Movie Review: ROBOCOP

Paul Verhoeven's ROBOCOP is capable of satisfying most audiences. For those interested in sci-fi films with substance, for those seeking laughter, the story is laced with dark humour and parody. And for those looking for a bloody revenge thriller, it doesn't get gorier or more violent. ROBOCOP is like a Michael Bay extravaganza with a brain to go along with the testosterone and adrenaline.

It's also the second VHS video I owned, after another classic that is The Lost Boys.

Robocop opens in a Detroit of the near future, where crime isn't just rampant, it's a way of life. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is a new transfer to the police force, his partner, Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), admires his gumption but is dubious about his potential for success. He hasn't been on the job long when he comes face-to-face with Detroit's most dangerous psychopath: Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). After humiliating and torturing Murphy, Boddicker leaves him for dead and his remains are claimed by Omni Consumer Products (OCP), the company that has bought out the police department. They decide to use Murphy's remains for a pilot cyborg policeman program. Thus ROBOCOP is born - half man, half machine, a modern day Dirty Harry with a bigger gun. Robocop is the brainchild of OCP executive Robert Morton (Miguel Ferrer) and his success angers his main in-house opponent, Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), who has his own rival program underway. Jones doesn't mind playing dirty and the success of the ROBOCOP program forces his hand.

Privatising the police force? Unthinkable? Perhaps 22 years ago, but not today. The privatisation of numerous public and/or government agencies has brought about financial windfalls for cash-strapped municipalities and, while nothing as large at the Detroit P.D. has yet been sold to a for-profit business, one senses it could only be a matter of time.

Verhoeven and screenwriters Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner gazed into their crystal balls and saw this. It should come as no surprise that there is a strong thread of social commentary running through ROBOCOP, Verhoeven did something similar (arguably less subtle lol) in Starship Troopers, another movie where the biting parody elements lifted it above the genre norm.

Verhoeven is known for his love of exploitation elements and, like Michael Bay, he is fond of on-screen mayhem. These elements are much in evidence during the course of ROBOCOP. Arguably the most disturbing sequence is the one in which Murphy meets a painful end. Nearly as violent and bloody is the climactic struggle between ROBOCOP and Boddicker. Both scenes were heavily cut for theatrical distribution so the movie could receive a rating. However, an uncut director's version is available on DVD & Blu ray, I watched it on Blu ray this morning and the transfer and sound were fantastic. These versions contain the film in its full gory glory (Interestingly, Verhoeven's original conception of the final battle was even more grotesque than the one he filmed.) There's also a little gratuitous nudity thrown in for no particular reason except that Verhoeven likes showing breasts. (This occurs early in the film during a locker room scene.)

One of the standout elements of ROBOCOP is the despicability of the villains. These aren't just bad guys, they are vile, and who deserve horrible, painful deaths. It takes a talented director to fashion characters that become targets of such extreme hatred. This is what Verhoeven wants; the more deeply viewers hate the bad guys, the more they will be involved in the outcome. It's nice for an audience to like the hero, but more important that they loathe the villains. In ROBOCOP, there's no shortage of detestable characters, but two stand out, namely, the sneaky Dick Jones and the vicious Boddicker. It's almost impossible not to cheer when their well-earned comeuppances arrive.

I see no need for the recent remake but that's Hollywood for you...seems to have run out of ideas!! Will I still watch it though? - yeah probably.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c3W5HUz7vyY