RoboCop (1987)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jonathan H

  
  Robocop is a classic Verhoeven film: smart, assured and largely misunderstood. If the violence is over the top, it's supposed to be; if it's oddly funny and satirical, it's supposed to be; if you feel inundated by all the ads and vacuous news anchors flippantly… More
  Robocop is a classic Verhoeven film: smart, assured and largely misunderstood. If the violence is over the top, it's supposed to be; if it's oddly funny and satirical, it's supposed to be; if you feel inundated by all the ads and vacuous news anchors flippantly reporting horrible events, you're supposed to. Verhoeven and company are in complete control of this film. In terms of themes and parody, take your pick: Robocop critiques Reaganomics, industrialization, media saturation, consumerism, etc. It also honors the age-old Sci-Fi cautionary theme of our over reliance on technology. Looking forward to watching Jose Padilha completely miss the point with his remake in 2013.

• xGary X

  
  A dedicated police officer is declared legally dead and reawakens to find that he has been transformed into a cyborg by a malevolent corporation. On the surface of it, Robocop looks like just another dumb sci-fi action film but beneath lurks a lot of clever ideas. The concept of an… More
  A dedicated police officer is declared legally dead and reawakens to find that he has been transformed into a cyborg by a malevolent corporation. On the surface of it, Robocop looks like just another dumb sci-fi action film but beneath lurks a lot of clever ideas. The concept of an ultra violent law man operating in a near future society in which big business and gun culture has gone mad owes an obvious debt to British comic book Judge Dredd, as does its black humour which mocks media sensationalism and dumbing down in the amusing news soundbites that punctuate the story. It also contains shades of Frankenstein as the unfortunate cop comes to terms with the fact that he has been transformed into an inhuman monster by corporate interests that have exploded so far out of control that human beings have become a commodity to be bought and sold as products. Funny but very dark and bleak in its outlook and containing some seminal production design by Rob Bottin (the ED 209 design is now a science fiction standard) Robocop is sci fi with an intelligent and humorous spin belied by its comic strip violence.

• Phil H

  
  Brutal and truly rock hard, the action in this is so damn extreme, violent and gross yet its just sooo darn good! Verhoeven is the 'over the top' gore action master with this his first foray into the blockbuster genre with plenty of dark humour and wickedly devilish… More
  Brutal and truly rock hard, the action in this is so damn extreme, violent and gross yet its just sooo darn good! Verhoeven is the 'over the top' gore action master with this his first foray into the blockbuster genre with plenty of dark humour and wickedly devilish characters that fill his distopian visions. Rob Bottin hit the bigtime with his contribution to the film with the now legendary Robo suit, a marvellous piece of imagination and workmanship that even today looks flawless, solid, sleek, modern and quite realistic as if it could actually work. Everything about the film is near perfect from the unknown cast of the time, not many can compare to Smiths evil emotionless portrayal of 'Boddicker', to the gritty visuals which gave a real sense of a serious thriller. The effects today are a tad scruffy looking for sure but still hold up well, they actually blend in with the gritty dirty look pretty well whilst the set pieces are also still impressive with some great explosions, gun fire and stunt work. Thought it was a fluke at first but Verhoeven came back to prove he was the man with a few other top notch adult action fests, but can anything top Robo? a nasty graphic novel adaptation with a stunning score if ever I saw one even though it wasn't an adaptation. Epic sci-fi.

• Chris W

  
  Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi. opus. This film is at times simultaneously hilarious, smart (especially when satirical), and brutal, and always brillaint no matter what. It's hard to make a brilliant film that fits just one particular genre, but to make one that crosses genre lines… More
  Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi. opus. This film is at times simultaneously hilarious, smart (especially when satirical), and brutal, and always brillaint no matter what. It's hard to make a brilliant film that fits just one particular genre, but to make one that crosses genre lines and does it some masterfully is even more difficult. This ifilm is an example of how to do it right. It's violent action yet intelligent sci-fi social satire at its finest. <br/> <br/>What's even better as that it works just as brilliantly if you take it for what it is: a stirring story about a brutally murdered cop who gets resurrected and gets to take vengeance in the most satisfying way. It's not shallow stuff either. There's lotf of depth, development, and emotion going on, and the performacnes, especially from Weller and Smith, are absolutely fantastic.

• Shawn E

  
  An amazing sci-fi for it's time.

• Eric A

  
  This movie is just plain smart. A robot cop kicking ass! Sit back and enjoy.

• Mike S

  
  Verhoeven sure has a knack for making great sci-fi actioners. This is a true classic of the genre, that is as entertaining today as it was when I saw it the first time around. Perhaps even more so now, considering how much it excels compared to its contemporary counterparts. A very… More
  Verhoeven sure has a knack for making great sci-fi actioners. This is a true classic of the genre, that is as entertaining today as it was when I saw it the first time around. Perhaps even more so now, considering how much it excels compared to its contemporary counterparts. A very brutal and gutwrenching film, but that's also part of the reason to what makes it so effective and engaging (I'm still haunted by that scene where Murphy is mercilessly gunned down). It's just a bit weird to see the dad from <i>That 70's Show</i> as a murderous criminal. But he does his role really well and with credibility. As goes for the story, which despite its far-fetched and often parodic nature, I had no problem buying. A well-directed and quite unique movie altogether, that also goes into history as one of the first I ever saw.

• Tim S

  
  This is one of the best Supercop flicks of all time, and a great snapshot of the 1980's. I just saw the unrated version, and MAN is it violent, but just as enjoyable as the theatrical cut. I hope that someday somebody will get a full proper DVD and Blu-ray release of both cuts… More
  This is one of the best Supercop flicks of all time, and a great snapshot of the 1980's. I just saw the unrated version, and MAN is it violent, but just as enjoyable as the theatrical cut. I hope that someday somebody will get a full proper DVD and Blu-ray release of both cuts with all the previous extras, as well as some new ones. This is an amazing film, and it only gets better with age - so it deserves a proper release.

• Michael E

  
  kind of slow moving but it makes it up with some fun characters, great off the wall gore and violent shootouts, and some great lines.

• Daniel J D

  
  When I was a kid, I only saw bits and pieces of the movie and never caught all of the beautiful satire. I recently changed all that by watching it all the way through and was glad I did. There's some definite cheese, especially watching the film in retrospect, especially with… More
  When I was a kid, I only saw bits and pieces of the movie and never caught all of the beautiful satire. I recently changed all that by watching it all the way through and was glad I did. There's some definite cheese, especially watching the film in retrospect, especially with some of the subtracted violence and added humor as per the movie rating board's requests and just the general wear and tear of 20+ years since its release, but I think it still works. Even now. I especially enjoy its send-ups of Reaganomic fascism.

• Jacob E

  
  This is one of those movies that you would assume would be an action film, but it really isn't. Its more of a dark comedy. There are actually quite a few people who talk about the satire in this film, and its definitely present. To say the least, the portions where we see the… More
  This is one of those movies that you would assume would be an action film, but it really isn't. Its more of a dark comedy. There are actually quite a few people who talk about the satire in this film, and its definitely present. To say the least, the portions where we see the future of TV broadcasts are hilariously cynical and downright hilarious no matter how gruesome the subject matter. But at its heart, its a fun 80's movie that packs a very visceral punch. The violence and blood is so extreme that taking the movie too seriously becomes impossible, but it does feature a very interesting futuristic Detroit. Kind of dumb, but in the best way possible.

• AJ V

  
  Another awesome futuristic technology gone wrong themed 80s movie! This one is an action movie, sort of like the Terminator meets Runaway or Max Headroom. Plus, it's so violent it feels like it's spoofing action movies too. It's very cool, and unique, and I highly… More
  Another awesome futuristic technology gone wrong themed 80s movie! This one is an action movie, sort of like the Terminator meets Runaway or Max Headroom. Plus, it's so violent it feels like it's spoofing action movies too. It's very cool, and unique, and I highly recommend it.

• danny d

  
  an action classic

• Curtis L

  
  Funtastic! 80's ultra violence in its prime. Great effects, interesting characters...makes me wish I was 8 again.

• Daniel P

  
  I could say a couple of thousand words about this film, or I could say one: postmodern. There are some narrative devices alone - shifting perspective, the self-refexiveness of Robocop's viewpoint (i.e. "film within a film") - that were rather innovative at the time. Add… More
  I could say a couple of thousand words about this film, or I could say one: postmodern. There are some narrative devices alone - shifting perspective, the self-refexiveness of Robocop's viewpoint (i.e. "film within a film") - that were rather innovative at the time. Add to it the parody TV commercials and sitcoms AND that it's a great action movie with a great villain - Kurtwood Smith, a.k.a. Red Forman on "That 70s Show" years before. I loved Robocop for a lot of reasons, maybe most that it was kind of Kubrick and kind of Cameron. A sharp but violent movie that might not have known how interesting it would become when one looks at the march of technology. That its setting is Detroit is getting more interesting by the day. Brilliant film.

• Richard C

  
  B

• Jeff "

  
  Robocop along with Terminator were two the most groundbreaking Sci Fi action films of the 1980's. Both films offer something amazing to the table. Paul Verhoeven's Robocop is an adrenaline soaked action packed film. What makes this film great is the over the top violence.… More
  Robocop along with Terminator were two the most groundbreaking Sci Fi action films of the 1980's. Both films offer something amazing to the table. Paul Verhoeven's Robocop is an adrenaline soaked action packed film. What makes this film great is the over the top violence. When I first saw this film, Thought holy shit. This film is just pure excitement from beginning to end. Robocop has a great cast as well. A noteworthy performance is actor Kurtwood Smith (that 70's Show ) in the role of Clarence Boddicker, what a great performance. Smith really lights up the screen. Robocop is a terrific action film, violent, aggressive and with a take no prisoners attitude, this film will definitely take you on an unforgettable roller coaster ride.

• KJ P

  
  Actually, corniness is the absolute last thing that comes to my mind when I watch this film. This movie has a really cool style/violence. I wish there were hundreds of movies just like this one. I loved this movie thoroughly, and I didn't want it to stop. I was blown away.… More
  Actually, corniness is the absolute last thing that comes to my mind when I watch this film. This movie has a really cool style/violence. I wish there were hundreds of movies just like this one. I loved this movie thoroughly, and I didn't want it to stop. I was blown away. Amazing Film!

• El Hombre I

  
  Is it possible RoboCop was really a high-brow social commentary on consumerism and Reagonomics posing as an action film? Yes. Watching RoboCop after all these years is refreshing in that it's so rare to find such an example of a film that is as relevent now as in… More
  Is it possible RoboCop was really a high-brow social commentary on consumerism and Reagonomics posing as an action film? Yes. Watching RoboCop after all these years is refreshing in that it's so rare to find such an example of a film that is as relevent now as in its' time. A prime example of cinematic cyberpunk, RoboCop is set in a dystopian city where the poor are meaningless and the law is influenced by profit, leaving business executives to do as they want. Afterall, they own the police. The corruption of the city goes all the way to the top. There are repeated attempts to destroy RoboCop and in the end it turns out the cyborg is more human than its' creators. As a fan of the cheesier Total Recall and the fun I had with Starship Troopers, this is in my opinion Verhoeven's best film. Solid casting, witty direction, violence so cartoonish making it hard to take seriously and best of all...pre-CGI. This is dark satire the sequels missed by a mile. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=ED-209.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/ED-209.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

• Tsubaki S

  
  I really can't do justice to this movie with my review, so, I'd buy that for a dollar!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings