OK, True Brit, Scot raised in England, Educated in Wales and in a bizarre twist of fate now living a...
OK, True Brit, Scot raised in England, Educated in Wales and in a bizarre twist of fate now living and working in the Orient.
Member since:26.07.2001
Reviews:56
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Paul Verhoeven's Robocop had a certain distinction whilst I was at college, namely that it was probably the film most mentioned as reference by my film-studies class. This was mainly due in no small part to my own devotion to the film at the time.
From the outside it seems to be pretty much a standard Science-Fiction actioneer, Cop gunned down in the line of duty, rebuilt to take bloody and gruesome revenge. The thing is though that the film quietly surpasses that level of film-making and goes on to become something greater, all the while holding onto that core theme.
Alex Murphy is a cop, a good one, working in Detroit, the most crime-ridden City in Future America. After being transferred to the most dangerous precinct in the city He and his partner Anne Lewis come face to face with a gang of Cop-killers, and whilst Murphy acquits himself well, he's trapped and killed by the gang, whilst his partner is forced to watch helplessly.
Pronounced dead at the Hospital, his body and mind are used to form the core of a new crime-fighting project by OCP, the private company who now manage Detroit's police force. His Upper torso and head are fitted into a new body, his personalities and emotions purged, and he becomes OCP's prototype in their war against crime, ROBOCOP.
Bit by bit though, Murphy starts to reassert his will, spurred on by an encounter with Lewis and a run-in with one of the Cop-Killers. Soon it has all come back to him, and he sets out to bring his killers to justice, fighting not only Clarence Boddiker and his gang, but also their corrupt connections on the Board of OCP.
Despite the flash and blood of the suface story, at it's heart Robocop is a story of humanity (Lost and found you might say). Murphy's realisation about who he is (was) and what he has become is deftly handled, and Peter Weller's portrayal of man and machine is at once both eerily cold and endearingly human.
The special effects are good, and still hold up well today, especially the bipedal Enforcement Droid which OCP are also trying to foist on an unsuspecting world.
One of the things that set Robocop apart from it's peers at the cinema was it's wry, sardonic sense of humour. Much has been said about the fake adverts and news reports scattered throughout the film, and these indeed allow a level of humour that such a film needs. But the humour is also blackly reinforced by the ironic way in which Robo goes about his job, dealing out swift, and appropriate justice to the criminals of Old Detroit.
It can sometimes be hard to look beyond the surface of a film, especially one so caught up in the trappings of Science Fiction and Designer Violence, but making that effort with Robocop is touching. Sure, you can sit and watch it as an action film, and it's a good one, but the more you watch, the more you appreciate.
Which reminds me, time to get a new copy, mine's beginning to get worn out.
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Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
When it arrived on the big screen in 1987, Paul Verhoeven'sRoboCopwas like a high-voltage ... more
jolt of electricity, blending satire, thrills, and abundant violence with such energized gusto that audiences couldn't help feeling stunned and amazed. The movie ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
When it arrived on the big screen in 1987, Paul Verhoeven'sRoboCopwas like a high-voltage ... more
jolt of electricity, blending satire, thrills, and abundant violence with such energized gusto that audiences couldn't help feeling stunned and amazed. The movie ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
He's RoboCop. And in the near future he's law enforcement's only hope. A sadistic crime ... more
wave is sweeping across America. In Old Detroit the situation is so bad a private corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) has assumed control of the police fo...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
There's a new law enforcer in town...and he's half man, half machine! From the director of ... more
Total Recall and Basic Instinct comes a Sci-Fi fantasy witha sleek, high powered drive about an indestructible high-tech policeman who dishes out justice at ever...
Advantages: A classic - touching, shocking, funny, - a different kind of action movie. Disadvantages: A bit too violent for some - and lots of swearing.
DanClegg 07.02.2001 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Robocop (DVD)
![Robocop [1988] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78519459.jpg "Robocop [1988] [DVD]")
Aug 9th, 2001
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![Robocop [Special Edition]-DVD](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/103203131.jpg)
