April 26, 2015

• Top Ten Reasons to Watch Robocop (1987)

   

  That's right, 1987 Robocop is back in hulu, and for free.  Newer versions of this film may be produced now and then, but they will never match the original.  You can go to http://www.hulu.com/ and type robocop in the search box.

  

  Everybody is corrupt in Old Detroit
  Corporations own the police force.  And criminal gangs own the evil corporation.  All of these characters say "fucking" as much as they possibly can.  It is the only adverb they fucking know.

  Tough independent female cop
  We first see Robocop's partner Ann Lewis winning a fist fight with a bad guy in the police station.  She is ballsy, short-haired, and pretty.

  Ironic extreme violence
  There is a lot of blood, a lot of evisceration going on here.  A lot of people die.  Somehow we buy it, because the street criminals are so downright rotten.  Hey, it's an action picture, you know.

  Preposterous TV broadcasts
  The movie dwells on fake TV news and commercials, which do not add anything to the plot, but do contribute plenty of atmosphere.  In the future -- 1980 Detroit's future -- the media reveal unemployment, poverty, and the decay of American industry.
  1. Apartheit South Africa is building a nuclear bomb.
  2. A malfunction in a satellite laser test accidentally fries 113 people.

  Ridiculous products
  The status car everybody wants is a 6000 SUX.  We see high tech toys such as a war game simulating a mushroom cloud in your living room.  A popular TV comedian always evokes peals of laughter.  He is not funny.  His tag line, one that somehow sticks in your memory, is: "I'd Buy That for a Dollar!"

  

  Evil comic book villains
  Gangster Clarence Boddecker laughs out loud when he shoots somebody.  His gang members break out in laughter frequently.  All the villains in the corporate boardroom are driven clownishly by greed.

  1980s style drugs and sex
  Power-mad executive Bob Morton snorts cocaine from a young manager's cleavage.  Within ten minutes, Clarence Boddecker has left him with a live grenade -- which power-mad executive Dick Jones has ordered sent to him.

  DIRECTIVE 4
  Robocop cannot kill Boddecker, only arrest him, because of Prime Directive 3.  Later, as Robocop attempts to arrest executive Dick Jones, he finds he cannot do it because of latent Directive 4, which states that a robot ... uh ... shall not arrest Dick Jones.  Tricky directive, that 4.

  Jesus Christ
  Director Paul Verhoeven, known for his use of Christian symbolism, gives Alex Murphy a horrific death, followed by his resurrection as RoboCop.  There is a scene at an abandoned mill in which RoboCop is seen walking ankle-deep in water.

  As good or better than Ghostbusters and Terminator
  It is well paced, well written, and well directed.  The ironic tone is constant and never overplayed, never underplayed.  This film was produced for a relatively modest $13 million, special effects and all.

  

   

   

  • 10:59 pm
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