Summary:
Set in future in a crime-ridden Detroit. A mortally wounded cop returns to the force as a cyborg, but is haunted by memories of his past.
My Thoughts:
I had never seen Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop (though I did see the 2014 remake when I still worked at a movie theater – and thus saw movies for free). For one reason or another I feel like I already knew the story, and it wasn’t one that particularly interested me. But, like all classics (cult or otherwise) I kept this in the back of my mind as a movie I’d some day get around to seeing… maybe. Well, recently a few articles surfaced about a rare cut of RoboCop available on Amazon (the original Verhoeven cut before the MPAA made him cut scenes to certify an R rating). Rumors said that the elusive cut would be pulled as soon as Amazon executives discovered that they were showing the unrated cut instead of the R rated cut pervaded the internet, and so, with a shrug of my shoulders, I decided that I’d sit down to watch this holy grail of cuts for a movie that I’d never seen, nor really had any particular interest in seeing. To my surprise, I really enjoyed this movie.
“Dead or alive; you’re coming with me.”
In the crime rampant streets of futuristic Detroit, Officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller, “Naked Lunch”) and his partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen, “Dressed to Kill”) are out of their depths. The rest of the force talks about going on strike, as there have been numerous cop killings of late, primarily carried out by gangster Clarence J Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith, “Hitchcock”). Before Murphy and Lewis can arrest Boddicker, Boddicker’s goons corner Murphy and kill him, but the story doesn’t stop there… After Murphy dies his body is obtained by OCP (Omni Consumer Products) and he is turned into a cyborg known as RoboCop. As Murphy becomes accustomed to his new body, he begins to have visions of memories from his former life, and he also begins to thirst for vengeance on the man who stole his life.
So, I think what I really liked most about this film is the fact that it transcended its basic storyline and material. This is an incredibly graphic, violent film (so violent that the original cut was rated X), but strangely, though this movie is about a man becoming a machine, it has a lot of heart to it. The film is about more than a man transforming into a killing machine; it’s also about him loosing his persona and then finding it again. While Murphy’s character is emotionless (both before and after he becomes RoboCop), his storyline makes his character emotionally interesting. Another thing that helped elevate the script was all the humor that was thrown in. I didn’t know this film was directed by Verhoeven (I knew very little about this movie before actually sitting down to watch it), but about halfway through, I commented to my roommate that the film felt a lot like “Starship Troopers” because the segments of commercials and news broadcasts in “Robocop” felt a lot like the tone of the propaganda stuff in “Starship Troopers”. In fact both movies have a tongue in cheek tone, are overly violent in a way that almost seems gleeful, and don’t at all take themselves seriously. This is the epitome of an 80s action movie- there is a ridiculous body count and an even more ridiculous amount of one-liners. It’s not trying to win any Oscars, it’s just trying to show you a good time, but by adding in the grounding emotional elements, it makes this film a truly enjoyable ride.
Another thing I loved about this film were the glorious special effects. This movie explodes with blood, guts, gore and robot parts, and it is absolutely wonderful. As I stated above, the way that this film approaches violence is almost gleeful, and that’s great for people like me, who gravitate to films with dozens of practical effects. The world of “RoboCop” is also pretty impressive. It’s filled with all sorts of interesting concepts and designs; from architecture to weapons to RoboCop’s armor, this film really goes all out in terms of production design.
Verdict:
As a whole this movie is really entertaining, and I really enjoyed cheering on Murphy as he crawled his way towards vengeance. This movie wont be for everyone, but for those who like 80s action movies, or violent sci fi films, this movie will certainly be worth the watch. I’m happy to say that, after putting off “RoboCop” for years, it far surpassed my expectations, and it’ll be a film I’m sure I’ll watch again in the future.
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