RoboCop
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferrer. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan, in the near future, RoboCop centers on police officer Alex Murphy (Weller) who is murdered by a gang of criminals and subsequently revived by the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products as the cyborg law enforcer RoboCop. Unaware of his former life, RoboCop executes a brutal campaign against crime while coming to terms with the lingering fragments of his humanity. The film has been analyzed for themes including the nature of humanity, personal identity, corporate greed, and corruption, and is seen as a rebuke of the policies of Ronald Reagan.
The film was conceived by Neumeier while working on the set of Blade Runner (1982), and he developed the idea further with Miner. Their script was purchased in early 1985 by producer Jon Davison on behalf of Orion Pictures. Finding a director proved difficult; Verhoeven dismissed the script twice because he did not understand its satirical content until convinced of it by his wife. Filming took place between August and October 1986, mainly in Dallas, Texas. Rob Bottin led the special-effects team in creating practical effects, violent gore, and the RoboCop costume. Verhoeven emphasized violence throughout the film, making it so outlandish it became comical. Even so, censors believed it was too extreme, and several scenes were shortened or modified to secure an acceptable theatrical rating.
Despite predicted difficulties in marketing the film, particularly because of its title, the film was expected to perform well based on pre-release critic screenings and positive word of mouth. RoboCop was a surprise financial success upon its release in July 1987, earning $53.4Template:Nbspmillion. Reviews praised the film as a clever action film with deeper philosophical messages and satire but were more conflicted over the extreme violence throughout. The film was nominated for several awards, and received an Academy Award and numerous Saturn Awards.
The success of RoboCop created a franchise comprising the sequels RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3, children's animated series, multiple live-action television shows, video games, comic books, toys, clothing, and other merchandise. A reboot, also called RoboCop, was released in 2014. A direct sequel to the original 1987 film, tentatively titled RoboCop Returns, is in development as of 2020; it ignores other entries in the series.
Plot
In a dystopian near future, the city of Detroit is on the brink of societal and financial collapse. Overwhelmed by crime and dwindling resources, the city grants the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) control over the Detroit police force. OCP Senior Vice President Dick Jones demonstrates ED-209, a law enforcement droid designed to supplant the police. ED-209 malfunctions and brutally kills an executive, allowing ambitious junior executive Bob Morton to introduce the Chairman ("The Old Man") to his own project: RoboCop.
Meanwhile, officer Alex Murphy is transferred to the Metro West precinct. Alongside his new partner Anne Lewis, Murphy pursues notorious criminal Clarence Boddicker and his gang—Emil Antonowsky, Leon Nash, Joe Cox, Steve Minh—who ambush and torture Murphy until Boddicker shoots him in the head. Morton has Murphy's corpse converted into RoboCop, turning him into a powerful and heavily-armored cyborg with no memory of his former life. RoboCop is programmed with three prime directives: serve the public trust, protect the innocent, and uphold the law. A fourth prime directive, Directive 4, is classified.
RoboCop is assigned to Metro West and hailed by the media for his brutally efficient campaign against crime; but Lewis grows suspicious that he is Murphy from the unique way he holsters his gun—a trick Murphy learned to impress his son. During maintenance, RoboCop experiences a nightmare of Murphy's death. He leaves the station and encounters Lewis, who addresses him as Murphy. While on patrol, RoboCop arrests Emil, who recognizes Murphy's mannerisms, furthering RoboCop's recall. RoboCop returns with Emil to Metro West and uses the police database to identify his associates and Murphy's police record. RoboCop recalls further memories while exploring Murphy's former home, his family having moved away following his death. Elsewhere, Jones gets Boddicker to murder Morton, in revenge for Morton's attempting to usurp his position at OCP.
RoboCop tracks down the Boddicker gang and a shootout occurs. He brutally assaults Boddicker, who confesses to being in Jones's employ. RoboCop attempts to kill Boddicker until his programming directs him to uphold the law. He attempts to arrest Jones at OCP Tower, and Directive 4—a failsafe measure to neutralize RoboCop when acting against an OCP executive—is activated. Jones admits his culpability in Morton's death and releases an ED-209 to destroy RoboCop. Although he escapes, RoboCop is assaulted by the police force on OCP's order and badly damaged. Lewis helps RoboCop escape to an abandoned steel mill to repair himself.
Angered by OCP's underfunding and short-staffing, the police force goes on strike; and Detroit descends into chaos as riots break out throughout the city. Jones frees Boddicker and his remaining gang, arming them with high-powered weaponry to destroy RoboCop. At the steel mill, Boddicker's men are quickly eliminated, but Lewis is badly injured and RoboCop becomes trapped under steel girders. Even so, he kills Boddicker by stabbing him in the throat with his data spike.
RoboCop confronts Jones at OCP Tower during a board meeting, revealing the truth behind Morton's murder. Jones takes the Old Man hostage but is promptly fired from OCP, which nullifies Directive 4 and allows Robocop to shoot him, sending him crashing through a window to his death. The Old Man compliments RoboCop's shooting and asks his name. RoboCop replies, "Murphy".
