Franchise Weekend – Robocop (1987)

Plot: In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: Classic

 

Story: Robocop starts with the crime ridden city Detroit where the cops are being killed left right and centre by crime lord Clarence J Boddicker (Smith). We meet Officer Alex Murphy (Weller) freshly transferred to the department and assigned to Anne Lewis (Allen) but on his first day he clashes with Clarence and his men leaving brutally gunned down.

With most of his body and mind dead Alex gets taken into Dr Bob Morton’s (Ferrer) experiment to be the first of his new line of defence against the criminals a Robocop. Bob is working for the Old Man (O’Herlihy) who is always trying to find a way to increase police work and after Dick Jones (Cox) pure robot goes wrong.

As Robocop starts cleaning up the streets we see how he starts remember who he original was and worse remembering who left him the way he was. Robocop goes on a mission to bring down the people at the top of the criminal side of the city with just Anne helping him but what he learns will take a twist.

Robocop is one action film that will forever be remembered for its iconic scenes. The story itself takes the crime story to another level in its own way too because usually we would see the partner come on the revenge mission instead of the cop returning from the dead. We also get to see how corruption could run between businessmen trying to make sure they make all the money and the criminals that will finance this happening. This film shows that even before its time we would look at this as a future and even throws in a couple of moments that show just how things could become ridiculous in the future.

 

Actor Review

 

Peter Weller: Officer Alex J Murphy is the freshly transferred officer that becomes the latest victim of the crime wave across the city. He gets transformed into the very first Robocop defending the city from the criminals only to have to battle who his former self once was. Peter is great in this role showing how he has to go through all the hard work in the Robocop costume.

Nancy Allen: Officer Anne Lewis is the cop that is Murphy’s partner showing him around the city as well as witnessing his death. When the Robocop starts working there she starts to suspect that he is Murphy and works along with him to bring down the men that killed him. Nancy is good in this supporting role showing a tough female cop in the 80s.

Dan O’Herlihy: The Old Man runs the company looking to being in the new robot defence against the criminals and will listen to anyone who gets results. Dan is good but only in a supporting role.

Ronny Cox: Dick Jones has created a robot he wants to use on the streets against the criminals but when it malfunctions he finds himself at the end of the line looking to get back ahead of the man that put him in this place. Ronny is good in this during the time he was often playing the villains.

Support Cast: Robocop has a good supporting cast with Kurtwood Smith shining as the crime lord of the city and the rest being different members of the gangs or police force.

Director Review: Paul Verhoeven – Paul gives us one of the most iconic movies of all time that still stands the test of times.

 

Action: Robocop has great over the top action that works for the style of film we are watching.

Crime: Robocop puts us in the middle of a crime world where the police are being outnumbered by the criminals which makes the use of Robocop important.

Sci-Fi: Robocop uses the idea that in the future robots will be needed to fight crime using the technology you would think was considered the future for the late 80s.

Settings: Robocop takes us to Detroit for the setting which is always good for a crime story.
Special Effects: Robocop has great special effects for the time of release which all still look good today apart from moment.

Suggestion: Robocop is one I think everyone should be able to watch at least once. (Watch)

 

Best Part: Final chase.

Worst Part: ED 209 special effects have dated.

Action Scene Of The Film: Murphy’s attack.

Kill Of The Film: Antonowsky and the toxic waste.

 

Believability: No

Chances of Tears: No

Chances of Sequel: Yes

Post Credits Scene: No

 

Oscar Chances: No

Budget: $13 Million

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

Tagline: Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement.

Trivia: It was discovered that when in full RoboCop costume, Peter Weller could not fit properly into the police car as he was too bulky. That’s why most shots of him show him exiting the car or preparing to get into it. For shots where he actually needed to be in the car, he only wore the top part of the costume and sat in his underwear. However, to maintain the illusion that RoboCop wears the entire suit while inside a car, most shots show his robotic feet exiting the car first.

 

Overall: An all time classic that will forever be one to live up to.

Rating