RoboCop (1987)

I absolutely love this movie. It's so entertaining to see RoboCop himself fight against burglars and gangs.

Let's be clear. RoboCop ain't Citizen Kane but that's not what it is supposed to be, it's just a crazy fun, over the top sci-fi action flick. Peter Weller is great as RoboCop, the rest of the cast is also great (his female partner, the scumbag at Omni-Corp as well as his boss the even bigger scumbag, the gangster played by the dad from That 70's Show, even the stop motion robot RoboCop has to fight against.One thing I wasn't expecting was how funny the movie would be. There's a lot of great little satirical skits and jokes. Much of the comedy is very dark but still funny.Be advised this movie was originally X-rated for a reason. A lot of the action is way out there with significant blood and gore factor with body parts blown off, screaming and even a melting or two. Do not let kids watch this movie.

Alex Murphy is a police officer who is murdered by a gang of thugs, only to be brought back to life as a cyborg named Robocop. But his resurrection comes at a price: Alex Murphy is declared dead, his wife is legally a widow, his son is without a father, and he can no longer remember his family. But that's what effectively adds legitimate drama to this 1987 science fiction/action movie. A product of Omni Consumer Products (OCP, for short), Robocop patrols the streets and fights crime. He eventually comes across the thugs who changed him forever, leading to an inevitable showdown. But he goes through other situations before the showdown, such as taking on a robotic machine known as ED-209. Robocop is a classic - and I would call it a Robo-classic.

Robocop 1987Robocop is a film I hold very close to my heart. As a school boy when this film was released my father wouldn't allow me to watch it. The graphic violence and foul language was deemed unfit for an eleven year old boy and rightly so. I begged and pleaded but dad wouldn't budge. His mind was set. My school friends however had all seen it. I don't think there was a VHS copy in my neighbourhood that hadn't been played within an inch of its life. Of course every school break time was filled with discussion of this sci-fi masterpiece. So I learned the film from start to finish without even laying my eyes on the screen. Every line, every scene all in my imagination as I listened in awe to my friends as they retold the tale of Alex Murphy a Detroit police officer who is violently gunned down by a gang of vicious criminals and then reconstructed as a crime fighting cyborg. I say violently but even that is an understatement. If you opt to watch the directors cut the gore of Murphy's deconstruction is almost too much to bare. Limbs are detached from body with murderous gunfire. The violence feels real, you can almost taste the brain matter. But this is necessary in order to convey the brutal world these characters live in. Paul Verhoevens film pokes fun at modern day America and the massive corporations that control our lives. All of this is done with a good dose of satire and a wink at the camera. The TV commercials that play throughout the movie are a work of genius. A particular one involving a gas guzzling American made car named the 6000 SUX, an American tradition which proudly returns 8.2mpg. There are so many delights in this film that are wasted on an eleven year old school boy. However when my father finally came around some few years later and allowed me to watch this movie I was blown away like Murphy himself. My imagination was being presented before me right there on the screen. I knew every line but to see it actually happening was mesmerising. The performances are exceptional, particularly by Peter Weller as Robocop. His movement, his on screen presence. A story of a man becoming a machine and then a man again perfectly portrayed. Supporting cast are also superb. Kurtwood Smith created one of the most evil and memorable villains since Darth Vader. Granted the special effects by today's standards look weak but compared to the recent remake, the original film has depth and texture. No CGI can replicate this. Take ED209 for example he is as menacing as he is comical. A killer robot tank that is flummoxed by a staircase. The clumsy stop motion effects only elevate this. I recently revisited this film and after thirty years I am still bowled over by its genius.Robocop is more than just an action flick it's a clever and comical finger poke at the world we live in.