Robocop (1987)

 

"Dead or alive: you're coming with me."

This film is insanely quotable. 

Paul Verhoeven used to say that he never quite had a thing for science fiction which is odd considering most of his best work and films he is best known for fall into that category: 'Starship Troopers', 'Total Recall' and of course this one. But possibly his strength lies in not falling for the typical tropes and traps of the genre and approaching it all a different way. 

Don't believe me? Robocop is actually a metaphor for Jesus. Not even kidding: he gets brutally murdered, is resurrected, becomes the saviour and even walks on water (sort of). Also: this film is both funny and brutal as fuck. 

In the near future, Detroit is a complete shithole. Crime is rampant and thanks to the privatization of the police force, budgets are cut and officers can hardly keep up with better equipped criminals. The company that owns the police (and several others branches, I might add) OCP now wants to introduce a new form of urban pacification with a robot called ED-209, so they can further cut back on human workers. Unfortunately, the unveiling test doesn't go according to plan and a young and ambitious member of the board steps in with his Robocop-programme. But he needs a human being for this. 

Enter Alex Murphy, an officer who transferred to the worst district (thank to machinations by OCP). During his first outing, he gets brutally gunned down by some gangsters led by crime kingpin Clarence Boddicker. So his body is then used to create Robocop. At first, things go well, but when Robocop begins to get flashes of his former life and starts to realize what and who he is, there's trouble brewing. Double when he discovers Boddicker works for Dick Jones, vice-president of OCP... 

This is one awesome film. It works on so many different levels. On the surface, it is an ultra-violent action/revenge film with robots and crooks, so people that like to have their gunplay 'in your face' with blood and guts flying everywhere will surely get their kicks. But this film is also a lot more clever than some people give it credit. The satire of the yuppie-culture from the 80s is absolutely spot on, with board members killing each other in their pursuit of money and power and their total disregard for anything remotely humane. 

It's also occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. A perfect example is when someone got absolutely blown to pieces (and I do mean shredded like Swiss cheese) and the first two reactions are: "Someone get a doctor!" even though it's clear the guy is deader than dead; and the second is immediately after that someone says with a straight face about the robot that just gunned this guy down: "It's just a glitch." It is sidesplittingly hilarious. 

The actors all rock across the board. Peter Weller is brilliant as Robocop/Murphy, but kudos to Nancy Allen for being the hard-as-nails Lewis and of course the most excellent villains of this piece: Ronny Cox as Dick Jones and Kurtwood Smith as Clarence Boddicker. Ronny Cox got typecast as the corporate baddie based on his turn here and he is having a ball. And Kurtwood Smith is bizarrely compelling as crimelord. He usually plays a gruff man, but here he gets to embrace his utter douchebag and because he doesn't really look the part, it is more than effective. 

Oh, and the music by Basil Poledouris is spot on. The Robocop March will be swirling through your mind for days. 

Not a lot more to say really: this is satire and science fiction at its best. You might be put off by the violence, but if you are not too squeamish, give it a watch. You won't regret it and it gets better with every viewing. A classic!