Robocop (1987) Review - By Michael J. Carlisle

Title: Robocop
Year: 1987
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Country: US
Language: English

By the time Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop hit theatres, Detroit had become the symbol for America's "Urban Crisis." The city averaged sixty-three homicides per one hundred thousand people in 1987, more than any other urban center in North America. The dystopian Detroit setting was more than mere silver screen fiction; it was and is still very close to reality. In addition to still having a high murder rate, racial segregation, class segregation and a poor housing market, the city filed for bankruptcy. Although they seem to be getting help from big corporations, that help comes with a dire price. In a recent interview, the screenwriter for the original RoboCop reflected on how the film's script is starting to play into reality: "We are now living in the world that I was proposing in RoboCop…how big corporations will take care of us and…how they won't."

 In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

Robocop's director, Paul Verhoeven, is gifted Dutch filmmaker whose earlier credits include Soldier of Orange and The Fourth Man. His movies cannot be easily categorized; Robocop is as much a serious action flick as it is an absurd comedy. It ponders philosophical questions and acts as political satire, while at the same time filling the runtime with guts, gore, bullets and bodies. Made during the end of the Reagan era, Verhoeven explores the mess of free enterprise and privatization.

In Robocop the screenwriter's dissect how big business can get so big. Perhaps because it makes huge profits first by creating a mess, then doubles profits by manufacturing the machine that will clean the mess up.While essentially a modern Frankenstein story, the film can also double as Christ metaphor. While watching the film I'm reminded of Charles Chaplin's Modern Times. Both pictures contain a society that seems to think technology will make our lives better, but unfortunately this is not the case. 

Robocop is a remarkable film- one that I watched when I was far too young- but great regardless. It's a unique thriller that, thankfully, doesn't let modern special effects get in the way of telling a good story. It can be watched as mindless action or thoughtful political satire and still be incredibly entertaining. This is one of a kind. Praise it! 4/5