Robocop

Robocop (1987)

note: For this review I watched the new Blu-Ray release of the movie that is available in a set with both sequels.

Just in case you have never seen Robocop let me give you a plot synopsis. In the future the city of Detroit has become a hotbed of criminal activity. The city has privatized the police force to a company called OCP. When one of the cops, Murphy, is brutally gunned down the company takes advantage and turns him into Robocop. While this is a good thing for the city as Robocop starts cleaning things up, it backfires on OCP. It seems that one of the executives is up to no good and Robocop is getting in the way of his plans. This sets up the big finale with much violence and mayhem.

It would really surprise me if there are many people out there that haven’t seen Robocop, especially genre fans that would hang out here. Still I want to tell you guys why I dig this movie so much. The plot is paced very well with lots of action filling up the screen. There are gunfights and explosions happening all over the place. That might strike some viewers as overly simple, but this is an action movie and that is what I expect. The movie delivers the goods.

There are also some great characters starting with Murphy, played by Peter Weller. The character is very likeable before he is killed and turned into Robocop, which makes his eventual revenge all the more entertaining and satisfying. I mean at least I when I watch the movie am really rooting for him. Of course what good is a hero without a great villain or two? Ronny Cox as the corrupt executive is a great villain and has one of the best “exits” that I’ve ever seen in an action movie. Also what can you say about Boddicker, played by Kurtwood Smith? He is a great character and an even better bad guy. These characters are only made better by some great dialogue. Sure it might not be Oscar worthy soliloquies, but by god they have some very quotable stuff here. With all do apologies to Donald Trump no one has ever uttered the line, “You’re fired” quite as well as they do it here.

So if you haven’t figured out yet I’m a fan of this movie. There is one more thing that to me sets this one apart from other action movies that I’ve seen and that is the gore. There are some brutal kills in this movie. I mean when they are killing Murphy we just don’t get to see his hand get blown off, but then the arm as well! Oh and the kneecapping scene with Miguel Ferrer’s character is killer as well. And of course the one death that all the fans remember involving toxic waste and a car. Hell I haven’t even mentioned the design of the Robocop suite yet, which is excellent.

As I have already mentioned I watched the Blu-Ray release of this movie for the review. I can say that it has never looked any better then it does right here. The transfer is great and the movie holds up very well in high def. My only complaint about the Blu-Ray is that it is lacking in special features. So while I would say it is worth double dipping on for the transfer, you are going to want to keep your old special edition DVD for the features.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer