Robocop Commentary

I didn't start really watching movies until 1992 so I had never seen Robocop. I was expecting it to be one of those 80s action movies that is way past its expiration date.  It starts out kind of like that.  There are some pretty cheesy melodramatic lines and some acting that was obviously not assisted by a police consultant.  But the film takes a huge turn in quality when Murphy goes down.  From the first person point of view during his construction onward, this is a very entertaining and well made action movie.

I have to remind myself that it was made 25 years ago.  Some of the effects do show the age of the movie.  But, if you can keep that context in mind, it doesn't draw away from the value.  The makeup and blood effects for the time were top notch and would still be considered good.  And the Robocop suit/body is still badass today.  Also, they did a very good job with their assumptions in future technology and keeping it realistic (the DVD comes to mind) which is difficult to do in any movie.  I can see why they want to do a remake because with today's technology, they can do a lot more with the effects. But you just know they're going to go too far.  A remake is a mistake because the original still entertains at a high level.

Another aspect I liked was the moral ambiguity in OCP for the most part.  Yes, the big villain there is definitely a bad guy.  But there's no big corporate conspiracy (like in, say, Resident Evil) that Robocop has to fight.  For the most part, the executives are very realistic.  They have corporate goals and may not be great people. But they aren't evil either.

If you're one of the few who has not seen it, see it.  Otherwise, see it again.