Robocop 1987 Blu-ray (Movie Review)

Review by Paeter Frandsen

The year is 1987. The Nintendo Entertainment System is putting the last nails in the coffin of the Atari 2600 and ushering in a new age of video games. The Real Ghostbusters Saturday morning cartoon was hitting its stride. The Flash, Superman and Wonder Woman all receive their post-Crisis On Infinite Earths reboot treatments, and Peter Parker finally marries MJ in Amazing Spider-man Annual #21. That summer, the ridiculously titled Robocop hits theaters in America, and changes the sci-fi action genre forever

The story of Robocop is set in Detroit of the near future, which is overrun by human depravity. Crime is at an all-time high, yet media coverage is strangely numb to the crisis of the human condition. The police and military are effectively owned and operated by OCP, a large technology corporation. Driven by a self-serving collection of board members, OCP hopes to use robotic and cybernetic technology to solve the city’s crime problem (also using the program as potential tech demo which will pave the way for lucrative military contracts).

Officer Alex Murphy, loving husband and father, has just transferred to the Detroit police force, but doesn't last long as he is soon horrifically murdered by Detroit's most dangerous gang leader. Whether a blessing or curse, this makes Murphy the perfect candidate for OCP's Robocop program, which intends to use freshly deceased police officers as raw material for company-controlled cyborg police enforcers. But what no one anticipates is that something of Alex Murphy still lives, and intends to make right the wrongs which led to his death... even if that puts him at odds with his "creators."

Robocop was director Paul Verhoeven's first Hollywood film, but he wastes no time in making his mark. The exaggerated explosions of blood and body parts littered throughout this movie still influence the way violence is portrayed in film and even video games today. The violence in this movie is wet and sticky, almost to the point of comedy. (And a few times it succeeds in being the intentional source of humor, especially in the director's cut.)

The visual design of the Robocop suit, the fully robotic ED-209, and the weaponry used in the film all ground the movie, feeling bulky enough to be physically real despite their fantastic nature. However, despite the wonderful look of the film, it is certainly dated by the stop-motion visual effects used to animate the ED-209, which require considerable suspension of disbelief to accept.

The best visual effects of the film are practical. Make-up and gore and various robotic effects all hold up very well (except for a few quick shots during Murphy's death scene near the beginning). And Peter Weller's physical performance goes a long way toward helping viewers see a man with a robotic body rather than just a guy in a plastic suit.

The score in the movie aids the subtle Old West vibe the story takes on now and then. And just try not to hum the main Robocop theme once you're done watching the final credits roll. The sound design and editing (which won an Academy Award) still hold up wonderfully today, with the exception of some gunfire sounds that will sound muddy to modern ears spoiled by The Matrix. The servo effects, background hums, and footsteps of Robocop are not the overdone sci-fi sounds you would hear in most other films, but sound like technology that really could exist today, further grounding the experience.

As it is, the movie can use all the "grounding" it can find, since even for today the film has a somewhat unrestrained foreign vibe to it that is hard to put your finger on- not that this doesn't serve the movie well. Near future Detroit is populated by celebrities and criminals that seem over the top at a glance, but upon further consideration become believable as the natural evolution of a group that has increasingly left moral absolutes behind. Of particular note are the performances of the gang members and their leader, who are at times disturbing to watch. Far from being psychotic, they are something much worse. They seem to be rationally and intentionally depraved in a way that is darkly humorous in some moments, but at other times is too believable in unsettling ways.

Robocop doesn't limit itself to social and moral commentary, either, but delves into the spiritual nature of humanity in subtle ways. Murphy is "dead" (by legal and biological definitions) before being remade as Robocop. His behavior after "resurrection" is decidedly machine-like, driven by programming and his Prime Directives. But remnants of his humanity increasingly interfere with his programming. Fragmented memories and feelings begin to surface, with the latter being the more present of the two. Murphy's memory has been wiped, but his feelings remain in some form. Late in the film, Murphy says of the family he left behind, "I can feel them, but I can't remember them." Director Paul Verhoeven says several times in the special features that he was interested in exploring the parallels between Alex Murphy and Jesus, with resurrection being a theme of interest. And while I can see this theme present, the questions about human nature seem to come to the surface more readily.

The larger-than-life approach to satire won't be a fit for everyone, and I have to admit that the movie is not the fantastic experience for me that it once was. But much of it still holds up very well, and with a blu-ray price for well under $10, it's worth adding to your collection if you've only seen it on DVD before now.

On the subject of the blu-ray, the picture and sound is a wonderful upgrade from DVD, despite some inherent grain in the original film that remains here and there. The special features are also insightful and fascinating. Of particular note is the live Q&A panel the cast and production team recorded, presumably for this release. The session gives surprising insight into Paul Verhoeven's and Peter Weller's spiritual views, as the discussion of messianic symbols and the human soul stand front and center in the last third of the Q&A.

In addition to being a cool sci-fi action flick that holds up fairly well (though not superbly) today, the original Robocop movie is likely to stimulate at least passing thoughts regarding the nature of human beings. Are we simply wet and sticky machines, or is there a non-physical component to the human condition that survives beyond death?

Quality: 8.0/10

Relevance: 7.5/10

The blu ray release includes only the unrated director's cut, which includes intense violence, gore, sexual situations and rough language.