RoboCop 3

This highly-disappointing sequel finds our hero going against law and order by siding with a group of down-and-outers who stand to lose their neighborhood because of evil corporate interests. Along the way Robo crashes cars, battles robot ninjas and flies through the air like a six-ton Superman. Alas, none of it can save ROBOCOP 3, a film into which very little real effort seems to have gone.

When watching ROBOCOP 3, one can't help but think the producers lazily expected the well-established Robocop brand would simply sell itself this time around. Making matters worse, they tried to move away from a more adult-style of action and sci-fi and deliver something you might watch with older kiddies. I mean, robot ninjas??? What is this, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? This thing even attempts to deliver a do-the-right-thing message, but the whole effort is so muddled and ridiculous it can't succeed (nor should a movie like this even try).

I am willing to cut movies a lot of slack, but this one's a stinker. No wonder Robo was reduced to a cheap Canadian-filmed TV series following this disaster.

Now, before I watched this movie, I had heard nothing but bad things about this movie. That it was a horrible end to the trilogy and by far the worst of the four movies, but honestly, it's not bad at all. It carries on the tone of the 1st movie much more than the 2nd, the action is much better than the second, and there are much less bad scenes than in the second, or even the remake. I personally think Robocop 3 is an under-rated classic.

I enjoyed this movie even though there are numerous plot holes. I though Remy Ryan did an excellent job as the child hacker. This movie is precursor for dystopic cyberpunk feel (large corporations control everything, small bands of people fighting against them, most of all a young child prodigy whose computer hacking skills are almost frightening.)

The Robocop idea went far enough with number 2. The third installment is just awful. Peter Weller had sense enough to stay away from this set. I enjoyed the first, thought the second was OK but hated this one. This story was contrived and the acting abysmal. When I began to watch this I had a feeling it was going to stink and sure enough, it did! Don't bother with this one.

Before I begin, let me get this out in the open: Robocop 3 is easily the worst movie of the trilogy.

OK, now the rest of the review.

Though this is the worst movie of the series, Robocop 3 manages to find a way to redeem itself (be it intentionally or unintentionally) by being incredibly cheesy, and ultimately a load of fun! The film doesn't even really seem to be a direct continuation of the series, though it does reference the first movie several times via flashbacks. The story is just about as dull as it could get, and the acting leaves much to be desired. Not to mention, the one saving grace this film could have had (special effects) does nothing to help save the movie from falling to "B-Movie" status.

I'm not sure why Peter Weller was not brought back for this one, but I think he was wise to avoid it. Robocop has been reduced to cheesy one-liners, and badly choreographed fight scenes. However, I think this adds to the movie's charm. The film seems to take a very tongue-in-cheek look into the world of Robo, and this saves it from being a complete failure. Also, it seems as if the writers or director were watching a lot of Japanese anime, one of the main villains in the film is a ninja who is seemingly unstoppable; many of his scenes are so stylized you'd swear you're watching an anime. Rip Torn also adds to the film's silliness as the head of the corrupt corporation, OCP. He makes the main conflict in the film not even seem threatening due to the fact that he isn't menacing at all.

Overall I'd say this film is more of a comedy than a sci-fi flick. It contains so many cheesy moments that it's best enjoyed with a small group of friends (my close friend opined once "This is what Mystery Science Theater 3000 was made for," how right he was). If you are a fan of the series because of the grittiness and realism displayed in the first, avoid this entry. However, if you're looking for a good cheesy popcorn style sci-fi film, by all means, get some friends together and have fun! This film was made to be laughed at!