Robocop
Chad'z rating: **1/2 (out of 4 = OK)
1987, R, 103 minutes [1 hour, 43 minutes]
[science fiction/crime]
starring: Peter Weller (Officer Murphy/Robocop), Kurtwood Smith (Clarence Boddicker), Ronny Cox (Dick Jones), Nancy Allen (Officer Anne Lewis), Miguel Ferrer (Robert Morton), written by Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner, produced by Arne Schmidt, directed by Paul Verhoeven.
As long as there are people on this planet there will be two things: crime; and an attempt to stop crime. "Robocop" exploits that notion by painting a picture of grim future and then offers a ray of hope through its hero's actions. Unfortunately, the film tries to maintain a level of satire through its Gothic atmosphere, and the two moods do not work well together.
The setting takes place in a typical futuristic Detroit where crime is so rampant the police force is controlled by OCP - a security corporation that develops military technology. The CEOs of this company are straight from the cliche book. There is the old president and two vice presidents that bicker with each other like little children.
The "bad" V.P., Dick Jones (Cox), has developed a huge robot that would replace human police officers. His model, ED-209, is quite menacing through its appearance alone. But here is where the film makes the first of many mistakes - it doesn't seem satisfied with simple mood alone, it goes too far to define the obvious. ED-209 talks with an evil, computer-generated voice, and it growls like a lion. There is also the "less bad" V.P., Robert Morton (Ferrer), who kisses up to the president and has his "Robocop" project approved when ED-209 malfunctions (didn't see that one coming).
A need for a heroic figure is quickly apparent here and when we meet police officers Murphy (Weller) and Lewis (Allen), it's clear who the savior will be. Murphy is an honest cop who has just transferred with Lewis, who is a female cop but does not display any feminine qualities at all (which is not a complete flaw). And as soon as they get together they are separated when Murphy is blown to bits by a gang of criminals who are entirely too nasty (they look like The Village People on crack, and talk and act like cartoon villains). Murphy is pronounced legally dead and is used in Morton's Robocop project.
And so we get a superhero of sorts and we just can't wait for him to stop the rampant crime spree - or at least that's what we're supposed to feel. We get the obligatory scenes of Robocop using his high technology to stop crimes other cops could not. But these scenes aren't as exciting as they should be. Robocop shoots firsts and asks questions later, and he doesn't seem like some kind of hero, more like a cyborg vigilante.
Stories about vigilantes, or at least "superheroes" tend to have a bit of complexity and mystery to them, but this film is virtually plotless as it wanders between the OCP V.P.s' rivalry and Robocop's recollection of his former life. The element of Jones' involvement with a nasty mob boss named Clarence Boddicker (Smith) is a little too predictable. Meanwhile, Robocop seems to take the law into his own hands.
The ending follows the story's logical conclusion with Robocop running from the controlled police force, almost "dying," but manages to take out the villains anyway.
Overall, "Robocop" is definitely interesting to watch but it seems a bit empty. The Gothic atmosphere could have been used much better had the layer of satire been so distracting. I saw enormous potential here and it really disappointed me it wasn't taken advantage of.
e-mail: ChadPolenz@aol.com (C) 1997 Chad Polenz
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