If you're thinking to yourself, Wow, RoboCop sounds like a pretty silly movie. I mean Half man, half robot, all cop? How ridiculous can it get?
Well... it can get pretty damn ridiculous.
RoboCop is the epitome of a cheesy 80s action flick. The truth is, they just don't make movies like this anymore. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but there's no doubt that there is something special about a movie like RoboCop... or Total Recall... Or other action movies I'll hopefully be reviewing in the future.
RoboCop is... well... exactly what you would expect from a movie called RoboCop. The movie
The streets are run by gangs, led by Clarrence Broddicker (played by Kurtwood Smith). The police department is being taken over by private companies. Also.. I mean, its Detroit. Even in the future its still kind of fucked up.
On one of his first jobs, Murphy and his partner Anne Lewis (played by Nancy Allen) find Clarence's hide out and intend to bring him to justice. Instead of that, they end up outnumbered and out matched. Murphy is captured and brutally shot to death by Clarence and his gang.
After everyone believes that he is dead, which he basically is, Murphy is transformed into RoboCop. A half man, half robot, bred to be a perfect crime fighting machine.
I probably could explain to you about the corporate espionage involved with the plot... but honestly, its a movie about a guy who gets turned into a robot to fight crime... set in the 80s. If you expect something more to come out of this film, you don't really know 80's action films that well.
Its a lot of shooting, a lot of action, and a lot of blood squibs.
Don't know what blood squibs are? Here's a decent explanation.
The great part about this movie is that it doesn't try to tell a complex story, it doesn't try to be anything but a bloody action flick. Sure, it has a little bit of satire in there.
Within the main plot line are sprinkled a series of TV ads, news clips, and what is apparently suppose to be TV from the future.
The movie has some satire in it, it does poke fun at our desensitization to violence and corporations, but this movie is not Requiem for A Dream, this movie is not a Wachowski film where the message is being forced down your throat.
Again, the movie is called RoboCop. You shouldn't be expecting too much from this movie besides over the top 80's action cheese, lots of blood and gore, and lots of people dying horrible and gruesome deaths in what probably should have been a goofy movie about a robot police officer, but instead was this really gritty action film.
All that being said, I didn't really come out of RoboCop with anything incredibly memorable that wasn't already pop culture references. I think I now get some of the background on pop culture and I know what people mean when they refer to RoboCop, but I can't say its a fantastic movie. Its over the top violence in return for very little character development, mediocre acting, and visual effects that probably don't hold up.
That being said, IT'S A MOVIE ABOUT A ROBOT POLICE OFFICER! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT THIS MOVIE TO BE ABOUT?!?!?
I appreciate this movie for the cultural icon it is, I'll pop it in if I want an 80s action fest going on, but beyond laughing at how the 80s are growing more and more dated, this movie doesn't do much for me.
But what do you think of RoboCop? Am I missing something extraordinary about the film? What are your thoughts? Comment and Discuss below! Or shoot me a tweet @cmhaugen24 and follow me on Twitter to get movie updates and news.
I'll leave you with this. I'm not sure whether or not I want to watch RoboCop 2 or the new RoboCop next. We'll see. I'm also watching The BlackList so I'm hoping I can get a review of the first season up here quick cause I have a lot to say about that show. I'll give you the trailer for RoboCop the new one for now as I think that's probably where I'll be headed next, but don't quote me on that quite yet. Enjoy!
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