RoboCop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

RoboCop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Two prior editions of Irvin Kershner's RoboCop 2 (1990) have been covered on our site. Casey Broadwater reviewed it in 2010 as part of MGM's RoboCop Trilogy box set. Seven years later, I wrote an extensive piece about the film's inception and production for Scream Factory's "Collector's Edition". For details, please refer to the linked reviews.

"Thank you for not smoking."

RoboCop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Scream Factory's new "Collector's Edition" of RoboCop 2 consists of a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray combo that comes with a slipcover featuring either new artwork or vintage art that replicates one of the original posters. The UHD is encoded on a BD-100 (disc size: 87.6 GB) and is presented with Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible). The second disc is a newly produced Blu-ray that differs from the 2017 disc, which was struck from a 35 mm interpositive. Both the BD-100 and BD-50 in this set are taken from a recent 4K scan of the original camera negative.

Before examining aspects of the new transfer, I want to provide some background on a couple of the movie's early video presentations. Orion Home Video manufactured a LaserDisc of RoboCop 2 in late 1990 with a US release by Image Entertainment the following January. This is actually a pretty solid pan-and-scan transfer for an early '90s LD, although it sports video artifacts and aliasing, which were not uncommon for the format. Orion states on the back of the jacket that it's "Mastered from a Digital Video Source." (It's possibly taken from a D2 composite digital tape.) I've made ten screen captures from the LD, which I've added to the Screenshots tab so you can compare framing, hues, and gamma levels with the most recent transfer. The LD's picture adds information to the top and bottom while masking info along the sides. Interestingly, the LD transfer keeps all of the seated attendees in an OCP conference room, which is a pretty wide shot. You can still see Johnson (Felton Perry) near the left edge of the frame in Screenshot #13.

RoboCop 2 did not have a letterboxed presentation on home video until 1997 when Orion released it on DVD with a non-anamorphic transfer. This was likely taken from a worn release print as it frequently displays dirt, hairs, and other artifacts. The colors are also generally very dull and washed as you can see from the handful of frame grabs I've included in the Screenshots tab. A year after this DVD, Orion issued the same transfer on LD, which Image again distributed. Fewer copies seem to have been produced compared to the snapper case DVD.

For screen captures from the 2010 Blu-ray box set, which also includes grabs from the other two films, please click here. For additional captures from MGM's '10 transfer, as well as from Scream's 2K scan in 2017, please click here.

Colors rendered on the new 4K and Blu-ray discs look the best they have ever looked for this film. The DV and HDR really help to accentuate the hues' definition, delineation, and detail. Grain is most visible in areas where shades of white, gray, and light blue are present. I also examined the HDR10 presentation shot by shot on a 4K monitor and only spotted a couple of small flecks, including one adjacent to RoboCop shortly after he emerges from his Cruiser following an explosion. (This minor artifact was present on the earlier BD transfers.) Contrast and clarity are literally night and day compared to previous transfers (even the BDs produced in the 2010s). While the UHD is certainly the go-to disc for repeated viewings, I am also very pleased with the image on the Blu-ray, which I upscaled to 4K. As you can see from the captures of a handful of identical shots from each, the UHD is a shade brighter than the darker Blu-ray. One minor quibble is that I think the sun shining on the front lawn of the Murphy home should be a notch or two brighter on both so it more closely resembles the brightness on the LD for that particular shot and others in the same scene.

In the June 1990 article on RoboCop 2 in American Cinematographer that I cited in my earlier review, cinematographer Mark Irwin noted there were as many as four or five layers in a single shot. Matte paintings, stop-motion animation sequences, and the blue screen pieces which were later added to the foreground—these appear seamlessly integrated across the frame in the presentations on both discs. They seldom, if ever, look "out of place" within shots. I didn't notice any chroma noise around any of the sequences that incorporated a total of 100+ VistaVision plates.

The Dolby Vision presentation carries an average video bitrate of 85 Mbps. The HDR10 presentation on the base layer sports a mean video bitrate of 76496 kbps. On the Blu-ray, the 117-minute feature displays a healthy rough average bitrate of 34004 kbps.

Screenshot #s 1-10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, & 40 = Scream Factory 2024 4K Ultra HD BD-100 (downscaled to 1080p)
Screenshot #s 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 25, 29, 33, & 37 = Orion Home Video 1991 LaserDisc (1.33:1)
Screenshot #s 22, 26, 30, 34, & 38 = Orion Home Video 1997 DVD (non-anamorphic 1.85:1)
Screenshot #s 23, 27, 31, 35, & 39 = Scream Factory 2024 4K-scanned Blu-ray BD-50

Scream's standard twelve chapter selections are available for accessing scenes on both discs.

RoboCop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream has supplied three audio options for viewing RoboCop 2: a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround remix (3985 kbps, 24-bit), a "new" MGM DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo mix (2085 kbps, 24-bit), and a LaserDisc PCM Stereo track re-encoded in DTS-HD MA. Site user and "Blu-ray Guru" Brett C wrote on the forum for this title that he originally supplied Shout! Factory with an audio file from his 1991 LD for the 2017 CE. However, Shout! only generically labeled the lossless stereo mix on its website and packaging for the label's initial BD release. It wasn't until this year's release that the pop-out menus revealed that it's sourced from the LD. I recently played the LD's stereo track and regard it as likely closest to the Dolby SR heard in theaters back in 1990. It's splendidly well-balanced with great reverbs that are heard on each surround channel. It sometimes resembles a 5.1's split-surround recording. Fidelity is excellent. Leonard Rosenman's score sounds warm and occasionally propulsive from the fronts to the rears. The high-range sounds announcing the arrival of a long semi truck outside a factory and large robot feet that hit the gravel are a major highlight on this mix.

In some ways, the new stereo master that MGM supplied Scream is more detailed than the LD track. For example, when thieves fire their machine guns after ransacking a gun shop, bass and LFE are elevated on the front sound stage. Additionally, there's a large roar when one of the looters fires a rocket from the bazooka he's holding. Overall, though, I feel the LD still delivers a sonically richer presentation.

The 5.1 track likely emanates from the same remix that MGM prepared for its R1 DVD in 2004.

I also listened to the Dolby Stereo 2.0 mix (192 kbps, 48.0 kHz) on the '97 Orion DVD to see how it compares to the '91 LD digital track. The former is more limited in range; the lossy mix could have received some dynamic range compression. It sounds more like a matrixed stereo surround mix during two major action sequences: one that concludes the second act and the other during the climax of the third act. I would probably rank the DD 2.0 below the three mixes on the UHD and BD.

RoboCop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All extras duplicate the ones found on the 2017 CE. Only the two commentaries are included on the Ultra HD disc.

DISC ONE: 4K UHD

• Audio Commentary with Author/Computer Graphics Supervisor Paul M. Sammon - Sammon served as CG supervisor, publicist, and on other roles for this sequel. He delivers a lucid and detailed feature-length commentary, which is primarily screen-specific. He covers the locations used for filming in Houston, stop-motion animation, among many other topics. Sammon also gives his recollections of what he was doing during production. He sometimes offers brief interpretive analyses and opinions of scenes. While there are hardly any gaps, I would have liked to see him elaborate on certain points. For instance, after providing some background on one of the props, he states: "So, that was our own political comment." But Sammon doesn't elaborate on that point. Granted, this is often a scene-by-scene commentary and he needs to move on to maintain flow with the film. But more extrapolation would have been further enlightening. Overall, though, a great track. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with the Makers of RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop Documentary – Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths and Eastwood Allen - the producer and co-directors of RoboDoc discuss their appreciation and admiration for the first sequel. They talk about several of the actors and what they brought to their roles. They also give their takes on how scenes play out. They supply some anecdotes from the interviews and research they've conducted for their doc on RoboCop 2, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. This commentary feels like only the appetizers for what the second part of the RoboDoc series will likely deliver, which I anticipate will contain several big entrées. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Author/Computer Graphics Supervisor Paul M. Sammon - Sammon served as CG supervisor, publicist, and on other roles for this sequel. He delivers a lucid and detailed feature-length commentary, which is primarily screen-specific. He covers the locations used for filming in Houston, stop-motion animation, among many other topics. Sammon also gives his recollections of what he was doing during production. He sometimes offers brief interpretive analyses and opinions of scenes. While there are hardly any gaps, I would have liked to see him elaborate on certain points. For instance, after providing some background on one of the props, he states: "So, that was our own political comment." But Sammon doesn't elaborate on that point. Granted, this is often a scene-by-scene commentary and he needs to move on to maintain flow with the film. But more extrapolation would have been further enlightening. Overall, though, a great track. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with the Makers of RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop Documentary – Gary Smart, Chris Griffiths and Eastwood Allen - the producer and co-directors of RoboDoc discuss their appreciation and admiration for the first sequel. They talk about several of the actors and what they brought to their roles. They also give their takes on how scenes play out. They supply some anecdotes from the interviews and research they've conducted for their doc on RoboCop 2, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. This commentary feels like only the appetizers for what the second part of the RoboDoc series will likely deliver, which I anticipate will contain several big entrées. In English, not subtitled.

• Corporate Wars: The Making of ROBOCOP 2 (32:04, 1080p) - this retrospective features both archival and 2017 interviews with cast and crew members. It includes interviews from seven years ago with CG supervisor Paul M. Sammon, executive producer Patrick Crowley, associate producer Phil Tippett, cinematographer Mark Irwin as well as actors Nancy Allen, Tom Noonan, and Galyn Görg. Sammon's 1989/90 interviews with producer Jon Davidson and director Irvin Kershner are excerpted. There's also vintage rehearsal and BTS footage. All interviewees speak in English, not subtitled.

• Machine Parts: The FX of ROBOCOP 2 (31:36, 1080p) - an in-depth program about the visual effects in the film. It features interviews with Phil Tippett, special photo effects artist Peter Kuran, VCE effects animator Kevin Kutchaver, visual effects art director Craig Hayes, stop- motion animator Don Waller, stop-motion animator Justin Kohn, Paul Gentry (FX camera), Jim Aupperle (FX camera), Kirk Thatcher (miniature set construction),and stop-motion animator Randal Dutra. The work of Ray Harryhausen is collectively cited as an inspiration. All interviewees speak in English, not subtitled.

• Robo-Fabricator – An Interview with RoboCop Armor Fabricator James Belohovek (8:47, 1080p) - Belohovek talks about working with Rob Bottin and Roboteam chief Dennis Pawlik. He also describes the process of designing RoboCop's suit and outfitting the cyborg's armor. In English, not subtitled.

• Adapting Frank Miller's ROBOCOP 2 – An Interview with Comic Book Writer Steven Grant (5:53, 1080p) - Grant adapted Miller's uncensored RoboCop 2 script into a graphic novel, which was serialized. He talks some about the cyberpunk nature of the RoboCop universe and also about Miller's writing style. In English, not subtitled.

• OCP Declassified (45:50, upconverted to 1080p) - this is a collection of rare archival production and behind-the-scenes videos shot by Paul M. Sammon at the time of RoboCop 2's interviews. These appear to be the full, unedited interviews Sammon recorded with producer Jon Davison, director Irvin Kershner as well as actors Peter Weller and Dan O'Herlihy. The compilation also contains raw footage that Sammon took of two scenes excised from the final cut. The rest of the footage includes RoboCop visiting a school and a prop demo inside the Tippett Studios. All content is in English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:54, 1080p) - a fully restored original trailer that incorporates extracts from Basil Poledouris's score from the first film.

• Teaser Trailers (1:57, 1080p) - two teaser trailers. The first (shorter) one is in better condition. Second looks struck from a 35 mm reel and shows its age. This trailer also excerpts Poledouris's music from RoboCop. In English, not subtitled.

• TV Spots (1:03, upconverted to 1080p) - the first spot aired in summer 1990 and appears sourced from a VHS tape. The second spot is a drug prevention message from Peter Weller. In English, not subtitled.

• Deleted Scenes Gallery (2:34, 1080p) - descriptions of some omitted scenes that are accompanied by 14 or 15 stills altogether.

• Behind-the-Scenes Gallery (0:46, 1080p) - eight stills that are mainly of Irvin Kershner with some of his cast and crew members.

• Still Gallery (9:07, 1080p) - this slide show presents around 108 images from RoboCop 2's production and promotional campaign. The stills consist of BTS photos, posters, and lobby cards from the US and international countries that exhibited the film. Several of the stills are culled from Orion's press kit. Some of the lobby cards were part of Fox's ad campaign in France. Please note that you can go either forwards or backwards while navigating the gallery using the Search button on your remote.

RoboCop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

My love and admiration for RoboCop 2 has not waned since I reviewed Scream Factory's CE seven years ago. The sequel is largely a continuation and expansion of the milieu, characters, and themes introduced in the first film. It also retains the original's hard edge. It is true that several scenes are either structured or appear patterned after similar ones from Verhoeven's 1987 masterpiece, but Kershner and company execute them with such flair, dynamism, and bristling energy that the film stands out fine on its own. The returning cast of Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, and Felton Perry deliver performances that range from good to stellar. Gabriel Damon was only 12 or 13 when he appeared in RoboCop 2, and he delivers an excellent performance as Hob. I cannot wait to hear what he has to say about his experience making the film in the next part of RoboDoc. Robo 2 proves a much more formidable foe for RoboCop than ED-209 was. While I appreciate the repertoire that some of the new villains brought in the sequel, no body can ever surpass Clarence Boddicker and Dick Jones.

Scream Factory gives us a marvelous and sparkling 4K transfer from the original camera negative. It is great to have the LaserDisc stereo track, which is my preferred mix. Even though Scream hasn't produced any new extras from the terrific bunch it made in 2017, any fan of the RoboCop franchise will want to add this to his or her collection. It earns my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.