RoboCop (1987)

Really Surprised!

An action-packed slog

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

In the not too distant future, a Detroit police officer is gunned down by a gang of killers and is resurrected as a cyborg police officer. He later regains his humanity and craves vengeance for the gang that killed him. Robocop is sci-fi satire at its finest. It uses the action genre as a guise for deep social commentary on institutional power, media manipulation and consumerism. One of the most memorable lines from the film is 'I'll buy that for a dollar!' said by a character from a sitcom which satirises consumerist excess. We aren't given much context about the show except that everyone finds it utterly hilarious. Even the yuppy like executives, that the show openly makes fun of, embrace this cultural phenomena by referencing the line. This pretty much sums up Robocop's message in a nutshell. The film is directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier. Verhoeven is known for putting over exaggerated violence, sex, swearing and drugs throughout his films and Robocop is no exception. Most of the violence, except Alex Murphy's execution, is overly comical and this was done for a purpose. We laugh at the corporate climate, especially when an executive is blown to bits by a droid and is only labelled as 'a glitch'. The action in the movie is overly stylised to showcase the silly media driven and consumerist world. Even though Robocop is humorous this is not to say the film hasn't got heavy moments of drama and tragedy. Alex Murphy is like a cog in the machine, which is similarly explored in another Verhoeven film, 'Starship Troopers'. We see him trying to imitate a popular tv show 'TJ Laser' which encourages him to join the police force. Although this results in his death and you end up feeling sorry for the character despite his naivety. However, Alex Murphy ends up regaining his humanity which brings some hope in an otherwise pessimistic view of the future.Robocop is fantastic and is one of the smartest eighties sci-fi action films.

Paul Verhoevan's filmography is hit and miss but you cannot deny the man's penchant for violence and satire which when juxtaposed with a great script and acting, can result in something special. Robocop is one such film- released in 1987 Robocop has seared itself into popular culture- Kenny being killed in South park being a direct reference- and continues to be incredibly popular, if a bit dated in effects. (Peter Weller is awesome as Robocop and you must see this one if you haven't already).

Looks dated now as SFX let alone CGI was in it's infancy in those days. But the story, so futuristic then, seems to be drawing ever closer. We were sold the promise ( lie ?? ) that computers and robotics would make life easier for mankind. Now we're more concerned than ever about who controls what.. Data gathering that would cause outrage if the State or police tried to do it, the idea that Russians could brainwash American voters to choose the candidate they preferred. Sci - Fi now is trying to catch up.

I remember the first time I saw RoboCop sitting on the shelves of a video store (remember those?) in Cleveland, OH back in 1996. For whatever reason, the cover always caught my eye. Was I afraid of the robotic police officer on the front cover or did a movie about a robotic police officer just sound pretty amazing? I think it was a little bit of both. After watching RoboCop for the first time since seeing it in a store 21 years ago, I couldn't believe my eyes. From the very beginning of the film, we are brought into a cinematic universe of parody, comedy, violence, drama, action and so much more. From the spot on newscasts where war and violence are mixed in with feel good stories and cheesy dialogue, I knew from the onset that RoboCop was going to exceed my expectations. This movie is violent, folks. It is done for effect but the brilliance in RoboCop is that the film actually shows what powerful and technologically advanced weaponry does to a human body. It will make you cringe, but while these companies and organizations fight for ultimate military dominance, we see first-hand just what these weapons are doing to the people of this world.It is a pretty amazing feat. For starters, RoboCop is a direct reflection on society in the 1980s. Watching it in 2017, it didn't feel very off from life today with its portrayal of excess, greed, violence, militarization, fear, politics, corporations, money and more. RoboCop is very much a futuristic Western with its "There's a new Sheriff in town" feel and it's focus on putting the bad guys behind bars. Yet, just like many of those Westerns, we realize there is always a bigger motive at hand, and in RoboCop, it is all about the money. Isn't it always? Lost lives throughout the film are calculated as company costs and financial losses, instead of as emotionally tragic events. The corporate dollar is king in RoboCop and at OCP, where employees fight for recognition, control and power, while placing a hold on American society at-large. This mega corporation isn't far off from a slew of companies running our world today and the film quickly turned pretty scary when I started to think about it that way. From a character standpoint, there are some true gems in this film. Clarence Boddicker and his goons are some of the best around and the real scenes of their violence and mayhem are actually pretty terrifying. RoboCop does an amazing job of portraying the parody of American society and corporate greed, but creating real scenes of violence and mayhem that are downright terrifying. Where OCP gears up for their war on crime (sound familiar?), we are left wondering who the bad guys really are in this film. It all seems pretty blurry to me. Overall, RoboCop is a smart, fast-paced, violent, parodic observation on American society and is an all-time classic in my book. I almost didn't take the time to write this review out today, but in all honesty, I never miss a game!