2013


RoboCop

A review - by Shlomoh Sherman
February 17, 2014

1947


RoboCop (1987)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Writers: Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner
Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy | See full cast and crew »
Run Time: 102 minutes
Genres: Action - Crime - Sci-Fi
Plot: In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
Plot Keywords: robocop - gang - police - partner - robot
Taglines: Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement.
Rating: R
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: July 17, 1987 (USA)
Filming Locations: Dallas Municipal Building - 106 South Harwood, Dallas, Texas, USA
Box Office
Budget: $13,000,000 (estimated)
Gross: $53,424,681 (USA)
Company Credits:
Production Co: Orion Pictures Corporation
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 10 nominations.
Quotes: Clarence: See, I got this problem. Cops don't like me. So I don't like cops.

Cast:
Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Weller ... Officer Alex J. Murphy / RoboCop
Nancy Allen ... Officer Anne Lewis
Dan O'Herlihy ... The Old Man
Ronny Cox ... Dick Jones
Kurtwood Smith ... Clarence J. Boddicker
Miguel Ferrer ... Bob Morton
Robert DoQui ... Sergeant Warren Reed
Ray Wise ... Leon C. Nash
Felton Perry ... Johnson
Paul McCrane ... Emil M. Antonowsky
Jesse D. Goins ... Joe P. Cox
Del Zamora ... Kaplan
Calvin Jung ... Steve Minh
Rick Lieberman ... Walker



1987

RoboCop (2014)
Director: José Padilha
Writers: Joshua Zetumer (screenplay), Edward Neumeier
Stars: Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton
Plot: In 2028 Detroit, when Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) - a loving husband, father and good cop - is critically injured in the line of duty, the multinational conglomerate OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer.
Plot Keywords: technology - robocop - drone - police - robot - See more »
Taglines: Your move See more »
Genres: Action - Crime - Sci-Fi - Thriller
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action including frenetic gun violence throughout, brief strong language, sensuality and some drug material
Parents Guide: View content advisory
Run Time: 108 min
Official Sites: Official Facebook - Official Facebook [Brazil] |
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: February 12, 2014 (USA)
Also Known As: OmniCorp
Filming Locations: Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Box Office:
Budget: $100,000,000 (estimated)
Opening Weekend: $21,500,000 (USA) (14 February 2014)
Gross: $26,400,000 (USA) (14 February 2014)
Company Credits:
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Columbia Pictures, Strike Entertainment

Cast:

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joel Kinnaman ... Alex Murphy / RoboCop
Gary Oldman ... Dr. Dennett Norton
Michael Keaton ... Raymond Sellars
Abbie Cornish ... Clara Murphy
Jackie Earle Haley ... Rick Mattox
Michael K. Williams ... Jack Lewis
Jennifer Ehle ... Liz Kline
Jay Baruchel ... Tom Pope
Marianne Jean-Baptiste ... Chief Karen Dean
Samuel L. Jackson ... Pat Novak
Aimee Garcia ... Jae Kim
Douglas Urbanski ... Mayor Durant
John Paul Ruttan ... David Murphy
Patrick Garrow ... Antoine Vallon
K.C. Collins ...Andre Daniels


2014


Storyline:
RoboCop 1987 - Peter Weller is one of my favorite actors, staring in such films as Screamers and Naked Lunch. He later reprised his role as RoboCop in an unmemorable sequel. The setting is Detroit, well known crime infested city ghetto of the future. A cop, Alex Murphy, is seriously injured in the line of duty. A company which sells equipment and ammunition to the police offers to turn Murphy's mangled body into a cyborg police officer. The police force, acquiring the permission of Murphy's wife, Murphy is robotized and sent out to fight crime as RoboCop. The human part of Robocop, [Murphy], finds himself remembering who he was and his life with his wife and family. As the story progresses, he finds out about a murder conspiracy at the highest level of police management. As a human-robot policeman, RoboCop is assisted by his old partner, officer Anne Lewis. She is his main emotional support while to his wife and child, he is dead. Eventually Murphy unravels the conspiracy within the robot company and brings the culprits to justice. I remember seeing this film when it first came out an thought the plot was exciting.
Storyline:
RoboCop 2014 - In the new RoboCop, the year is 2028 and the company OmniCorp is developing police technology all over the world except in America where congress has blocked it as too dangerous for the citizenry. When officer Alex Murphy is critically injured in the line of duty, while investigating corruption in his precinct, OmniCorp offers to turn Murphy into a human-robot, using his humanity to sway congress into accepting the idea of a robot police force. However, it is Murphy's humanity that poses a problem for OmniCorp. While his partner, this time, Jack Lewis, does offer him his continued loyalty, he is not the emotionally supportive Anne Lewis of the earlier version. In this new version, he receives support from his wife with whom he retains a relationship of sorts along with the relationship with his son. Eventually Murphy discovers a link between the corrupt officers of his force and the head of OmniCorp, Raymond Sellars, played by Michael Keaton . Murphy must act quickly to bring down the OmniCorp villain while at the same time saving the lives of his wife and child. Although I liked Weller's RoboCop, I enjoyed this one better because of the humanity of Murphy. It's always great to see Gary Oldman, this time playing the chief scientist putting RoboCop together.

A few moments of comic relief:
Raymond Sellars, played by Michael Keaton, says that he wants RoboCop's metalic uniform to be black. But in his own role as Batman, Keaton's costume was black.
Jack Lewis, played by Michael K. Williams [Chalky White of Boardwalk Empire] remarks to RoboCop, "Murphy, now you are the right color."


RoboCop (1987)
Did You Know?
Trivia:
When in full Robocop costume, Peter Weller would remain in character between takes,
only responding to director Paul Verhoeven's instructions when properly addressed as "Robo".
Verhoeven found this too funny to take seriously, and this was dropped after a couple of weeks.

Goofs:
After the cops go on strike and Boddicker's gang is trying out their new weapons when they
destroy the nearby shops and vehicles, it is clearly night out, and then Boddicker says
Robocop is in the steel mill, and within a few seconds they are hunting for Robo in daylight,
and it is even sunny and overcast between shots.

Crazy Credits:
The standard copyright notice at the end of the film includes a warning that "This motion
picture is protected under the laws of the United States and other countries and its
unauthorized duplication, distribution or exhibition may result in civil liability and
criminal prosecution by enforcement droids."
Connections

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What is 'Robocop' about?
Q: Could Dick Jones really have had Directive 4 added to RoboCop's programming? Wouldn't Bob
Morton have objected thinking Jones was interfering?
Q: Is 'Robocop' based on a book?

Message Boards: Recent Posts
"Send ED-209 to SPIKE TV headquarters!" - nwa75
"Murphy death scene" - adsinoz
"Getting away with murder?" - colin-monger-72-325634
"A new Bob Morton thread" -stell1837
"Why was ED-209 armed during the demo?" - barneygumble
"How old were you when you saw this?" - Jaggermaster

Discuss RoboCop (1987) on the IMDb message boards


RoboCop (2014)
Did You Know?
Trivia
Gael García Bernal, Alexander Skarsgård, and Logan Marshall-Green were considered for the role that went to Michael K. Williams.

Goofs
Takes place in Detroit, Michigan but Toronto's CN Tower and Canadian flags are visible when Robocop is on his motorcycle on the highway.

Quotes:
[from trailer]
Pat Novak: This is the future of American justice!

Soundtracks
Hocus Pocus - Written by 'Thijs van Leer' & Jan Akkerman - Performed by Focus - Courtesy of Red Bullet Productions BV

Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: Is Lewis really a guy in this one?
Q: What caused Alex Murphy's car to explode?
Q: How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
 
<P>Message Boards: Recent Posts
"The right hand Somanthaan
"February is the new May! Tisoy21
"Why it's flopping. landonmcgee932
"Worldwide box-office update Troodon_Sapiens
"This was not the first movie and it wasn't supposed to be. IrishTemplar
"The real 100% true reason people hate remakes so much. bigwinwill

Discuss RoboCop (2014) on the IMDb message boards






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