Robocop is one the best Action Movies of all TIME
Movies about Cyborgs are great. But no film does cyborg as well as the original, Robocop! This movie was about a Detroit cop who got blasted with gunfire while trying to make a bust. Then he basically died, but a powerful company turned the cop into a cyborg and made him very powerful and hard to kill. Robocop came out in 1987 and I remember seeing it in the theaters and getting very shocked by the violent scene where the OCP Executive (OCP is the main company in the movie that makes lots of hardware and basically runs the show) gets executed by the giant robot, ED-209. One reason why I love Robocop so much is because it has great characters, plot, setting and themes. (I guess that’s more than one reason but who’s counting?) The main character, Murphy who later becomes Robocop is mild mannered and likeable. But when Murphy turns into Robocop he is a detective, a unstoppable cop, and a relentless cyborg who doesn’t take no for an answer. Murphy’s partner, Officer Anne Lewis, played by the beautiful Nancy Allen, is spunky and peppy and you can tell that she really cares about her partner. Peter Weller, who plays the part of Murphy and Robocop does an amazing acting job. He is very convincing as a man who is part machine. There is this scene where Robocop goes to his old house, and the emotions that are portrayed are unforgettable. You can see and feel the frustration that Robocop is experiencing when he tries to remember his old life, and the can feel the anger when Robocop thinks about the wife and child and life that was ripped away from him.
The setting of Detroit is excellent. In the movie, crime and unemployment is rampant and the city of Old Detroit is decaying. There are abandoned factories and other businesses and there just aren’t enough cops to maintain order. The future depicted seems very realistic and the unemployment strikes a chord even with viewers today, who are facing such problems in 2010. The abandoned factories and drug factories are very dangerous, very gritty places for the action to take place. In the first factory where Murphy is looking for the bad guys, you feel the danger that a cop would experience when investigating a factory. There could be a criminal lurking around any corner, and there are walkways and ledges that are unsafe.
The plot of Robocop is fast paced and is 103 minutes long. There are no dragging parts and you are constantly entertained and intrigued. This is something that recent movies could really learn from. The theme of the story of Robocop is two fold. It is a combination of revenge, and justice. Robocop wants revenge against the men who basically killed him. But when he comes face to face with Clarence Boddicker, the Criminal Leader, instead of killing Clarance, he arrests him. So this makes Robocop a more likable character because he still believes in the law even though he had been seriously wronged.
The amount of violence in Robocop is pretty extreme. People get their throats punctured, shot, turned into mutants then exploded, punched, blown up by grenades and thrown through windows. The violence in this movie is not quite as extreme as Total Recall. Like other Paul Verhoeven movies, the gunshots sound and look real. This is unlike a lot of other movies where it looks like people are getting hit by paintballs. If you are squeamish about blood, you may not want to see this movie alone.
The soundtrack for Robocop is highly memorable and sets the bold tone for the film. The music when Robocop drives for the first time since he was Murphy is perfect.
Speaking of sound, scroll down to watch the Amazing Robocop Rap by THE ANOMALIES. If you haven’t seen the movie yet and you don’t want any spoilers then don’t watch this. But if you are curious about the movie and want a 10 minute summary of the film then go ahead and watch it.