Robocop

Okay, now I will admit I was very curious about this one, because I had never seen it before. I am aware that Paul Verhoeven, the director, made a career in the 80s and 90s out of violent and completely bonkers science fiction films, but I still wasn't sure what to expect all the same. I have to say that the praise this film got was well deserved.

The story focuses on Alex Murphy, played by Peter Weller, a Detroit police officer who ends up getting killed by the criminal Clarence Boddicker, played by Kurtwood Smith. Despite this, a mega corporation known as OCP rebuilds Murphy as the robotic law enforcement officer known as Robocop, minus his memories of who he was previously. Well, that all changes when he begins to take steps to solving his own murder.

As can be seen, it's a simple premise, but one that holds lots of promise. I liked seeing Murphy established with just a single scene before they transition rather violently, because yes, this movie is extremely violent, into him becoming Robocop. The villains were hammy and over the top and it honestly worked well with just how messed up the world of Robocop really is.

One of my favorite things about this was seeing clips from news programs and commercials that showed how greedy and dependent on technology the world had become, with companies like OCP profiting off of it immensely. Also, OCP is just one big battleground with people constantly cutting each other down to get in the CEO's good graces.

The film also just had some really intense and, as mentioned previously, visceral action sequences, which was appropriate for the aforementioned bonkers world that this film takes place in. If you want to know what kind of film you are in for, look no further than the scene where the ED-209 police robot brutally shoots a man to death after malfunctioning. This movie does not mess around when it comes to its content, and in this case, it clearly works to its advantage.

Overall, this was actually quite an entertaining science fiction action film, with great action, massive setpieces, and lots of violence and explosions, yet at the same time, a look at a man recovering his humanity from the corporate machine. This is definitely worth a watch and I highly recommend it.

Next time, we are going to meet a man who is bored with his life and wants to implant new memories in his mind to make it more interesting. What ends up happening is one of the most bonkers science fiction stories ever put to film. Keep an eye out for Total Recall.

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