RoboCop

Paul Verhoeven's career in recent years has been wildly uneven, but back in the 1980s he rocked! His movies 'Spetters', 'The Fourth Man' and 'Flesh & Blood' are all brilliant and worth tracking down. His next movie, his first Hollywood one, could have been a complete disaster. Verhoeven initially passed on it without reading the script and wasn't experienced in working with special effects or a fan of science fiction. Thankfully his wife insisted he make the picture and the end result was a triumph. Apparently this was a very tough shoot for all concerned but the bottom line is what is on screen, and it really works. Few movies if any have managed to juggle SF, action and grim satire in such an entertaining and original fashion. Verhoeven was blessed with an excellent script, a well chosen bunch of actors, and a great behind the scenes team, and added to his own vision 'RoboCop' turned out to be one of the best movies of the 1980s, whatever the genre. Peter Weller ('Buckaroo Banzai') pulls off a difficult job - making the audience care about a guy in a monster suit. Probably the best performance of its kind since Boris Karloff in James Whale's 'Frankenstein' back in the 1930s. Nancy Allen ('Dressed To Kill'), Kurtwood Smith ('12.01 PM'), Ronny Cox ('Deliverance'), Miguel Ferrer ('Twin Peaks'), and the rest of the supporting cast are all first rate, and everything about this movie is perfect. Verhoeven stumbled with his next movie 'Total Recall', and apart from 'Starship Troopers' has pretty much failed to fulfill his potential, but 'RoboCop' remains a classic SF/action movie and a fantastic way to end a great decade of work.

"RoboCop" is a surprisingly impressive action film about a young cop (Peter Weller) who is killed by a gang of cruel criminals and is brought back to life with both human and robotic characteristics. Now he is cleaning up the city of Detroit and going after those who brutally murdered him when he was 100% human. This film is ultra-violent in every sense of the word. Anyone under the age of 17 should be strongly cautioned before seeing this film. However, the violence makes the film realistic and more exciting. Paul Verhoeven does some of his best work as a director. The screenplay is very smart for an action film and all the actors give bravura performances. Peter Weller will always be remembered as the original "RoboCop". Ronny Cox, Nancy Allen, Miguel Ferrer, and an incredibly evil Kurtwood Smith all do the best work of their careers. An impressive film from the action genre. 4 stars out of 5.

Detroit is under siege by a corrupt CEO in the police department...also by rapists, robbers, and the group of thugs who murdered Officer Murphy. Murphy (flawlessly played by Peter Weller) was a family man with a big heart whose body is eventually 'saved' by tech-geniuses, transforming him into a robot-cop (with a big heart, natch). The violence in the film is incredibly brutal in the manner of "Death Wish", yet it can almost be overlooked--even deemed necessary--in the context of the plot. Weller exudes sensitivity (not easy to do under that coat of armor), and he's matched very well by Ronny Cox (delightfully sinister and sniveling) and spunky Nancy Allen (in her best performance). A bleak vision of the future, though one which offers hope underneath its chestplate of destruction. Followed by "RoboCop 2" in 1990, "RoboCop 3" in 1993, and a television series in 1994. ***1/2 from ****

In a futurist Detroit, crime is high and the police are run by a massive private company, keener to reduce running costs than reduce crime. When their new police robot ED209 develops a glitch, they turn to a prototype that blends human tissue with high-tech circuitry. Meanwhile Police officer Murphy and his partner Lewis are out gunned by criminals leaving Murphy mortally wounded. OCP take Murphy's body and use it to make Robocop. However Robocop is so successful that he is targeted by criminal Boddicker. Boddicker turns to his shadowy partners in crime, while Robocop struggles to deal with human memories and a programming system that seems designed to control him and keep him in the dark.

Verhoeven's first US film was to set the mould for how the rest of his career would pan out - extreme violence and very little idea of restraint. However this is one of his best films and has much in common with one of his other best (Starship Troopers) - ultra-violence, funny black humour, great action and tonnes of satirical digs at modern life. Here the plot revolves around the creation of Robocop and his fight against crime that goes right to the top. This is complimented by the sub-plot of him trying to rediscover his human side. This is full of great action scenes and eccentric villains.

The black comedy is funny, although sometimes you feel bad laughing at so much violence, but the sideswipes are the best. Verhoeven takes digs at TV with his advert filled news broadcasts, at privatisation by showing the crumbling police stations and the huge corporate towers and at heroism by showing Robocop creating just as much mayhem and destruction as the criminals he pursues. His strength however is the action scenes and the sense of tension he creates - I'll don't think anyone can forget the sheer terror of ED209's `glitch'.

Weller is good - cast because of his strong jaw and ability to project emotion through a suit of armour - and he does manage to bring out the human side. Allen is good but a but dry. The real support comes from the eccentric, and well known villains and corporate bosses. Ronny Cox, Smith, Ray Wise, Perry, O'Herlihy and Miguel Ferrer are all great in various capacities. Criminal or greedy corporate leader - it's hard to tell which is which at times.

A classic bit of sci-fi. Verhoeven has sadly not had a moment as fine as this since and has recently had problems being excessive in Hollywood - the land of excess! This is a landmark film that may not be to everyone's taste.

Robocop, born of technology is a cyborg, half man/half machine. The future of Law enforcement is here, and he's kicking ass.

Alex Murphy was the unfortunate candidate chosen to be robocop after he was brutally massacred by a gang of scumbag criminals. And the robocop program was brought in, after the E.D. 209 (An all robot killing machine) proto-type failed so disastrously.

Alex Murphy, now Robocop is effectively dead, but he still has a memory, and sets out on a quest to avenge his own Death, by finding the scumbags responsible.

With some quite horrific violence (E.D. 209 and Murphy scenes mainly) and some brilliant action, Robocop is character that you will warm to, as he fights crime on a personal level.

Solid entertainment 8/10