RoboCop

RoboCop
"Dead or alive, you're coming with me!"
Genre: Action Cyberpunk Directed by: Paul Verhoeven Produced by: Arne Schmidt Written by: Edward Neumeier Michael Miner Starring: Peter Weller Nancy Allen Daniel O'Herlihy Ronny Cox Kurtwood Smith Miguel Ferrer Cinematography: Jost Vacano Editing: Frank J. Urioste Music by: Basil Poledouris Production company: Orion Pictures Distributed by: Orion Pictures Release date: July 17, 1987 Runtime: 102 minutes Country: United States Language: English Budget: $13.7 million Box office: $53.4 million Franchise: RoboCop Sequel: RoboCop 2 Robocop Returns (ignores the second film, Coming soon)

RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer.

Plot

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

Why It Rocks

1. Very exciting plot.

1. Amazing supporting characters including Murphy’s sidekick Anne Lewis, the head of the RoboCop project Bob Morton and even the chief executive of Omni Consumer Products, the Old Man.
2. Clarence Boddicker and his gang alongside Dick Jones are great, entertaining villains.
3. For a movie that has a budget smaller than Superman IV: The Quest for Peace released in the same year, the special effects mostly look great, RoboCop's suit is well designed and the close up parts of his head revealing his robot parts look great (courtesy of Rob Bottin), and ED-209's stop motion is greatly animated and is inserted well into the live action footage.
4. Memorable lines such as “I'd buy that for a dollar!” and Dick, you're fired!
   • RoboCop's minimal dialog is also peppered with amazing and iconic catchphrases.
   • "Dead or alive, you're coming with me!"
   • "Your move, creep!"
   • "Come quietly or there will be.... trouble."
5. Great acting.
   • Peter Weller’s performance as RoboCop is great.
6. RoboCop's suit looks really cool.
7. Great action scenes, especially the montage where RoboCop stopped a store robbery, saved a woman from getting raped, and saved the mayor and his staff from getting shot.
   • And he solves these crimes in the most blunt but amazing ways, mainly shooting the rapist straight in the dick through the woman's skirt.
8. RoboCop's Auto-9 pistol is badass.
9. The concept of having commercials play in the movie itself is original, builds the world and tone.
   • RoboCop also appeared in various legitimate commercials that were aired on TV, which is incredibly meta.
10. Great pacing.
11. Great direction by Paul Verhoeven.
12. Amazing score composed by Basil Poledouris.
13. Plenty of gore to satisfy R-rated action film fans.
14. It is also a satire on '80s corporate America.
15. The movie has a phenomenal ending that beautifully wraps up the story where RoboCop regains his humanity, kills Dick Jones and says his name is Murphy before leaving to continue his police work.

Bad Qualities

1. Sometimes it can be really disturbing because of the gore and brutal violence. Though it's never to the point where RoboCop becomes a controversial film.
2. Some people might mistake the movie for something targeted for younger audiences (mainly the premise and the fact that Robocop looks like a cool cybernetic cop that would make pre-teens and even kids love him).
3. The visual effect of Dick Jones falling out of a window looks awful, his arms are way too long.
4. The ED-209 rear projection shots can be kinda jarring for how faded the footage looks.

Reception

RoboCop is generally considered one of the most successful sci-fi movies of all time. It holds a 90% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator from 68 reviews, with an average rating of 7.90 out of 10. The website's consensus reads: "While over-the-top and gory, RoboCop is also a surprisingly smart sci-fi flick that uses ultraviolence to disguise its satire of American culture". The film has a score of 67 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In 2004, The New York Times listed it as one the 1,000 Best Movies Ever. In 2008, Empire listed the film at number 404 on its list of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time. Rotten Tomatoes also listed the film at number 139 on its list of 200 essential movies to watch, and one of 300 essential movies. Audience polls by CinemaScore reported that moviegoers gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale.

Trivia

• The film was released on the same day as Jaws: The Revenge.
• RoboCop is considered a groundbreaking entry in science fiction. In fact, the movie is so successful that it even started a franchise. Having two sequels, a live action shows, multiple children's animated shows, a live-action mini-series, video games, comic books, a reboot, and an untold glut of merchandising.
  • However the two sequels, RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3, and the remake, RoboCop (2014), were unnecessary and lackluster continuations of the franchise and were not well received. A direct sequel to the original, "RoboCop Returns", is currently in development as of 2020 and will be ignoring the sequels.

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