Subject: Retrospective: Robocop (1987)

From: [email-masked] (Chad Polenz)
Date: 19 Oct 1997 19:02:14 GMT

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. 

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