Robocop

Robocop
by Paul Verhoeven

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Movie Reviews of Robocop

Movie Review: Go get 'em, Robo!
Summary: 5 Stars

Verhoeven sets his film in a disturbing near future Detroit where corporations have assumed most of the functions of civil society. Big business runs, for example, city police departments. The suits on the top floors fund crime prevention measures at the same time they market new products. One corporation in Detroit called OCP, sick of rampant crime and looking for a way to level a large part of the city in order to build a huge complex of buildings, starts researching new and innovative weapons to battle the anarchy rapidly taking over the city. One way to accomplish this feat is to remove human beings from patrol duty. Who wants to explain why dozens of cops die every week in violent shootouts with criminal gangs? Who needs the bad PR from such unseemly events? Not OCP. If the company can develop a robot to do the dirty work, costs will drop, profits will go up, and everyone will bask in the glow of a job well done. There is one big problem with the new programs--they don't work. Try as they might, the company keeps coming up with one expensive failure after another. After the latest model turns one of the corporation's executives into swiss cheese in the boardroom, an up and coming suit gets his big break from the boss. Fortunately for this greedy little runt, Officer Alex Murphy happens to die in the line of duty while trying to bring down one of the biggest crime bosses in the city.

"Robocop" takes off from this point, as the corporation turns Murphy into a mean looking cyborg, an armor plated automaton capable of blowing off the bad guys' heads as easily as he can create good PR for the company by making televised appearances at local schools. Heck, this huge mechanized cop can even drive a car, speak to people, and survive withering gunfire. Problems emerge when Robocop starts to regain memories of his former life, recollections of his wife and child, his female partner, and the bad guys who blew him away. When the cyborg launches a campaign to bring his killers to justice, the corporation that created him turns ugly. It seems a few suits have a several nasty secrets better left hidden, and Robocop's quest for justice threatens to bring to light things that could ruin careers. Soon the cops and the criminals are gunning for the confused cyborg in a series of chases and shootouts loaded with over the top violence and extreme gore. Will Robocop get his man in the end? Will he reconcile his human memories with his robotic exterior? Who knows, but finding out is a lot of fun.

One thing you might notice about "Robocop" is Verhoeven's vision about corporation politics. His take on big business in the 1980s is uniformly cynical as he constructs a world where the boardroom is no better than the conflicts taking place outside on the mean streets. The top floors of OCP seethe with violent conflicts as department heads jockey for position with the boss in order to promote their own agendas. Murder, conspiracy, drug use, and a host of other anti-social behaviors inform the daily activities of the company's managing elite. Is "Robocop" Verhoeven's way of taking a slap at the lack of business ethics in the 1980s? Of course! If a commentary on how to run an evil corporation leaves you cold, however, you can always enjoy the great performances. Miguel Ferrar conveys sleazy here like no one else in the movie world. Ronny Cox, when summoned to play a baddie, rarely fails to deliver a memorable turn. Peter Weller does Murphy/Robocop in a way that draws real emotion. Nancy Allen takes her role as Murphy's caring partner seriously even though the film doesn't really do much with her. One of my favorites, Kurtwood Smith, plays the slimy crime boss Clarence Boddicker with enthusiastic gusto.

I hate to harp, but you really should try to find the Criterion DVD version of this film. That disc has a commentary from Verhoeven and a bunch of other interesting stuff. The MGM release pales in comparison, as anyone who has ever viewed a MGM disc knows anyway. Still, you do get most of the super gory scenes--Murphy's death sequence, the toxic sludge bath, and the arterial puncture scene--in their partial glory. If you liked "Starship Troopers" and you haven't watched "Robocop" yet, now is the time to get moving.

Summary of Robocop