Robocop (1987)

Tagline: Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement.

Curiosity: It’s about a cyborg cop. In Detroit!

Plot: In a totally dystopian, White Stripes-less future, Detroit (now called Old Detroit) is beset by crime and decay (just like the real Detroit!). Law enforcement is now handled by private corporations, in Detroit’s case, Omni Consumer Products (OCP). Under ethically questionable Senior President Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), they produce big, but not particularly effective, weapons like the ED-209, which tends to “accidentally” kill people even after they’ve surrendered. Also, it can’t use stairs. Awesome! When it becomes clear that ED-209 sucks balls, corporate upstart Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) steps in to recommend the Robocop program to OCP President (Dan O’Herlihy). Jones eats poop and hates it. Oh, how he hates it.

Meanwhile, Officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) reports to his new precinct and goes out for a drive with new partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen). They take on terrorist Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his cronies, which ends in Murphy being shot a gajillion times (although he does get off lightly compared to how ED-209 treats people). This guy is thoroughly dead. Which would suck for anyone else. See, OCP needs a body to create the first Robocop, a cyborg with a machine’s precision and a human’s bad dreams. Also, he gets a sweet gun. And so Detroit starts to suck a little less.

Thoughts: Director Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls, Starship Troopers, and other cult classics) is a man who appreciates the fine art of violence. Check out this scene where ED-209 goes haywire:

…and that’s the edited version.

In a way, his satirical take on Robocop – although I should just as much credit to screenwriters Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner – reminds me of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns (FUN FACT: Miller penned the crappy Robocop sequels). Both satirize ’80s America, from its stupid-big cars to its vapid TV shows to Ronald Reagan. Robocop really does double as a comedy, taking digs at yuppies and corporate America, two things that still hit home in today’s economy. OCP’s second rate weapons system reminds me of the body armor debate from a few years back. Obviously, the jokes about ridiculously big cars (the 6000 S-U-X) still ring true.

It’s this critical eye that gives Robocop extra depth. Of course, it helps to have explosions. In fact, the crew bought a block’s of condemned buildings specifically so they could blow them up for a scene. AWESOME.

Reflect: Holy crap, I used the phrase “in today’s economy” and meant it.