Movie Night! ‘Robo-Cop’ Edition
For me though…? I love them, I’m even coming round to the idea of ‘Robo-Cop 3’ not being all that bad after all. I’ll be honest, everything has more or less been said about the ‘Robo-Cop’ films, at this point, so this is going to be a fairly short post of quick thoughts. Here goes…
‘Robo-Cop’ (1987)
In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
It’s funny how a movie can do different things for you at different times of your life. As a kid, ‘Robo-Cop’ was all about the action and the daft adverts for the 6000 SUX etc. Watching it yesterday though… It really struck me that we’re looking at more than just summary justice and a commentary on capitalist America (which is still cool, don’t get me wrong). Amidst all the gunfire is a surprisingly sensitive handling of a man who has lost everything he loved and only has the law to cling to. Murphy can’t even die now, he is literally stuck with the trauma of his own death and in a body that will betray him if he tries to uphold the law. There’s a lot going on here and I think Peter Weller strikes a really fine balance between being an emotionless cyborg and showing us these little glimpses of humanity that come through.
Don’t get me wrong though… I’m still very much here for the toxic waste scene, the would be rapist getting his bits shot off and an inept safecracker taking flying lessons (amongst all the rest of the good stuff). You don’t need me to tell you this but I’m going to… ‘Robo-Cop’ is awesome.
‘Robo-Cop 2’ (1990)
Robo-Cop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil Robo-Cop 2.
What I love about this movie is that it’s so clear that someone, high-up, made the decision that you don’t need to fix something if it isn’t broken. You just increase the ingredients… ;o) ‘Robo-Cop 2’ is everything that the original was, just more so. Because of this approach, the film can feel a little cartoonish, at times, with everything ramped up to 11. I think that you just accept the film on its own terms, you can still have a lot of fun with it. I always do and last night was no exception. Maybe the message about big business and organised crime being the same thing is a little overdone but then Kane turns up and wipes everyone out so… It’s all good.
‘Robo-Cop 3’ (1993)
Delta City is ready to be built, there’s just the issue of urban clearance to resolve and when people don’t want to leave their homes, Robo-Cop is about to learn that there’s a difference between obeying the law and doing the right thing….
And so we come to ‘Robo-Cop 3’, a film where I don’t think I’ve heard a good word said in it’s favour. I think that’s a bit of a shame actually, although I might just be all middle aged and maudlin’ (I’m not sure now). Yep, ‘Robo-Cop 3’ loses a lot of what made the first two films so good; you drop the rating to a ‘15’ and there’s only so far you can take the violence. What I would say though is ‘Robot Ninjas’ are always cool and that is just a fact ;o) And I may be getting a bit soft, in my middle age, but I love how Robo-Cop finds a new family and clearly isn’t as isolated as he thought he was. After everything he has been through, Murphy deserves a happy ending and while that only goes so far in Old Detroit, He gets it and that was the feel good ending that my jaded old soul needed.
Leave a comment if you agree, disagree or if you really want me to give the ‘Robo-Cop’ re-boot another shot.
It’s funny how a movie can do different things for you at different times of your life. As a kid, ‘Robo-Cop’ was all about the action and the daft adverts for the 6000 SUX etc. Watching it yesterday though… It really struck me that we’re looking at more than just summary justice and a commentary on capitalist America (which is still cool, don’t get me wrong). Amidst all the gunfire is a surprisingly sensitive handling of a man who has lost everything he loved and only has the law to cling to. Murphy can’t even die now, he is literally stuck with the trauma of his own death and in a body that will betray him if he tries to uphold the law. There’s a lot going on here and I think Peter Weller strikes a really fine balance between being an emotionless cyborg and showing us these little glimpses of humanity that come through.
Don’t get me wrong though… I’m still very much here for the toxic waste scene, the would be rapist getting his bits shot off and an inept safecracker taking flying lessons (amongst all the rest of the good stuff). You don’t need me to tell you this but I’m going to… ‘Robo-Cop’ is awesome.
‘Robo-Cop 2’ (1990)
Robo-Cop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil Robo-Cop 2.
What I love about this movie is that it’s so clear that someone, high-up, made the decision that you don’t need to fix something if it isn’t broken. You just increase the ingredients… ;o) ‘Robo-Cop 2’ is everything that the original was, just more so. Because of this approach, the film can feel a little cartoonish, at times, with everything ramped up to 11. I think that you just accept the film on its own terms, you can still have a lot of fun with it. I always do and last night was no exception. Maybe the message about big business and organised crime being the same thing is a little overdone but then Kane turns up and wipes everyone out so… It’s all good.
‘Robo-Cop 3’ (1993)
Delta City is ready to be built, there’s just the issue of urban clearance to resolve and when people don’t want to leave their homes, Robo-Cop is about to learn that there’s a difference between obeying the law and doing the right thing….
And so we come to ‘Robo-Cop 3’, a film where I don’t think I’ve heard a good word said in it’s favour. I think that’s a bit of a shame actually, although I might just be all middle aged and maudlin’ (I’m not sure now). Yep, ‘Robo-Cop 3’ loses a lot of what made the first two films so good; you drop the rating to a ‘15’ and there’s only so far you can take the violence. What I would say though is ‘Robot Ninjas’ are always cool and that is just a fact ;o) And I may be getting a bit soft, in my middle age, but I love how Robo-Cop finds a new family and clearly isn’t as isolated as he thought he was. After everything he has been through, Murphy deserves a happy ending and while that only goes so far in Old Detroit, He gets it and that was the feel good ending that my jaded old soul needed.
Leave a comment if you agree, disagree or if you really want me to give the ‘Robo-Cop’ re-boot another shot.
I too watched the reboot. The only thing I remember about it was that his armour was black. Not much of something to recommend it, is it? :-) I think the fact that no more reboot sequels were made tells us all we need to know about the reboot.
ReplyDeleteReboots are weird. You've got to strike a balance between the familiarity of the original and doing enough new to make it worthwhile. The Robocop reboot toned down the original and didn't really do anything new either. I can't see myself watching it again.
DeleteRobocop is one of my favorite movies. I didn't care for the sequels, but it's been a long time since I've watched them
ReplyDeleteI love the first two and appear to be mellowing in my old age as I'm coming to like the third one as well :o)
DeleteGald to see you can post messages again! I'll have to rewatch them. Maybe after I finish re-watching the Mission: Impossible movies in preparation for watching the most recent one. I've changed my mind about films before, so we'll see. By the way, are you on Letterboxd?
DeleteI just had to Google Letterboxd to see what it was... ;o) It looks interesting but I'm not sure I've got the time for it right now. Maybe one day...
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