Sadly Over-hyped

Absolutely Fantastic

A lot of fun.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

80s galore. Still resonates today. My favourite film from the 1980s

Let's be clear. RoboCop ain't Citizen Kane but that's not what it is supposed to be, it's just a crazy fun, over the top sci-fi action flick. Peter Weller is great as RoboCop, the rest of the cast is also great (his female partner, the scumbag at Omni-Corp as well as his boss the even bigger scumbag, the gangster played by the dad from That 70's Show, even the stop motion robot RoboCop has to fight against.One thing I wasn't expecting was how funny the movie would be. There's a lot of great little satirical skits and jokes. Much of the comedy is very dark but still funny.Be advised this movie was originally X-rated for a reason. A lot of the action is way out there with significant blood and gore factor with body parts blown off, screaming and even a melting or two. Do not let kids watch this movie.

This film begins in a dystopian future with the city of Detroit faced with a horrendous crime wave coupled with massive unemployment. As the story unfolds a cop by the name of "Ajax J. Murphy" (Peter Weller) is reassigned from one precinct within the city to the most difficult and crime-ridden area of all. To make things even worse a big corporation known as "OCP" has essentially taken over control of the police department and virtually dictate all policy and procedures. So when Murphy get shot and killed in the line-of-duty they take his body and transform him into a cyborg which gives him increased strength and gun accuracy but at the cost of a complete loss of memory. Also included in his transformation is a secret protocol known as the "4th directive" intended to benefit those within OCP. Although there isn't anything Murphy can do about this his memory begins to return to a limited degree when his partner "Officer Anne Lewis" (Nancy Allen) attempts to remind him of certain events just prior to his being killed. In the meantime, however, office politics within the corporation begin to become a bigger problem to Murphy than the armed criminals out on the street. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I remember watching this movie when it first came out and I continue to enjoy it to this day. Of course, it suffers a bit due to the passage of time but that is only to be expected. In any case, I encourage those interested in a movie of this type to check it out and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

Robocop 1987Robocop is a film I hold very close to my heart. As a school boy when this film was released my father wouldn't allow me to watch it. The graphic violence and foul language was deemed unfit for an eleven year old boy and rightly so. I begged and pleaded but dad wouldn't budge. His mind was set. My school friends however had all seen it. I don't think there was a VHS copy in my neighbourhood that hadn't been played within an inch of its life. Of course every school break time was filled with discussion of this sci-fi masterpiece. So I learned the film from start to finish without even laying my eyes on the screen. Every line, every scene all in my imagination as I listened in awe to my friends as they retold the tale of Alex Murphy a Detroit police officer who is violently gunned down by a gang of vicious criminals and then reconstructed as a crime fighting cyborg. I say violently but even that is an understatement. If you opt to watch the directors cut the gore of Murphy's deconstruction is almost too much to bare. Limbs are detached from body with murderous gunfire. The violence feels real, you can almost taste the brain matter. But this is necessary in order to convey the brutal world these characters live in. Paul Verhoevens film pokes fun at modern day America and the massive corporations that control our lives. All of this is done with a good dose of satire and a wink at the camera. The TV commercials that play throughout the movie are a work of genius. A particular one involving a gas guzzling American made car named the 6000 SUX, an American tradition which proudly returns 8.2mpg. There are so many delights in this film that are wasted on an eleven year old school boy. However when my father finally came around some few years later and allowed me to watch this movie I was blown away like Murphy himself. My imagination was being presented before me right there on the screen. I knew every line but to see it actually happening was mesmerising. The performances are exceptional, particularly by Peter Weller as Robocop. His movement, his on screen presence. A story of a man becoming a machine and then a man again perfectly portrayed. Supporting cast are also superb. Kurtwood Smith created one of the most evil and memorable villains since Darth Vader. Granted the special effects by today's standards look weak but compared to the recent remake, the original film has depth and texture. No CGI can replicate this. Take ED209 for example he is as menacing as he is comical. A killer robot tank that is flummoxed by a staircase. The clumsy stop motion effects only elevate this. I recently revisited this film and after thirty years I am still bowled over by its genius.Robocop is more than just an action flick it's a clever and comical finger poke at the world we live in.