RoboCop: O Policial do Futuro

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 ****

When I look at the modern day West, and the 2008 financial crisis, I often see parallels with images from RoboCop: protests, mind-numbing commercials, crime as the result of huge poverty, profit as the main goal of life, no matter at what (or whose) expense. There is not one OCP today, but dozens of OCPs, huge modern mega-corporations that influence every aspect of the society and drain it of its wealth. Just like in RoboCop, the middle class is almost gone and we only have the poor and the rich.

RoboCop started out as a pure B-movie, but unlike Cyborg (1989) or The Six Million Dolar Man (1974), it kept its relevance, satire and sharpness precisely because it is so close to today that it hurts. Even as a kid, I somehow got that one of the messages of the film was how the power was slowly shifting from the government to the OCP. Let's be fair, though, Verhoeven sometimes directs a scene in a heavy, clumsy manner, and some cheap ideas slightly reduce my enjoyment whenever I re-watch this. Overall, this is still a strong film, and I stand behind what I say. Kurtwood Smith is one of the most fiendish villains of the 80s, and one of the most unorthodox ones, too, with those glasses, but we must also mention Peter Weller who is often overlooked under that armor, yet his stoic presence tells us everything we need to know. His Murphy is a character designed by the corporations, a being that is a product, not a being anymore. The way he finds his humanity, nonetheless, is still powerful. He defies the system, he defies the cold exploitation - and he becomes worthy to become recognized. And the ED-something-something robot is still cool as ever, too.

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

Robocop is an unbelieveable experience. I haven't watched the film since 1988 and the other day I recieved it on DVD. So I eagerly popped it in the player and BOOM!!! The only way I can describe Robocop is ultraviolence. The film is so over the top and out of control. The film speaks of a future where big companies will run the governmental defense. Those times are upon us more and more everyday. Paul Verhoeven has made one of the most important science fiction films ever made and it's a brillant piece of cinema.

My favorite Paul Verhoeven feature by a mile. It's a decent film if you like action but everything around it makes Robocop a different film in the genre. It's a movie that's blatant and upfront about its story but depending on who you are you can interpret it in different ways. It could be about public funding, gentrification, humanism, or just a dude who goes around shooting drug dealers. But what I really like about it is even though it's a movie that might seem fascistic on the surface it surprisingly doesn't punch down, at least not like films of the era that were just military propaganda. I know not everything I'm mentioning is an intentional decision on the writer's part, and to be honest I never thought the action was that great (except during the end), but my main point is this movie deserves more thought IF you're a fan of the genre.