Dead or Alive, You're Coming With "RoboCop"

I'd buy that for a dollar!

The Story:

In the future, Detroit is pretty much on its last legs as a drug filled haven for criminals.  The cops are gunned down frequently, and corporations are looking to be the future of law enforcement.  It is here that Officer Murphy (Peter Weller) gets gunned down, and is transformed into RoboCop.  From there, it's a question of a bit of Murphy's humanity remaining in the machine as he tracks down the bad guys that killed him, and leads him to the big reveal of who really is behind the crime...

Big Corporations!

Wait, this is the future?  I'm pretty sure that could sum up America, especially Detroit, right now.

: )

My back to back love reviews for the great city of Detroit looks back at the 80s masterpiece: RoboCop!

Paul Verhoeven's first American film remains his greatest work.  Ultra-violent, ultra-funny, it takes swipes at Americas capitalism and other issues that were prevalent in the 80s and still carry some weight today.

The satirical news and commercial spots that interrupt the film are as good today as they were over 25 years ago.

Weller does great as the stoic cop.  His performance is nearly robotic, even before he undergoes the operation. :)

 His lack of presence is made up for with scenery chewing bad guys, among them, Ronny Cox and Kurtwood Smith.

Yep, I have to say it, Robocop is a science fiction/action classic in the genre.

I fear that the retread/reboot of the franchise is going to stall out as badly as the Total Recall did.  Nobody is clamoring for a remake, and when you take a cult classic and try and update it, you have to throw out all the stops and make the remake stand on its own two feet.

We will see.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I don't own this one, just never have gotten around to getting it, and I think this is only the 3rd time I've seen it since the first time I rented it back in the day... but it's still pretty darn awesome.