Robocop

Robocop (1987)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox
Memorable Line(s) : "Excuse me, I have to go. Somewhere there is a crime happening."

Big and bold with a subversive comic undertone, Robocop has enough going for it to make an enjoyable viewing experience for most viewers.

The Plot of Robocop
Alex Murphy (Weller) is a good cop in the not too distant dystopian future where public law enforcement has given way to private run security forces . Teamed up with a feisty female partner (Allen), Murphy hits the streets trying to keep the streets of Detroit safe from rampant crime.

To cut the cost of crime fighting the corporate executives in charge of the new private security forces try to introduce new robotic droids to replace the current human cops, but see it backfire in the worst way. But they do have a back-up plan.

Murphy, while on patrol with his partner, find themselves in pursuit of a notorious crime gang leader, Boddicker (Smith). Boddicker gets the drop on the two cops and Murphy ends up being fatally wounded. Murphy is reported dead at the scene, but he is really diverted by the corporation to a new experimental program called Robocop -- part man, part machine.

This new cyborg cop is an extremely effective in crime fighting machine, but Murphy's personality is submerged within this new Robocop and starts to insert itself. So, along with fighting crime, the Robocop wants to find out how he went from being a living, breathing human to a machine.

The Performances and Direction of Robocop
I don't like knocking actor's performances, but there doesn't seem to be a big difference between Weller as a human and Weller as a robot. Maybe it was intentional, but the depth of his range in this movie isn't too varied. Nancy Allen has a unflattering role as the partner, but pulls it off for the most part. Kurtwood Smith eats of the screen as a very ruthless and memorable villain. It's strange to consider that he went on to a long and successful run on That 70's Show as the crusty Red.

Verhovoeven brings a detached and cool style to Robocop, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a sense of humor. Underlying the film are several subversive and subliminal jokes that elevate the film beyond just a simple action movie because Vehoeven is trying to make a comment on society. Verhoeven acquits himself well in the actions scenes.

Summary Judgment on Robocop
Robocop has a unique approach to the Sci-Fi action film and it works. Weller is a bit robotic in his role, but in spite of some nasty scenes courtesy of Kurtwood Smith, the film is still enjoyable romp.