Robocop Trilogy
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DVD details
Actor: Jodi Long, John Posey, Mario Machado, Remy Ryan Hernandez, Robert John BurkeBrand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 325 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-08
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Robocop Trilogy
DVD Review: Modern classic, with a mixed bag of sequels...
Summary: 4 Stars
ROBOCOP: Five stars
ROBOCOP is a modern science fiction masterpiece. The future is not black and white, as most sci-fi tales conform to. It is a utopia of white-teeth propaganda but its black tarred heart beats a dystopian horror. ROBOCOP has been misunderstood simply as an eighties violent action picture. It is a lot more than that.
Firstly, integral satire thumps hard at its core - big business is the new `democracy' (or lack of) and money is God. Falling human values and decency are humorously mocked (the family playing the `nuke' game) and the price of human life is devalued.
Robocop is a sort of iron messiah, almost Christ-like - for example, he is a morally strong man, gunned down doing something he believed in, was `resurrected' and eventually became an iconic figure for hope in a city falling into apathetic hell and crime.
The film is extremely violent, but it never seems gratuitously (there for the sake of it). The violence highlights the cold heartless vision of the future that our future relatives will inevitably inherit (are we not too far off now from that dystopia?) I saw this film on British television years ago, with censored `television-friendly' cuts. This made the film feel subdued in its message, and it lacked the brutal force of the uncut version (even the cutting of swear words gave the film a less realistic, less-grimmer feel).
Peter Weller is an inspired choice for the dual role of Officer Murphy (married family man, nice suburban home) and his resurrected entity - Robocop. The armour suit is brilliantly created, and seems well ahead of its time - example the gun holster in his leg (this is pre-CGI). Nancy Allen, plays his bolshy side-kick who also holds a high moral compass.
The stop-motion animation seems a tad dated (ED-209 falling down the stairs for example) even though it was made in 1987, but the sets are well-made and the difference between the urban decay below and the modern settings of the OCP buildings are well contrasted (the office buildings are grey and colourless, devoid of any human touches or character).
The intertwining news features, and faux advertisements, satirise a scrupulous modern media relationship with the `consumer'.
Apparently, Paul Verhoeven wanted a futuristic city created (see Starship Troopers) but budget restrictions forced him to settle for modern day looking Dallas. This works well in Verhoeven's favour, as the city feels deprived and the overall feeling is that this bleak future is not too far off.
The sequels and the TV spin-off (aimed at kids!), fortunately, does not devalue this movie, as this film stands alone. Some say it is the greatest sci-fi to come out of the eighties, I think it is the best to come out ever (alongside Metropolis, Terminator, Alien, 2001: A Space Odyssey), though people who think its gory violence is unnecessary, will disagree.
ROBOCOP 2: Three stars
The inevitable sequel is not as bad as some make out; though, compared with the original, it fails on all levels. Released with a surge of hype in 1989, this will fill only those who saw the first as a violent action picture, rather than the layered modern sci-fi it really is.
It's portrayal of a new drug culture offers nothing new, and seems pretty lazy and easy as a purpose to satirise. The villain, Cain, a sort of hippy throwback, seems a bit too much of a `superhero' villain (i.e. wacky, unconventional) to offer any gritty realism (unlike the first). Irvin Kershner, the director who gave us the most fulfilling Star Wars episode - The Empire Strikes Back, seems to lack the social and political bite that Verhoeven created with the first movie.
However, if you see the film in the right light - as a comic-book style movie, then ROBOCOP 2 is elevated somewhat. There are parts when satire does sparkle, for example, where Robocop/Murphy is `reprogrammed' and set back out onto the streets is a vicious swipe at OTT political correctness and liberalism (as the first movie took a swipe at conservatism and big business fascism).
The violence is not as brutal and realistic as the first one, but it is still far off the `children' friendly Robocop spin-offs that follow this movie.
News bulletins and faux advertisements return, but this time they feel too absurd, and instead of satirising modern western media, it simply parodies the first film.
I would rate this film three stars.
ROBOCOP 3: One star
If the second Robocop movie has some redeemable features, then the third instalment has hardly any. This film is the metamorphous of the Robocop franchise into a kid's marketed commodity. In this respect, this film seems to be a pilot for the children-friendly television series that soon followed (though this film is not be confused WITH the television show pilot).
The violence is low key and the inclusion of a child actor as one of the main central characters seems to confirm this. Maybe this was the inevitable conclusion - Robocop has all the hallmarks of a `superhero' and the commercialisation of this towards the children's toy market/comics may gather a new audience (young viewers) but will alienate an older audience at the same time. The superhero theme is cemented with Robocop's new jetpack and the `ninja' style villains (this movie was released when the ninja turtles franchise was in full swing).
It is ironic that this film should be included to make the series a `trilogy'. Parents who have seen this movie - and the television series - may find the first two films a total shock.
The film also lacks the budget of the first two movies, which was a surprise as Robocop 3 was very hyped up to its confusing release date (set back time after time with delays) and was released in Britain straight-to-video.
This film can be viewed as a pilot, of the pilot of the tv series. Parents who wish to buy this trilogy because of Robocop's `revamp' into a children's `action figure' toy may have an unpleasant surprise with the first two movies, so I suggest buying Robocop 3 on its own.
Description of Robocop Trilogy
ROBOCOP TRILOGY - DVD MovieThe first Robocop was thrilling, hilarious, and totally original--none of which has as much to do with the film's spawning two sequels (plus two separate television shows) as its $50 million-plus take at the box office. Though the Law of Diminishing Returns inevitably applies to the theatrical trilogy, the central premise is so strong that each of the lesser sequels has at least a few moments worth catching. That's because the original (wherein Detroit cop Peter Weller, killed in the line of duty, gets transformed into a crime-fighting cyborg) set up an entire world. Director Paul Verhoeven spends as much time lampooning television news, commercial products, and big business as he does on the story; however violent or gory things get (and they get quite icky), the tone throughout is comic, even giddy. Robocop 2, helmed by Irvin Kershner of The Empire Strikes Back fame, sobers up considerably. The film is rather underrated; sure, there are fewer ads and newsbreaks this time around, but there are several inventive touches--Robocop is briefly reprogrammed into a homily-spouting Dudley Do-Right; drug dealers step in to bail out the financially strapped city--and the villains (including the most foul-mouthed, amoral 12-year-old in movie history) are less outrageous than in the first installment. Robocop 3, however, is profit-driven hash. Having Robocop (now acted by Robert John Burke) join a citizens' uprising is a nice idea, and even the ninja android could have been fun, but the movie tries too often to be heartwarming, an emotion thoroughly out of place in this wickedly satirical series. --Bruce Reid
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