ROBOCOP (1987)

ROBOCOP (1987)

So in this movie we are in the future, and Detroit is basically over-ridden by crime. The police force is also threatening to strike. So in order to fix the problem OCP (basically the Umbrella Corp of the Robocop world) is developing a few different programs to take over policing Detroit and beyond. After their first effort headed by Dick Jones (played by the bad guy from TOTAL RECALL Ronny Cox) turns out to be a massive failure, new comer Morton (played by Miguel Ferrer) takes over with his ROBOCOP program. That program uses mortally wounded, “real cops” and turns them into cyborgs. Fortunately Murphy (played by Peter Weller) and his partner Lewis (played by Nancy Allen) are stupid enough to run into a heavily armed gang hideout and –bam…Murphy is mortally wounded. So that works out. Now we’ve got ROBOCOP. I guess he’s just super expensive and glitchy, because he is the only one OCP decided to make in this movie.

Overall the level of violence in this movie was pretty edgy for its day drawing an R rating. Due to this, and a great cast, the movie really stood out, and today, is another cult classic in a sense. Neither of its sequels matched the uniqueness of this flick, or quite brought us back to how vivid and memorable the dialog and characters were in this movie. The practical effects are over the top, but the stop looks out of place and overall just very goofy by today’s standards. I mean…it’s pretty damn bad. This is a part where a dude is falling off a building, and his arms so long, they look like they were borrowed from Freddy Kruger in the original A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET.

If you are a Kurtwood Smith fan, you probably know he is most famous for playing “Red” in “That 70’s Show”, but in this thing he plays one of the more iconic bad guys to hit the screen ever. Weller is just okay, being more likeable as ROBOCOP than just as a regular cop. Lewis also stands out in this, as not only likable, but also as being a bit of a bad a-s. ROBOCOP is harshly realistic for a movie based on a robot cop, the villains you really can’t stand, and the good guys are worth rooting for.

In real life twenty-seven years after the movie's release, Detroit did actually file for bankruptcy. Detroit was also harassed for its violent reputation in the movie KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE. Only the very opening scene was actually in Detroit and that was stock footage. Most of the movie was shot in Dallas, TX.

For the performances and realistic look into the future, I have to give ROBOCOP a 5 OUT OF 7. It also has a line in it that I jokingly use quite a bit. When being arrested at the precinct, one drunk guy yells out, “I am what you call a repeat offender, I will offend again!” I just thought the line was bizarrely funny for being in such a serious film.

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