The original RoboCop is so great is because it has everything you need. It’s an origin story. It’s got comedy, it’s got satire, it’s got heart, and it’s got tons of layers about a man who is killed, reborn as an unfeeling cyborg, and then somehow finds a way back to some of his humanity.
That’s what people always forget about this movie. When he’s seeking out his killers and looking for vengeance, he’s doing it because he’s becoming more human. His brain is waking up. He goes to find his home is no more and his family is gone — and I swear to you, that damn scene where he is freaking out and furious and punches the monitor at the home is incredible. Chills every time, and I’ve seen the movie probably 700 times.
The villains? Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) is a badass, pure and simple. His team consists of badasses like Ray Wise and Paul McCrane (you probably know him from Shawshank or ER) and then there’s head bad dude Ronny Cox (also from Beverly Hills Cop and countless other movies). Among everything else that is happening in this movie, it has an awesome score and amazing work by Paul Verhoven and everyone involved.
Except for Lewis. She is terrible. Absolutely the worst part of the whole movie. The jokes are great. The commercial interruptions are wonderful. Peter Weller worked his ass off to make RoboCop an entity of his own.
And the violence! The ultra-violence! ED-209 blowing a dude away in a boardroom. Boddicker and his gang utterly destroying Alex Murphy. A dude tries to rape a girl and gets his dick and balls shot off (look it up, there’s an even MORE NSFW version of this out there). Another guy gets mutated, hit by a car, and turned into so much water.
It’s hilarious. It’s incredible. It’s one of the best films of all time, one of the best superhero films of all time, one of the best origin films of all time, and by far, one of my favorite movies of all time. RoboCop is still a perfect movie. I haven’t seen the remake yet and don’t believe one was ever necessary. Re-release this in theaters and have fun with it.
That, I would indeed, buy for…
(Flip the page for a review on 2014’s RoboCop…)