Movie Notes: RoboCop

July 3rd, 2008

= 4 stars

Starring Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy
Directed by Paul Verhoven

Synopsis

In the near future, crime is the norm in Detroit. Searching for new crime-fighting options,  fatally wounded cop Alex Murphy is merged with robotics to form the cyborg “RoboCop.”

The Good

• Verhoven’s exaggerated direction is very effective for turning up the action and delivering brutal social commentary. The initial robot malfunction where an executive is slaughtered in a boardroom, demonstrates the omnipresent violence of this troubled future society, and also calls into question technology as the answer to society’s ills. Also deftly exaggerated is the sequence where RoboCop comes to life as seen from Murphy’s eyes, emphasizing the inhuman transformation, and lastly an exploding gas station, marking the moment when RoboCop remembers his past identity.
• Asks if technology can really be trusted to solve our social problems, and specifically, technology coming from corporations where amoral executives have free reign.
• Hasn’t faded over time. The pacing is still very quick, and the themes of a technologically overwhelming future are still applicable today.
• Two Twin Peaks cast members — Jose Ferrer as the ambitious executive and Ray Wise as a criminal henchman.

The Bad

• The premise is rather ridiculous (especially knowing the current state of robotic technology).
• Some of the commercial parodies and news breaks are a bit uncalled for, bursting in like a bad seventies parody flick.
• You’d think there’d be a kill switch for the various robots.
• Gets a little ridiculously gross near the end — was the toxic waste guy really necessary (although, I laughed out loud at Ray Wise’s “don’t touch me, man!”
• The stop motion animation of the large police robot looks awkward.

Conclusion

Definitely preferred over Total Recall. If you haven’t seen RoboCop since it first came out, give it another spin.

IMDB: RoboCop
Wikipedia: RoboCop
Rotten Tomatoes: RoboCop 85%