ROBOCOP
A film review by Randy Parker
Copyright 1996 Randy Parker
RATING: *** (out of ****)
(Review written in 1987)
ROBOCOP is an intelligent science fiction thriller and social satire, one with class and style. The film, set in Old Detroit in the year 1991, stars Peter Weller as Murphy, a lieutenant on the city's police force. 1991's Detroit suffers from rampant crime and a police department run by a private contractor (Security Concepts Inc.) whose employees (the cops) are threatening to strike. To make matters worse, a savage group of cop-killers has been terrorizing the city. On Murphy's first day of duty, after his transfer from another precinct, these cop-killers brutally murder him by shooting off his limbs one by one. (Orion Pictures had to edit this extremely graphic scene in order to get an R rating from the M.P.A.A.)
After the emergency room staff at the hospital cannot save Murphy and declare him clinically dead, S.C.I. recruits his remains for their new "Robocop" program. Using the remains of Murphy's body as a foundation, their scientists build a cyborg, made of both flesh and metal. The cyborg (Robocop) is half human (Murphy) and half robot; the S.C.I. engineers have erased Murphy's memory and replaced it with a computer program (or so they think). With his lightning quick reflexes, immense strength, and impenetrable armor, S.C.I. envisions Robocop as an indestructible super-cop: the solution to Detroit's problems. The remainder of the plot follows Robocop's crime-foiling and vengeance on his murderers.
As a science fiction action-thriller, ROBOCOP is extremely effective. Dutch director Paul Verhoeven combines gritty action with suspense, shocking gore, and spectacular special effects. Several sequences in the film, such as the one in which Robocop employs his extremely precise aim to stop a rapist, are destined to become cult-classics. Because ROBOCOP is so visually and emotionally rousing, it demands to be seen on a large screen with an audience--in other words, in a movie theater.
Although the special effects and action are exciting, they do not by themselves set ROBOCOP apart from other films in the genre. Rather, ROBOCOP stands out for its accurate and biting satire of American society. The movie makes a mockery of The Star Wars Defense Initiative, terrorism, board games, and television news broadcasts with air-headed anchors. These news broadcasts, which are exceptionally clever, recur periodically throughout the movie and help to provide comic relief from the intense action and gore. The satire in ROBOCOP, however, is almost as frightening in its own way as the suspense and blood. 1990's America, as portrayed in the film, may seem far fetched but is in actuality (I think) only a slight exaggeration of the current state of American society. The humorous satire in Robocop is simultaneously credible and absurd. Verhoeven adroitly balances the satirical comedy with the gory action to create an entertaining and enlightening piece of science fiction/social commentary.
Unfortunately, ROBOCOP possesses several flaws which prevent it from qualifying as a classic within the genre. The movie lacks the lasting impact of such films as THE ROAD WARRIOR, THE TERMINATOR, and ALIENS. ROBOCOP's main problem, aside from its dumb title, is that it does not sufficiently develop Murphy's character. We never learn the degree to which Murphy (as Robocop) is human and the degree to which he is a robot. Does Murphy have any human spirit or free will left, or is he merely a computer following a program? The script halfheartedly raises these issues but then abandons them in its climactic flurry of gory action. Moreover, it almost completely ignores the question (and tragedy) of denying a man his right to die in favor of turning him into a machine. ROBOCOP also contains several bothersome loose-ends.
As you watch ROBOCOP, you experience deja vu; you feel as if you have seen the film before. In many respects, ROBOCOP is reminiscent of several other films, including THE TERMINATOR, RETURN OF THE JEDI, and even DEATH WISH. However, to its credit, ROBOCOP easily has enough originality and unique personality to avoid becoming a cheap rip-off.
--- Randy Parker rparker@slip.net http://www.shoestring.org
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews