  Right on.  Did we need another cameo by Leonard Nimoy?  No.  Was it still fun to see him again?  Absolutely.

Were there immense story problems that should make a Star Trek fan mutter to himself?  Absolutely.  Were they enough to spoil the film?  Not for me.  What were the story writers and Abrams thinking by submerging the Enterprise in the opening scene?  If you’re going to nearly destroy the Enterprise, why not show us a changed “refit” bridge at the end?  If you can transport a human from Earth to Kronos, there’s not much left for the imagination.  Starfleet security is so poor that not one but two people can sneak aboard the two best ships in the fleet unnoticed?  Really?  And why is Abrams afraid of Klingons?  What’s with those… inexplicable masks giving us little more than what was revealed in the deleted scenes on the DVD from the 2009 film?  Sure, we finally got to see one face of his Klingons, but it was basically a classic Klingon with pierced ridges.  Give us more, man!  And why even in this century would a filmmaker do something so absurd as to show a FUTURE room full of admirals with hardly any women present, and a male doctor in a room full of only women nurses?

But what about the poignant scenes on Earth, including the impetus for the terrorist attack pulled from the pilot to the Battlestar Galactica reboot, revealing the show’s theme:  What would you do to protect your family?

And what awesome Easter eggs and throwbacks to days of Star Trek past that were packed into the movie scene after scene.  Dr. McCoy and Admiral Pike’s gray uniforms influenced by the look of the uniforms in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, with the admiral’s collar resembling the original black radiological suit collars worn by Engineering.  Chekov’s red shirt from Phase II.  The enigmatic Section 31.  Spock raising his hands up from inside a volcano as he once did on the planet Vulcan in Star Trek: The Motion Picture to (almost) attain kolinahr.  Admiral Marcus’s desk models foreshadowing that giant black new ship well before it appeared on-screen.  Delta shields on every prop and piece of set decoration like it was the future’s Nike swoosh mark.  Kirk having a past relationship with Christine Chapel that he doesn’t remember?  Spock’s environmental suit with heat shield tiles like Torres’s future suit from Star Trek Voyager.  Lines like McCoy’s “Shut up Spock, we’re trying to save you” paraphrased from the original series episode “The Immunity Syndrome.”  Although I was expecting to hear the classic “He’s dead already” from Scotty, we got other great lines like “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few” and “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Finally we have a movie I might go back again to see in the theater.  That hasn’t happened for me since Star Trek: First Contact.  Was Star Trek Into Darkness anywhere close to the science fiction, powerful storytelling, and depth found in the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, or Star Trek Voyager?  No–but to be fair, only a few of the eleven other Star Trek movie efforts achieved that status.  Hollywood believes special effects, destruction of worlds and ships and shocking main character deaths are the stuff needed in movies.  Until Hollywood gets that right I’ll take a movie like Star Trek Into Darkness to keep me on the edge of my seat in my local theater.

Thank you for your cooperation.

It is likely the best format you will have seen Paul Verhoeven’s classic vision of social commentary meets science fiction since it appeared in theaters in 1987.  If you’ve only watched it on TV and in standard formats you’ll want to take another look at RoboCop, your favorite borg cop, now on high-definition Blu-ray in an unrated director’s cut.  Known for its excess violence and campy cyborg superheroics, RoboCop manages to avoid the dated look of many of its contemporary films, falling in an elite league of re-watchable, cult-favorite 1980s films with The Terminator and Tron.  Filmed in Dallas for its futuristic building locations instead of its actual story setting in Detroit, the police uniforms, corporate setting, and street scenes all feel as if they could be part of some future, with maybe only hair styles and faked media clips that shout 1980s.

Relive the classic boardroom scene where Ronny Cox’s new alternative police replacement robot has a “glitch.”  Relive the first time you saw Ray Wise and Kurtwood Smith playing their earliest genre roles.  And don’t forget the unforgettable Basil Poledouris (The Hunt for Red October, Starship Troopers, Conan the Barbarian, The Twilight Zone) soundtrack.

Best of all, Peter Weller’s police armor looks superb–Verhoeven’s choice of lighting and camera angles really shows off this unique cyborg supersuit.  Rich, clear colors–those 1980s grainy film images are now gone.

The new Blu-ray is packed with features.  Two of the special features–“Flesh and Steel: The Making of RoboCop” and a 2012 Q&A panel with the creators and stars Peter Weller and Nancy Allen–are among the most insightful extras you’re likely to find in a new edition of a film classic.  The Blu-ray also includes a commentary by director Verhoeven, screenwriter Ed Neumeier, and executive producer Jon Davison, plus a special effects short, two 1987 documentary featurettes, a scene study on the boardroom scene, and a feature on the villains of RoboCop.  You’ll learn great tidbits about the creation of the costume and how long it took to put on Weller each day, and the fact that Michael Ironsides (who would later star with Ronny Cox in Total Recall) was originally selected for the role.  The only disappointment is a lackluster set of deleted scenes (deleted for good reason), but considering all the rest of the package it’s still a great collection on a single disc.

If you’re thinking about checking out this year’s remake when it arrives in theaters, make sure you see the original classic first.  Robocop: The Unrated Director’s Cut is available everywhere and you can get it at a reduced price now at Amazon.com that will have you shouting “I’d buy that for a dollar.”

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you’re a fan of the 1987 Paul Verhoeven science fiction classic RoboCop starring Peter Weller, you might have decided to avoid the reboot showing in theaters this month.  But if you skip the new RoboCop, you’ll be missing out on a great sci-fi vision realized with a stellar cast and cutting edge special effects.  Where recent remakes of classic sci-fi movies didn’t equal the original, as with Tron: Legacy, or completely missed the mark, as with Total Recall or Man of Steel, RoboCop manages to meet or exceed the original in almost every way.

Fundamentally, the original RoboCop is lauded for its social commentary on media, capitalism, and authoritarianism.  The new film hits all of these areas head-on in light of the changing realities of the 21st century.  This begins with a failed, televised peacekeeping mission in Tehran with the giant EV-109 robots (similar to the two-legged walkers in the original film)–predecessors to both the robot/android cops, and later to the man-in-the-machine RoboCop, played by relative newcomer Joel Kinnaman.  Timely elements help bring the storyline into the 21st century, like Detroit’s closed circuit surveillance grid, which makes the RoboCop effective, and parallels the current real-world controversy surrounding drones for spying.

The supporting characters are pulled from the headlines, too.  Michael Keaton’s leader of Omnicorp is the typical entrepreneurial Wall Street “big corporation” CEO you’d expect, and Samuel L. Jackson’s talking head Pat Novak might as well have been an impersonation of Fox’s Bill O’Reilly (with some Stephen Colbert dramatics thrown in).

Where Peter Weller’s RoboCop was all machine with little soul, Joel Kinnaman’s version gets to flesh-out (literally) the physical and emotional journey from man to cyborg, in a way touched on in Jake Gyllenhaal’s equally riveting Source Code, but not otherwise fully explored on film before now.  If rumors become reality of Leonardo DiCaprio playing a big-screen version of Bionic Man’s Steve Austin, it will be difficult for audiences to avoid comparisons with this RoboCop, as the stories of both Alex Murphy and Steve Austin have many mirrored origin story scenes that unfold over the course of the film.  This includes a nice performance by Gary Oldman in a superb take on The Six Million Dollar Man’s Dr. Rudy Wells.

The story of Alex Murphy is revealed in a very methodical manner.  Instead of skipping ahead to the man as robot cop (as was done in the original film), the pace eases the viewer into the reality of the hysteria of a society that might let this type of invasive intersection of science and crime prevention be possible.  Although the villains of the original may have been better realized, and were certainly more vile, we get similarly smarmy roles with a trainer of robot cops played by Watchmen’s Jackie Earle Haley and Sorceror’s Apprentice’s Jay Baruchel as a young say-anything/do-anything marketing guy.  Of course, nothing compares to Kurtwood Smith’s vile baddie in the original movie.

From the first phrases of the goose-bump inducing Basil Poledouris original RoboCop theme, you also know this movie isn’t the typical remake.  Director José Padilha pulls only those bits and pieces from the original that further his new story.  Along with heroic musical queues, he gives Kinnaman and Haley the best lines in the film, which will be familiar to fans of the original.  And if you ask how the RoboCop story can be told as PG-13 when the original received an R rating for its excessive violence, it’s easy to see how standards have changed, as this film is every bit as violent as the original.  In fact, the graphic scenes of Alex Murphy, post-explosion, and without the suit, are simply jaw-dropping, and give the film plenty of gravitas.

We also get the watching pleasure of seeing one Batman, Michael Keaton, face off with a later Commissioner Gordon, Gary Oldman–the self-proclaimed highest grossing film actor of all time.  Keaton pulls out all his classic facial contortions and tics that we haven’t seen from him in decades, and Oldman gets to portray another frustrated good guy.  A supporting cast made of other great actors helps to create something more than your typical action movie, with Jennifer Ehle as a corporate advisor to Keaton’s character and Without a Trace’s Marianne Jean-Baptiste as the Detroit chief of police.  And action fans will get a good dose of shoot ’em up scenes on a mega scale.  Fans of first person shooter video games will feel right at home as RoboCop is tested against his android counterparts by Jackie Earle Haley’s army of robots.  If there isn’t a video game for this new RoboCop out yet, then it’s certain to be in the works.

The underlying “beware of dabbling in science” theme begs comparisons to Jurassic Park.  The all-star cast raises this movie to the level of that blockbuster, too, where supporting actors have essential roles in the story, and are played by the best Hollywood has to offer.  They all elevate Kinnaman’s performance as the film’s lead, and it is easy to see that he could springboard ahead as Jeff Goldblum did with The Fly and Jurassic Park.  Both actors have similar acting styles.  And then there is the new RoboCop suit, an essential element of this type of film–we get to see two versions, one in silver and one in black–both very cool, and Kinnaman nails that robot walk.

RoboCop is not to be missed on the big screen for sci-fi fans. It is in theaters now.

Thank you for your cooperation.

It is likely the best format you will have seen of director Paul Verhoeven’s classic vision of social commentary meeting science fiction since it appeared in theaters 30 years ago.  If you’ve only watched it on TV and in standard formats you’ll want to take another look at RoboCop, your favorite borg cop, on high-definition Blu-ray in its unrated director’s cut.  Known for its excess violence and campy cyborg superheroics, RoboCop avoids the dated look of many of its contemporary films, falling in an elite league of re-watchable, cult-favorite 1980s films with The Terminator and Tron.   Filmed in Dallas for its futuristic building locations instead of its actual story setting in Detroit, the police uniforms, corporate setting, and street scenes all feel as if they could be part of some future, with maybe only hair styles and faked media clips that shout 1980s.

Relive the classic boardroom scene where Ronny Cox’s new alternative police replacement robot has a “glitch.”  Relive the first time you saw Ray Wise and Kurtwood Smith playing their earliest genre roles, plus the late Miguel Ferrer in one of his best roles.  And don’t forget that unforgettable Basil Poledouris (The Hunt for Red October, Starship Troopers, Conan the Barbarian, The Twilight Zone) soundtrack.

Best of all, Peter Weller’s police armor looks superb–Verhoeven’s choice of lighting and camera angles really shows off this unique cyborg supersuit.  Rich, clear colors–those 1980s grainy film images are now gone.

The only recently updated Blu-ray is packed with features, ideal for a 30th anniverdary watch party.  Two of the special features–“Flesh and Steel: The Making of RoboCop” and a 2012 Q&A panel with the creators and stars Peter Weller and Nancy Allen–are among the most insightful extras you’re likely to find in a new edition of a film classic.  The Blu-ray also includes a commentary by director Verhoeven, screenwriter Ed Neumeier, and executive producer Jon Davison, plus a special effects short, two 1987 documentary featurettes, a scene study on the boardroom scene, and a feature on the villains of RoboCop.  You’ll learn great tidbits about the creation of the costume and how long it took to put on Weller each day, and the fact that Michael Ironsides (who would later star with Ronny Cox in Total Recall) was originally selected for the role.  The only disappointment is a lackluster set of deleted scenes (deleted for good reason), but considering all the rest of the package it’s still a great collection on a single disc.

If you’re thinking about checking out the remake (a good film reviewed here previously at borg.com), make sure you see the original classic first.  Robocop: The Unrated Director’s Cut is available at a reduced price now at Amazon.com that will have you shouting “I’d buy that for a dollar”–or just a few dollars more.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

For more than six years we at borg.com have been covering entertainment memorabilia auctions–sales of not merely replicas or mass-produced collectibles, but the real objects seen on film–rare or even one-of-a-kind costumes created by award-winning Hollywood costume designers, detailed props created by production crew, model vehicles created by special effects departments like Industrial Light and Magic, prosthetics created by famous makeup artists, set decoration, concept art, and much more.  Amassing a wide variety of artifacts from classic and more recent film and television history, London and Los Angeles-based Prop Store is hosting its annual auction later this month.  Known for its consignment of some of the most well-known and iconic screen-used props and costumes, Prop Store’s ultimate museum collectibles auction will be open for bidding from anyone, and items will be available at estimates for both beginning collectors and those with deeper pockets.

The Prop Store Live Auction: Treasures from Film and Television will be auctioning off approximately 600 items.  You’ll find the following movies and TV shows represented and more:  3:10 to Yuma (2007), 300, Aliens, Back to the Future films, Blade Runner, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Chronicles of Narnia films, Elysium, Enemy Mine, Excalibur, The Fifth Element, Gladiator, The Goonies, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Jason and the Argonauts, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, the Indiana Jones films, Iron Man, the James Bond films, Judge Dredd (1995), the Jurassic Park films, Kick-Ass 2, Kingsman: the Secret Service, Lifeforce, Looper, The Lost Boys, The Martian, The Matrix, Men in Black III, Mission: Impossible (1996), The Mummy (1999), Patton, Pirates of the Caribbean series, Predators, the Rocky films, Saving Private Ryan, Scarface, Serenity, Shaun of the Dead, Shawshank Redemption, Sherlock Holmes (2009), Star Trek franchise, Star Wars franchise, Starship Troopers, Superman films, Terminator films, The Three Musketeers (1993), Tropic Thunder, Troy, True Grit, Underworld: Evolution, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Willow, The Wolfman (2010), World War Z, and the X-Men films.

You can flip through the auction house’s hefty 360-page catalog, or start with a look at what we selected as the best 50 of the lots–what we predict as the most sought-after by collectors and those that represent some of fandom’s favorite sci-fi and fantasy classics and modern favorites.

• Industrial Light and Magic 17 3/4-inch Rebel Y-Wing filming model from Return of the Jedi
• Sark (David Warner) Grid costume from the original Tron (1982)
• Julie Newmar’s Catwoman costume and Burgess Meredith Penguin hat from the classic Batman TV series
• Buttercup (Robin Wright) Fire Swamp red dress from The Princess Bride
• Chekov (Walter Koenig) “nuclear wessels” costume, Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) costume, and Sulu (George Takei) double shirt from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
• Full crew set of costumes (Malcolm, Zoe, Wash, Jayne, Inara, Kaylee, River, Book, and Simon) from Serenity (sold as individual costume lots)
• Jack Nicholson purple Joker costume, plus separate coat and hat, from Batman (1989)
• Enterprise-D 48-inch “pyro” model from Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Will Munny (Clint Eastwood) stunt shotgun from Unforgiven
• Star-lord helmet from Guardians of the Galaxy
• Thor (Chris Hemsworth) Mjolnir hammer from Thor

• Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II jumpsuits made for Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman
• Witch-king of Angmar crown from The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
• Val Kilmer Batman suit and cowl from Batman Forever
• Maverick (Tom Cruise) flight suit from Top Gun
• Geoffrey Rush Captain Barbossa costume from the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, Curse of the Black Pearl

And there are so many more.  Like…

• Michael J. Fox Marty McFly costume from Back to the Future III and full-sized restored future-2015 police cruiser from Back to the Future II
• Two classic “Evil Ash” (Bruce Campbell) costumes and one full-sized cable-controlled puppet from Army of Darkness
• Sylvester McCoy Seventh Doctor hat from Doctor Who
• Ian McKellen Magneto helmet and tunic from X-Men (2000)
• Buddy the Elf costume worn by Will Farrell in Elf
• T-X red costume and effects arm worn by Kristanna Loken in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
• Full-sized, Stampe biplane mock-up vehicle from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
• Peter Weller armor costume from RoboCop 2
• Harry and Mrs. Bigfoot masks from Harry and the Hendersons
• Steve McQueen costume from Papillon

• Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) red jacket from The Shining
• Third season Star Trek “red shirt” from the classic Star Trek TV series
• Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) prosthetics and display from Hellboy II: The Golden Army
• Walker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) costume vest from Timecop
• Roger Moore James Bond Royal Navy cap from Live and Let Die
• Bespin Guard jacket from The Empire Strikes Back
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail round table helmet
• Conan swords made for Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Barbarian
• Two full EVA spacesuits from The Martian, worn by Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain
• Jamaican bobsled team suits from Cool Runnings

This is just the tip of the iceberg–check out the Prop Store online auction catalog here to see more than 500 other items being sold, find photographs of each lot and description information, and here to register for the auction.

The Prop Store Live Auction: Treasures from Film and Television is September 26, 2017.

Happy bidding!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

If I updated my favorite characters list, I’m not sure yet whether two of the stars of the television series Longmire would make my top five, but I am sure they’d give my top 10 a run for their money.  Those two stars would be Robert Taylor′s cool, dry, and wise Sheriff Walt Longmire and his best friend, Lou Diamond Phillips′ loyal, clever, and heroic Cheyenne bar owner Henry Standing Bear.  I don’t know how I overlooked Longmire in its run between 2012 and 2017, but I’m grateful, because watching it an episode per day during sheltering at home helped get me through those 150 days.  This is great drama, exciting, often humorous, and as good a modern Western as you could hope for.  It’s airing right now on Netflix.

It takes only the first episode to realize what the show is about.  Headlining a Western “Law & Order,” Sheriff Longmire is Gary Cooper in High Noon, but he’s also Old Man Logan in a small town in modern day Montana.  The series starts just as the sheriff gets back in the saddle–re-engages actively as Absaroka County’s law enforcer–after the death of his wife.  Viewers don’t immediately learn about the nature of her death, but it becomes integral to the plot, to the villainy of the town, and to the fate of the sheriff.

All six seasons are a pleasure to watch, with a core cast of brilliant performers that show some serious acting chops.  Katee Sackhoff is Deputy Vic.  No matter what you’ve seen Sackhoff do before, whether as the best part of Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman, The Flash, or the Halloween franchise, she shines brightest as a badass, ex-Philadelphia cop running away from her past (the idea she’s stepping out of this Western and into The Mandalorian couldn’t be more thrilling of an idea).  A Martinez (LA Law, The Cowboys) is Jacob Nighthorse, a big voice among the local Cheyenne reservation and top man at the new casino, and the frequent target of Longmire’s wrath.  Peter Weller (RoboCop, Star Trek Into Darkness) directs five of the best episodes and plays Lucian, an even older, former sheriff, who drifts in from time to time to assist Longmire.  This is Weller’s best performance–he oozes Western charm and character like honey.  Among the familiar faces is Gerald McRaney (Simon & Simon, Gunsmoke) as Barlow Connally, a scheming, wealthy businessman whose influence crosses the boundaries of the town and reservation.

Zahn McClarnon (Westworld, Fargo) is stunning as Officer Mathias, and you’ll wish every new series featured his gravitas and his character’s attitude and style.  Rounding out the cast is Cassidy Freeman (Smallville, The Vampire Diaries) as Longmire’s daughter, Adam Bartley (Bones, Annabelle: Creation) as The Ferg, the low man on the totem pole in the sheriff’s department, and Bailey Chase (Grimm, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as a deputy gunning for Longmire’s job.

Look for appearances by Mary Wiseman (Baskets, Star Trek Discovery) as Ferg’s girlfriend, Tantoo Cardinal (Stumptown, Dances with Wolves) as one of the best badass characters we’ve seen this year, Mädchen Amick (Twin Peaks, Riverdale, Star Trek: The Next Generation) as Henry’s ex, Dylan Walsh (Whiskey Cavalier, Congo) as a mob boss from Boston, Tom Wopat (Dukes of Hazzard) as a nearby sheriff, and the great Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves, Thunderheart) as the former law enforcement chief at the reservation.  Just as many less familiar faces stand out through the series and fill out the rest of the cast.

But the pure pleasure is in every scene with Robert Taylor and Lou Diamond Phillips.  Taylor, an actor from Australia, has created something on par with the best roles of John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and–again–Gary Cooper.  Phillips at times could be a wise Jedi like Obi-Wan Kenobi or a skillful and furtive Scarlet Pimpernel.  Don’t mistake marketing images for this duo as another Lone Ranger and Tonto.  Longmire may very well be an update to that serial trope of film’s Golden Age, but the writing and execution of the series is how to present a rural, Western, superhero story (yes, it’s really a superhero story) in a truly perfect way.

The series, based on a set of novels by Craig Johnson, originally appeared for its first three seasons on A&E, before Netflix agreed to take it on, continuing for three more seasons.  The production values step up for those last three seasons, but the storytelling is consistent throughout.  If there is any down step at all, it would be in the direction taken in the final episode.  It’s satisfying, but somewhat inconsistent with the direction of characters throughout the series.

Great characters, top-notch performances, solid writing, a comfortable soundtrack, and a beautiful setting make for one of the best television series you’ll ever encounter.  And it’s a great modern Western to boot.  Catch all six seasons of Longmire this summer on Netflix, also streaming on Vudu, and here on DVD and here on digital at Amazon.

Thirty-seven years after the premiere of the cult film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, the screenplay writer has penned a sequel.  For fans of the quirky sci-fi movie, this sequel was of the eagerly-awaited variety.  You’re about to get your money’s worth as Earl Mac Rauch, who wrote the script and a novelization of the movie, is delivering the hefty, 568-page volume this summer, available now for pre-order here at Amazon.  With another long title, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League et al, –A Compendium of Evils, continues the adventures of the scientist-surgeon-entertainer-daredevil played by Peter Weller.

Here is the publicity blurb from publisher Dark Horse Comics (note this is not a comic, but a novel):

Still mourning the losses of his beloved Penny Priddy and his surrogate father Professor Hikita, Buckaroo Banzai must also contend with the constant threat of attack from his immortal nemesis Hanoi Xan, ruthless leader of the World Crime League.  To make matters worse, Planet 10 warrior queen John Emdall has sent her Lectroid legions against Earth with a brutal ultimatum.  Or is her true target Buckaroo Banzai?  As the apocalyptic threats continue to mount, only Buckaroo and his Hong Kong Cavaliers stand in the way of global destruction—or in the words of one of the movie’s iconic lines: “Laugh-a while you can, monkey boy!”

The original film had many behind the scenes commonalities for fans of the Star Trek franchise.  First promoted via headbands given out at a Star Trek convention (now a sought-after collectible for Banzai fans), the film was released opposite Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.  A box office bomb, it would see its own renaissance in the video era.  Model maker Greg Jein, who worked on some of Hollywood’s biggest movies, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Hunt for Red October, created the famed oscillation overthruster for Banzai, a device Jein then brought over to the Star Trek movie and TV sets, which found its way onto the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine sets as a mechanical device, as well as part of the Phoenix set in Star Trek: First Contact, among other uses.  One of these sold at the Star Trek auction via Christies in 2006.  It’s a good bet this device will make an appearance in Rauch’s new novel.

Pre-order Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League et al.–A Compendium of Evils now here at Amazon, slated for release in August 2021.

C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg

Review by C.J. Bunce

I Love the ’80s was a ten-hour VH-1 series that waxed nostalgic for all things pop culture in the decade, and a new five-hour documentary strives to do the same thing with the sci-fi genre movies of the decade as its focus.  In Search of Tomorrow: A Journey Through ’80s Sci-Fi Cinema is the result of a crowd-sourced project, now available for pre-order exclusively at the project’s website here.  It is one of several projects we’ve seen like it over the years, the best being Must-See Sci-Fi (reviewed here), Turner Classic Movies’ guide to 50 significant science fiction movies, and James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction (reviewed here), a book and series which gives insight into the genre’s most significant creations via interviews with the directors that made them.  In Search of Tomorrow features only a handful of A-listers in its interviews–the advertised top talent being Peter Weller, Billy Dee Williams, Dee Wallace, and Nicholas Meyer.  It pulls together a group of the few remaining actors, visual effects artists, and other creators behind the scenes who fans of the genre probably haven’t seen in decades (yes, it’s been more than 30 years since the 1980s).  Writer/director David Weiner focuses on a swath of 54 movies that reflects the best–and the worst–of the decade.

The show digs into five or six movies for each year of the decade, with some effort by Weiner to splice in other movies by way of quick clips along the way, although even with the long five-hour format, a surprising number of major movies are brushed over or left out entirely.  A recurring wall of movie posters is used to guide the documentary, and you may find yourself pointing to the posters to the left or right wondering why those aren’t mentioned.  The most value is where Weiner was able to find an abundance of creators for a film–the biggest of these is for RoboCop, which offers comments from director Paul Verhoeven, and actors Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, and Kurtwood Smith, among others.

The documentary follows that I Love the ’80s format of including input from people outside of Hollywood, from critics and writers to an astrophysicist, a futurist (?) and a psychologist (?).  More interesting is seeing an actor or director from one movie commenting on another, like Peter Weller and Shane Black describing their take on the movie Aliens.  Some movies have few or no contributors signed on for the documentary, with critics, etc. practically apologizing for films with big fan followings while trying too hard to prop up other, more lackluster entries.  But that’s what the fast-forward button is for.  Ultimately diehard fans will have seen most of the content before, but those new to the 1980s will get a good overview of what they have missed, and without the need to compile the special features from the films’ DVDs or Blu-rays.  Since the documentary dives into some truly obscure movies, even experts may find one or two they haven’t seen yet.  (Have you really watched Galaxina?)

So expect to see insiders and outsiders sharing the love for the full range of great science fiction movies, from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial to The Empire Strikes Back, three Star Treks (sorry, Final Frontier), Back to the Future, The Terminator, and Aliens, to Predator and WarGames, beloved classics like The Last Starfighter, Tron, Short Circuit, and Weird Science, cult favorites like Flash Gordon, Buckaroo Banzai, Alien Nation, and Escape from New York, old-school style sci-fi like Outland and The Final Countdown, and there’s also plenty (probably too much) of… the other stuff, that VHS store, discount back wall fare like Earth Girls are Easy, Megaforce, Strange Invaders, Cherry 2000, and Mac and Me.

Any time you make a list, somebody (maybe everyone) is going to be unhappy, and that’s both the appeal and downside.  As with I Love the ’80s, each year is offset by segments on decade-spanning topics, including “Futuristic Visions and Cautionary Realities,” “Scoring Brave New Worlds” (Brad Feidel discusses The Terminator anvil), and “Practical Creature Effects.”  The best of these is “VFX Movie Magic,” with contributions from John Dykstra, John Knoll, Dennis Muren, and a sort of grumpy Phil Tippett.

Surprisingly interesting entries include Gene Simmons discussing Runaway, and what is probably the last interview with director Ivan Reitman, who died last month.  Keep an eye out for multiple actors who are so personally tied to a movie role from the 1980s they refer to the characters in their interviews as “I.”  Barry Bostwick talks spandex, and Jesse Ventura is a hoot (Ventura can’t seem to get past his personal rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger, which the rest of us forgot about in 1989).  Bruce Boxleitner talking Tron (and visual effects supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw sharing Tron Easter eggs) is as good as it sounds, as is seeing Lance Guest and Catherine Mary Stewart talk about The Last Starfighter, Sam Jones and Melody Anderson talking Flash Gordon, Sean Young discussing Blade Runner and Dune, and Clancy Brown talking about anything.  Very few young contributors made the cut, the youngest probably being once-young actors Star Trek II’s Ike Eisenmann (59), Flight of the Navigator star Joey Cramer (48), and Aliens’ Carrie Henn (45).  We’re reminded of missing people from the documentary who died young, too, like Bill Paxton, River Phoenix, and Miguel Ferrer.

Sure, it would be great for this to have been more like James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction with contributions by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford, William Shatner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and other big names–it would make an awesome show.  But this is what we have, and it’s still a nice opportunity for some of the second tier sci-fi movies of the era to get revisited by those that made the movies, one last time, all these years later.  You still may be left wondering why they couldn’t land Steve Guttenberg or Ally Sheedy to discuss Short Circuit.  I wish more of the connective material–there’s an over-reliance on Wil Wheaton and Bill and Ted’s Alex Winter to fill in gaps–was swapped for detailed discussions of significant 1980s sci-fi classics virtually ignored by the production, like They Live, The Thing, The Philadelphia Experiment, Starman, Lifeforce, The Quiet Earth, D.A.R.Y.L., The Fly, Captain EO, Solarbabies, Invaders from Mars, and SpaceCamp, among others (okay, I’m fine they left out Deep Star Six).  It’s also interesting two sci-fi movies included in Turner Classic Movies’ Top 50 Sci-Fi movies of all time: the Oscar-nominated Brazil and The Brother From Another Planet, didn’t get coverage here.

A good journey through the 1980s via its sci-fi movies, reflecting the life and times of the era and its view of the future, In Search of Tomorrow: A Journey Through ’80s Sci-Fi Cinema is available for a short time for pre-order exclusively at the project’s website here (available on Blu-ray and DVD).  It’s unfortunate this is not available as a digital option via Vudu, as I think more people would check it out.  Also, it’s well-suited for a Netflix release in the vein of The Movies That Made Us (although that does not seem likely since Netflix makes its own documentaries).  Find out more about In Search of Tomorrow at the project’s website.