RoboCop
Reviews
Gimly
Ahhh, 1987, what a year for cinema. Not the least of which is Paul Verhoeven's incredible feat of practical effects engineering: _RoboCop_. This is one of those older movies where I can totally confirm for you, my love for it is in no way rooted in nostalgia. I didn't watch _RoboCop_ for the first time until 2013, when I was starting up my third decade of life. It's a phenomenal example of the period, but its also a great movie on its own. _Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite._
John Chard
They'll fix you. They fix everything. On his first day out on the streets of Detroit, Officer Murphy is brutally killed by known thug leader, Clarence Boddicker. Scientists at OCP are able to use what remains of Murphy's body and build a new heavily armed cyborg police officer, one that could rid the streets of crime forever. Paul Verhoeven has been called many things in his career, bonkers, challenging and visionary, here with his first perceived block buster American feature, he showcases all of those things. Robocop on the page (and with its title) looked like your average run of the mill sci-fi shoot them up, with its basic premise not exactly oozing originality either. But Verhoeven had screenwriter's Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner in his corner, and they came up with a superior script to fully realise his vision. That Robocop is a satirical critique of totalitarianism and corporate corruption is now a given. Yet it wasn't at first evident to the summer block buster crowd, but Robocop has stood up well to critical re-examinations and the depth digging that so many have afforded it. So with the script he wanted in place, Verhoeven utilised his memories from childhood, where his Netherlands home was taken over by a stomping German army, and added in the destruction factor, with no amount of technical expertise as well. Verhoeven paints an unhinged portrait of this Detroit (actual location shoot was parts of Texas), with skew whiff angles and bizarre twists lining the picture, the special effects even today looking tremendous. Robocop is extremely violent, especially in the directors cut that's now widely available, but even during the most wincing scenes, it stays brisk and sparky, and on his side is that his characters are as inhuman as the title protagonist is!. Thus the fusion of berserker sci-fi and human realism sits easy with the viewer, with the result serving notice to what a fine director Verhoeven can be. Peter Weller dons the Robo suit (enduring agony for weeks on end apparently) and does what is required, and Nancy Allen kicks buttocks as Murphy's partner, Anne Lewis. But it's with the unsavoury characters that Robocop gains its acting kudos. Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer and a wickedly vile Kurtwood Smith dominate proceedings, helped immeasurably by the nature of the script. Verhoeven is thought to be a hard character on set, demanding much from all involved, even driving the normally amiable Weller to thoughts of violence against his director. But few, if any of those involved in Robocop can now say the final result wasn't worth it, because between them they made a genre classic. 9/10
JPV852
Seen this several times over the years and still holds up well, story and satire wise, though certainly some of the effects were dated (in particular the death of one character falling out a window). Other than that, an entertaining and bloody 1980s action-thriller, where the sequels and a remake, and certainly the third entry, could not touch. Would like to think the proposed RoboCop Returns will succeed where other failed, but don't hold out much hope. **4.25/5**
CinemaSerf
Peter Weller is policeman "Murphy" who doesn't make it through his first day on patrol is the brutally lawless Detroit. Luckily for him, though, the "Omni" company has been developing plans for a semi-automated, heavily armed super cop - and pretty smartly he has been fused into this pretty amazing - if totally clunky - body armour that enables him to carry out his new duties with our fear of injury. Pretty soon, though, he discovers that he is amidst a web of corruption. Can he stay alive, keep his partner "Anne" (Nancy Allen) safe and thwart the evil plot that may well be tied into the criminals who left him for dead in the first place? Plenty of action and pyrotechnics follow as the story marches along to it's pretty obvious conclusion. Plenty of pace, some pretty banal dialogue - it's all the usual stuff that I found adequate, but really pretty dated now. Weller is ok, but I'd sooner have had Arnie in the role to inject some charisma and a little humour to this otherwise rather dry and procedural affair. It's perfectly watchable, but I can't quite rave about it.
drystyx
I'd buy that for a dollar and a dime. Outbid them fair and square. This is one of the Verhoeven masterpieces. It's a bit of action and a bit of parody, and a lot of "in your face" directing that puts Verhoeven a step above Tarantino, because Tarantino actually makes fun of the geeks in the audience with one dimensional characters, while Verhoeven gives multiple dimensions to everyone. Here, we have a police force that is collapsing to crime that is idolized. Talk about seeing the future! Big business claims they run the police force by equipping them like they do the military. One little cop, Murphy, runs afoul of the most dangerous criminal, and this criminal is something else. He will probably make you laugh with his nerdy look and his lines, but he's deadly. However, he does tell his gang to give Murphy a hand. The big business has a big boss, an older guy about to retire according to his second in command, Dick. And Dick is aptly named. Meanwhile, a young upstart who is a bit of an anti villain or anti hero, played by Miguel Ferrer, is not afraid of "Dick". You may have seen some of the famous scenes, and you've surely heard the catch line "I'd buy that for a dollar", which is meant to be the very nonsense catch phrase that it became. Peter Weller is Murphy, and Nancy Allen is his loyal police partner who lets one of the bad guys take her out, but she does come back in. The black comedy of this film helps to make it the classic it is.
Movie Recommendation
RoboCop 21990-06-22After a successful deployment of the RoboCop Law Enforcement unit, OCP sees its goal of urban pacification come closer and closer, but as this develops, a new narcotic known as "Nuke" invades the streets led by God-delirious leader Cane. As this menace grows, it may prove to be too much for Murphy to handle. OCP tries to replicate the success of the first unit, but ends up with failed prototypes with suicidal issues... until Dr. Faxx, a scientist straying away from OCP's path, uses Cane as the new subject for the RoboCop 2 project, a living God.More...
RoboCop 31993-01-21The mega corporation Omni Consumer Products is still bent on creating their pet project, Delta City, to replace the rotting city of Detroit. Unfortunately, the inhabitants of the area have no intention of abandoning their homes simply for desires of the company. To this end, OCP have decided to force them to leave by employing a ruthless mercenary army to attack and harass them. An underground resistance begins and in this fight, RoboCop must decide where his loyalties lie.More...
Masters of the Universe1987-08-07When the evil Skeletor finds a mysterious power called the Cosmic Key, he becomes nearly invincible, seizing Castle Grayskull and the surrounding city. The Sorceress is now Skeletor's prisoner and he begins to drain her life-force as he waits for the moon of Eternia to align with the Great Eye of the Universe which will bestow god-like power upon him. However, courageous warrior He-Man locates the locksmith inventor Gwildor, who created the Key and has another version of it. During a battle, one of the Keys is transported to Earth, where it is found by teenagers Julie and Kevin. Now, both He-Man and Skeletor's forces arrive on Earth searching for the potent weapon.More...
Short Circuit1986-05-09After a lightning bolt zaps a robot named Number 5, the lovable machine starts to think he's human and escapes the lab. Hot on his trail is his designer, Newton, who hopes to get to Number 5 before the military does. In the meantime, a spunky animal lover mistakes the robot for an alien and takes him in, teaching her new guest about life on Earth.More...
RoboCop2014-01-30In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine.More...
Total Recall1990-06-01Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Recall, a company that manufactures memories. When his memory implant goes wrong, Doug can no longer be sure what is and isn't reality.More...
Rain Man1988-12-12When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.More...
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen1988-12-07An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences with his band of misfits.More...
Die Hard1988-07-15NYPD cop John McClane's plan to reconcile with his estranged wife is thrown for a serious loop when, minutes after he arrives at her offices Christmas Party, the entire building is overtaken by a group of terrorists. With little help from the LAPD, wisecracking McClane sets out to single-handedly rescue the hostages and bring the bad guys down.More...
Predator1987-06-12A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.More...
Glory1989-12-15Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.More...
Hoosiers1986-11-14Failed college coach Norman Dale gets a chance at redemption when he is hired to coach a high school basketball team in a tiny Indiana town. After a teacher persuades star player Jimmy Chitwood to quit and focus on his long-neglected studies, Dale struggles to develop a winning team in the face of community criticism for his temper and his unconventional choice of assistant coach: Shooter, a notorious alcoholic.More...
Starship Troopers1997-11-07Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."More...
Bad Taste1987-12-01A team from the intergalactic fast food chain Crumb's Crunchy Delights descends on Earth, planning to make human flesh the newest taste sensation. After they wipe out the New Zealand town Kaihoro, the country’s Astro-Investigation and Defense Service (AIaDS) is called in to deal with the problem. Things are complicated due to Giles, an aid worker who comes to Kaihoro the same day to collect change from the residents. He is captured by the aliens, and AIaDS stages a rescue mission that quickly becomes an all-out assault on the aliens’ headquarters.More...
The Running Man1987-11-13By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.More...
The Terminator1984-10-26In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?More...
Hairspray1988-02-26'Pleasantly plump' teenager Tracy Turnblad achieves her dream of becoming a regular on the Corny Collins Dance Show. Now a teen hero, she starts using her fame to speak out for the causes she believes in, most of all integration. In doing so, she earns the wrath of the show's former star, Amber Von Tussle, as well as Amber's manipulative, pro-segregation parents. The rivalry comes to a head as Amber and Tracy vie for the title of Miss Auto Show 1963.More...
Pumpkinhead1988-06-09When a group of teenagers inadvertently kill his only son, Ed Harley seeks the powers of a backwoods witch to bring the child back to life.More...
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer1986-09-24Arriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.More...
Centurion2010-02-15Britain, A.D. 117. Quintus Dias, the sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus' legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the Earth and destroy their leader, Gorlacon.More...
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