A Look Back At RoboCop (1987)

This is one of those movies that is way better than it needs to be (Hell, just the title alone would make most people curious enough to watch it). 

The film has spawned two sequals, a reboot in 2012, an animated series, a live-action mini-series, video games, toys, and comic books. I doubt anyone foresaw that kind of an impact.

So, for those who aren't familiar with it, here's the basic story:

Detroit is a crime-filled dystopian city, (maybe the easiest setup in film history) and a company named Omni Consumer Products that has made a deal with the mayor to privatize the ineffective and underfunded the police force in exchange for the rights to tear down old sections of Detroit and build a new, safe city named 'Delta City' in it's place. One of OCP's plans for Delta City is to have a police force of robots.

Also early on we meet Alex Murphy (played by Peter Weller) who is a cop that just transfered to a South Detroit precinct. And wouldn't you know it, on his first day he gets brutally blown apart by a barrage of bullets while pursuing a gang led by Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). But of course, he was the perfect candidate/murder victim for OCP's experimental program, and as a result RoboCop is born.

The rest of the film's plot involves corruption within OCP, the police threatening to go on strike, Boddicker's gang being funded by OCP vice president Dick Jones, RoboCop taking down criminals, another robot named ED-209... It's a ton of fun and near perfect blend of action, sci-fi, and comedy. 

This is a personal favorite of mine and one I highly recommend. 

4.5 out of 5.

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