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RoboCop

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This article is about the film. For the video game, see RoboCop (video game).
RoboCop
Image:RoboCop.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Produced by Jon Davison
Written by Edward Neumeier
Michael Miner
Starring Peter Weller
Nancy Allen
Daniel O'Herlihy
Ronny Cox
Kurtwood Smith
Miguel Ferrer
Music by Basil Poledouris
Cinematography Sol Negrin
Jost Vacano
Editing by Frank J. Urioste
Distributed by Orion Pictures
Release date(s) July 17, 1987
Running time 102 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $13,000,000 (estimated)
Followed by RoboCop 2 (1990)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

RoboCop is a 1987 science fiction action movie, directed by Paul Verhoeven. It spawned two sequels, several comic books, multiple video games, two animated series, dozens of action figures and four television series, all featuring a cyborg police officer. The film was produced by Orion Pictures.

The film is set in a dystopian near future, in Detroit, Michigan. Violent crime is out of control, and the city is in financial ruin. The city contracts the megacorporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to fund and operate the police department, in effect privatizing it. OCP is not interested in rebuilding "Old Detroit" but with replacing it with a modern utopia called "Delta City". Before this large construction project can begin, OCP wishes to end crime in the city, and creates RoboCop.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Set in the near future, the film opens with the broadcast of a short television news program called “Media Break”. The report explains that social conditions are worsening in the city of Detroit. Drug abuse is growing rapidly, the number of impoverished and unemployed people increases daily, and violent crime has nearly overwhelmed the Detroit police force, which has recently been taken over by a large, multinational corporation and Megacorp, OCP. There are also rumblings of a potential strike by the police, who feel they are being mistreated by OCP (Omni Consumer Products). They are also angry about the brutal murders of several of their comrades, masterminded by a well-known crime boss, Clarence Boddicker.

At a meeting of OCP executives, Dick Jones, Senior Vice President, introduces a new law enforcement droid, ED-209. During the demonstration, ED-209’s programming fails and it brutally kills a junior executive. Seizing upon Jones’ failure, a young, opportunistic executive, Bob Morton, convinces the head of OCP that his own project, “RoboCop”, will be a more effective and less dangerous alternative. The “Old Man” gives Morton his blessing. Dick Jones is infuriated at Morton for going over his head.

Alex J. Murphy, a dedicated cop and family man, begins his new assignment in the Metro West precinct, a particularly violent section of "Old Detroit." Murphy is partnered with Ann Lewis, a tough, experienced veteran officer. On their first assignment, they engage in a gunbattle with Boddicker’s gang, who have just robbed a bank. Tracking them to an abandoned factory, Murphy and Lewis proceed inside without backup (which is 'unavailable'). Lewis is temporarily incapacitated, and Murphy is viciously gunned down by Boddicker and his gang. Murphy later dies in an emergency room.

Morton’s team goes ahead with its project of building a cyborg from Murphy’s corpse, . Murphy, selected as a "prime candidate" for the project, is rebuilt as Robocop. Programmed to follow a set of four Prime Directives, RoboCop deals with criminals using extreme methods (his programming seems to disregard Miranda rights, though he does make use of them later in the film). The project is a success with Robocop spectacularly halting crime all over the city, and Morton is made a vice president of OCP.

RoboCop begins to experience dreams that recall his previous life, his family and memories of his life before the accident that ultimately changed everything. After meeting Lewis in a hallway where she tells him his real name, the cyborg apprehends one of Boddicker’s gang, Emil, who recognizes him. He accesses the main police computer and finds out that Murphy was murdered and that Boddicker is the prime suspect. In the meantime, Bob Morton is celebrating his promotion with two prostitutes when Boddicker appears. After chasing the girls out, Boddicker shoots Bob's legs, rendering him unable to walk, and he plays a recorded message from Dick Jones, who taunts Bob about going over his boss' head. Boddicker leaves a live grenade on the coffee table and exits the condo. The grenade goes off as Bob struggles toward it, killing him.

RoboCop, as portrayed by actor Peter Weller

RoboCop tracks Boddicker to a cocaine factory. The factory workers open fire, but their guns prove to be no match for RoboCop's armor and all are killed. RoboCop reads Boddicker his Miranda rights while throwing him through several plate glass windows. He is about to kill him when the criminal reveals that he is working for Dick Jones and reminds RoboCop that he is a police officer, not a mindless killer. RoboCop arrests him instead.

RoboCop goes immediately to Dick Jones’ office at OCP headquarters with the intention of arresting him for "aiding and abetting a known felon." As he tries to arrest Jones, his system threatens to shut down. Jones reveals that the previously classified Directive Four states that it is illegal to arrest any senior executive of OCP and any attempt results in the disabling of RoboCop’s operating system. Jones also reveals that he had Bob Morton murdered because of the success of the RoboCop project and orders ED-209 to destroy RoboCop. A battle ensues and RoboCop escapes (mainly because of 209's inability to walk down stairs). He is met in the parking garage by a large police unit, who opens fire with armor-piercing bullets, attempting to destroy the cyborg. Lewis arrives and takes her old partner to an old factory (the same one where he was murdered). RoboCop removes his helmet and sees the face of Murphy. He asks about Murphy’s wife and son and Lewis informs him that they started a new life after the funeral.

Dick Jones frees Boddicker and provides him with weapons and a tracking device to find RoboCop and destroy him. Boddicker gathers his old gang and they track their quarry to the factory. RoboCop, aided by Lewis, kills them all. He travels to OCP headquarters to deal with Jones and interrupts a high-level meeting where Jones is promoting the use of ED-209. Murphy reveals to the board that Jones had Morton murdered, playing from his memory banks Jones’ earlier confession. Jones grabs a gun, takes the Old Man hostage, demands a helicopter, and threatens to kill the Old Man if anyone tries to stop him. The Old Man fires Jones on the spot. Murphy, no longer having to abide by Directive Four, politely says, "Thank you," then shoots Jones, causing him to fall out the window to his death. The Old Man comments, "Nice shooting, son. What's your name?" to which RoboCop replies, "Murphy."

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Robocop the character

[edit] The Prime Directives

Image:RoboCop - Directive 4 DRM.png

RoboCop is programmed to follow four prime directives (the first three are comparable to Asimov's Laws of Robotics):

  1. "Serve the public trust"
  2. "Protect the innocent"
  3. "Uphold the law"
  4. "Classified" (see below)

The fourth directive, which he was programmed to be unaware of unless it became relevant, rendered him physically incapable of placing any senior OCP employee under arrest ("Any attempt to arrest a senior OCP officer results in shutdown"). In the first movie, it made him unable to act against corrupt Vice-President Richard "Dick" Jones until Jones was fired by the chairman of OCP.

In RoboCop 3, Directive Four is labelled as "Never oppose an OCP officer". It was also in Robocop 3 that this directive was erased.

[edit] Weapons

AUTO-9 - Ammo Type: 9mm; Magazine Size: 50 Rounds; Fire Rate: 600 Rounds/minute; In essence the weapon used is a modifed Beretta 93R. This is RoboCop's primary weapon. It is "holstered" in his right thigh.

COBRA ASSAULT CANNON - The "Cobra gun" that is used in RoboCop 1 is based on the Barrett M82A1A Sniper rifle. The Cobra gun used in RoboCop 2 is different from the one in RoboCop 1. RoboCop 2 uses a Pauza P-50 rifle caliber .50 BMG. In RoboCop 1 the "Cobra gun" could fire explosive rounds equivalent to that of a missle launcher. In RoboCop 2 the weapon has a smaller build and fires explosive rounds whose explosion is several times smaller then the first version of the weapon.

MULTI WEAPON- This weapon of an unspecified name was created exclusively for RoboCop in Robocop 3 by replacing one of his "hands". The weapon contains a machine gun, an anti-tank launcher, and a flame thrower.

[edit] Visor

Robocop's visor contains a 4x zoom scope for better aim as well as tracking. Robocop also has different vision modes but the only one that has been used in the movies was thermal in RoboCop 1. His visor also contains a grid which is crucial to Robocop's targeting as well as bullet projectery. The visor also has a recorder which can detect voice fluctuations as well as play back recordings. Besides this the visor is made of several layers of titanium laminated with kevlar and a black strip of bulletproof fog glass which protects the cranium apparatus and eyes. The visor also has a under cloth of kevlar which protects the neck and covers up any wires etc.

[edit] Body Structure

Robocop's body is titanium with steel backing and is also kevlar laminated. When shot at the kevlar coating will slowly break off but will provide as much protection until that certain area of body armor has been shot off. Being made of titanium, Robocop is impervious to bombs bullets as well as getting hit by a car and any other injuries excluding ones made from sharp objects. As demonstrated in RoboCop 1 the body armor can sustain thousands of armor peircing rounds before damage begins to appear on the armor itself. Robocop's arms, legs and other appendages contain tubes in which Robocop's biological organ's blood flows through. In RoboCop 2 Robocop's right arm contained a signal that alerted personal to his health status. Robocop's hands also contain motors strong enough to crush every bone in a human hands. His right hand also contains a data jack in the shape of a spike which is used to retrieve or show data.

[edit] Themes

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RoboCop explores larger themes regarding the media and human nature in addition to being a big budget action film; the philosopher Steven Best wrote an essay on some of this content[1].

In the Criterion Edition DVD commentary track, executive producer Jon Davison and writer Edward Neumeier both point to the decay of American industry from the 1970s through the early 1980s. The abandoned Rust Belt-style factories that RoboCop and Clarence Boddicker's gang use as hideouts demonstrate this theme. Massive unemployment is prevalent, being reported frequently on the news, as is poverty and the crime that results from economic hardship.

The concept of dehumanization is also represented in the title character. Murphy is killed in the line of duty and rebuilt as a cold, mechanized, and violent entity. Although he later seems to regain some of his humanity, his ruthlessness in dealing with criminals is quite outside the boundaries of reasonable use of force employed by the police. His methods are, however, amazingly effective against the criminal elements of the city, with the movie depicting crime decreasing dramatically where RoboCop is operating.

In contrast to the theme of dehumanization is the theme of regaining one's humanity. Although Murphy has become "RoboCop", during the last sequence of the movie we find that despite being a product of OCP, his basic core of individuality has not been lost. The president of OCP says, "Nice shooting son, what's your name?" Murphy declares, "Murphy." It is now clear that he is no longer just a programmed and manufactured amalgam of flesh and robotics, but a human being.

Another theme is the sense of justice finally being brought to vicious and remorseless criminals. The criminals mercilessly execute Murphy as well as many other cops and innocent citizens and are involved in drug trafficking, murder, and prostitution. A key point is that lawyers, probably controlled by ruthless corporate executives, are able to release criminals within hours or days despite the severity and number of crimes they were charged with. This shows the inability of the judicial system to effectively contend with criminals, and the only way for the citizens of Detroit to be truly safe is when Murphy "deals" with them.

[edit] Cast

  • Peter Weller as Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop. While Rutger Hauer and Michael Ironside were both considered for the role, Weller was chosen for his small frame, which allowed him to fit into the RoboCop costume without adding too much bulk.[citation needed]
  • Nancy Allen as Officer Ann Lewis. Cast as Murphy's and later RoboCop's partner, Allen was instructed to cut her hair to a more 'male looking' style in order to remove any kind of sexual tension between her and RoboCop.[citation needed]
  • Ronny Cox as Dick Jones. Vice president of OCP, creator of the ED-209 project, and the main villain. Also adds the "classified" fourth directive to RoboCop's programming.
  • Kurtwood Smith as Clarence Boddicker. Career criminal leader hired by Dick Jones to worsen the crime in "Old Detroit", to justify the use of ED-209. Jones also sends him to kill RoboCop.
  • Miguel Ferrer as Bob Morton. A young and arrogant OCP executive, creator of the RoboCop project.
  • Dan O'Herlihy as The Old Man. Never referred to by name in the film, he is the CEO of OCP.
  • Robert DoQui as Sergeant Warren Reed. The commanding officer in the film, he reprised the role in the sequels.
  • Felton Perry as Johnson. An executive at OCP, he reprised the role in the sequels.
  • Paul McCrane as Emil Antonowsky. One of Clarence Boddicker's thugs, he is the first to encounter RoboCop after they fatally wound Murphy. He is later melted by toxic waste in what is arguably the most famous death in the movie.
  • Jesse D. Goins as Joe Cox. Another of Boddicker's thugs, characterized by his laugh.
  • Ray Wise as Leon Nash. Another of Boddicker's gang, the second to encounter RoboCop.

[edit] Trivia

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  • In several articles and interviews previously published and also on the DVD commentary to the film (in the scene where Murphy is tortured by Boddicker and a later scene in the film when Robocop confronts one of his original killers with the line "I'm not arresting you anymore"), Paul Verhoeven revealed that, despite not being a Christian, he was mostly inspired to make the film about a good cop getting killed and returning from the dead as a much stronger superhero come to judge those that killed him and/or commit heinous crimes, because of the script's many deliberate parallels with the Bible and the crucifixion story of Jesus Christ. Verhoeven had made the movie De Vierde Man four years earlier, which relies heavily on Christian symbolism.
  • Another source of inspiration for the title character, pointed out in the Criterion Edition DVD commentary track, is the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. In the scene where RoboCop stops the convenience store robbery, there is an Iron Man comic in the magazine rack, which can be seen right before the criminal arrives at the checkout counter.
  • RoboCop was directed by Paul Verhoeven. This was his second American movie (Verhoeven is Dutch); however, when he first glanced through the script, he threw it away in disgust. Afterwards, his wife read the script more thoroughly and convinced Paul that the plot had more substance than he originally assumed.
  • The writers accidentally were stuck at an airplane terminal with a high ranking movie executive for several hours and it is there that they told the movie executive their idea, and set into motion the chain of events which eventually became RoboCop the movie. [citation needed]
  • The film was originally given an X rating by the MPAA in 1987. After Verhoeven deleted some blood and gore from the first boardroom scene, Murphy's execution (where his entire right arm is severed by a shotgun blast and a final overhead shot of Murphy's bloody corpse), and the final battle with Clarence Boddicker, it was re-evaluated and given an R rating. The original version was included on the Criterion Collection laserdisc and DVD of the film (both now out of print), as well as the 2005 trilogy box set version.
  • The oddball TV show with its catchphrase "I'd buy that for a dollar!" seen throughout the movie is called It's Not My Problem starring the goofy character, Bixby Snyder. This is not shown in the movie, but is rather revealed by script writer Ed Neumeier on the commentaries track of the RoboCop Trilogy DVD release.
  • "Barbara", secretary of OCP executive Dick Jones, is played by Joan Pirkle, real-life wife of Kurtwood Smith.
  • Many of the urban settings of the movie were filmed in downtown Dallas, Texas, due to the futuristic appearances of the buildings. Dallas City Hall (combined with some matte paintings) was used as the exterior for the fictional OCP Headquarters.
  • When filming in Dallas during the summer of 1986, Peter Weller was losing three pounds a day due to sweat loss while wearing the RoboCop suit in 100+ degree temperatures. Peter's personal assistant, Todd Trotter, was responsible for keeping Peter cool in between takes with electric fans and, when available, large ducts connected to free-standing air conditioning units. The suit later had a fan built into it. [citation needed]
  • Todd Trotter was also responsible for Peter Weller's Sony Walkman, which played a single audio cassette known as "RoboMusic". Peter Weller listened to "RoboMusic" in between takes to help him stay in character. The actual content of "RoboMusic" is known only to Peter Weller and Todd Trotter, but many fans speculate that the cassette was filled with sounds of machinery, computer noises and other machine-themed sound effects. [citation needed]
Image:6000SUX.jpg
  • The Ford Taurus was used as the police interceptor in the movie due to its then-futuristic design. Additionally, the main competitor of the Ford Taurus at the time was the Pontiac 6000, which is parodied by its movie counterpart, the "6000 SUX". [citation needed]
  • Near the end of the scene where Clarence Boddicker shows off the Cobra Assault Gun to his cohorts, one thug slams his hand down on the roof of Clarence's 6000 SUX, causing the rear-view mirror to fall from inside the windshield. The fall is subtle, and may not have been intentional. However, later, when Clarence and gang pursue Robocop at the steel works, the mirror is still missing from the SUX.
  • The 6000 SUX itself was based on a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass with extensive bodywork. Commercials advertise the SUX as "an American tradition" with a fuel efficiency of 8.2 miles per gallon. In early production, it was to be powered by jet turbines. The exhaust of the turbine is still visible above the rear license plate of Clarence Boddicker's SUX in chase scenes.
  • In the original script, RoboCop killed Boddicker by bludgeoning his head in with his metallic fist. When Paul Verhoeven was set to shoot the scene, he wanted to have RoboCop stab Boddicker right in the eyeball with his interface spike, but realized the censors would not allow it. Verhoeven then contemplated having RoboCop shove his interface all the way through Boddicker's chin, jaw and mouth, but again realized that the censors would not allow it. Verhoeven then settled for having RoboCop stab Boddicker in the throat.
  • In one version of the script, the black thug Joe, arguably the most sadistic of Boddicker's thugs, is killed after RoboCop sent him falling onto an iron pole at the junkyard, where Joe was then torn apart by dogs. Instead, the finished film shows Joe simply being shot down by RoboCop.
  • In the Amstrad CPC Batman video game, pressing the keys E, D, 2, 0, 9 will enable you to skip levels. Both the Robocop and Batman games were programmed by Ocean Software.

[edit] Cultural references

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  • The boot up sequence is parodied in Mettle, the third episode of the second series of the sitcom Spaced.
  • In the ninth episode of Sailor Moon, about 18 minutes into the episode, Sailor Mercury's computer screen shows the first three prime directives.
  • On Eureka Seven, there is a scene for the end of act 1 and beginning of act 2. This parodies the boot-up sequence.
  • The title character of the video game James Pond 2: Codename Robocod spoofs RoboCop.
  • An episode of Beavis and Butt-head has Beavis & Butt-head watching a RoboCop clone called Iron Justice. Beavis is nearly killed when he attempts RoboCop's signature stunt of crashing through a wall. In another episode, Beavis and Butt-head were watching a RoboCop episode, where he saved Christmas from criminals.
  • The ED-209 is referenced several times by The Daily Show and makes appearances in episodes of Family Guy, South Park and The Simpsons. In addition, Family Guy parodied the scene in which Murphy is tortured by the gang members.
  • The multiplayer mode character Cyborg Chimp in Timesplitters: Future Perfect is a parody of RoboCop. It even has a banana in its concealed holster.
  • In the Simpsons episode "Future-Drama", police chief Clancy Wiggum becomes a RoboCop.
  • The term RoboCop has become a description of rough justice on various crime. In England, Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon is often nicknamed "RoboCop" due to his controversial policy against crime.
  • RoboCop appeared during the World Championship Wrestling Capital Combat pay-per-view in 1990, where he saved Sting who was trapped in a cage.
  • The prime directives were mimicked in the strategy section of the now out-of-print GMR magazine.
  • In the popular webseries Red vs. Blue there is a shot from the point of view of the character of Lopez, a Spanish robot, where four directives are displayed as RoboCop's are:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES
  1. FIX EVERTHING
  2. HATE THE ORANGE ONE (Grif)
  3. CALL MOM MORE OFTEN
  • Liverpool FC and England striker Peter Crouch's bizarre robotic dancing-style celebration has been dubbed the RoboKop by the English media, after the famous 'Kop' stand of the Anfield football stadium.
  • The Flemish comic Suske en Wiske had an issue that spoofed RoboCop. This issue was named Robotkop, which translates to robothead.
  • In one point of the movie Indian in the Cupboard the main character tests the cupboard by bringing amongst others: a dinosaur, Darth Vader, and RoboCop who says "Halt!"
  • In the Introversion PC game Uplink, the player can hack into a company named "OCP," whose computers hold only the four RoboCop directives (the fourth is still listed as "Classified.")
  • In The Critic, RoboCop is parodied as Roboclapper.
  • In Starcraft, the Protoss Dragoon unit repeats the ED robots dialogue in the board meeting in which the board member is killed, verbatim.
  • In the internet meme the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny robo cop appears as a combatant to chuck norris
  • In Venture Bros. episode "Viva Los Muertos!, the scene where Doctor Venture revives Venturestein parodies the resurrection scene.
  • In the video game, Project Snowblind, the character of Nathan Frost is similar to that of RoboCop/Alex Murphy. Like Murphy's dedication as a police officer, Nathan Frost is a promising soldier that gets killed at beginning of the game only to get revived as a cyborg.
  • Dorfl, the golem Watchman in the Discworld novel Feet of Clay has numerous similarities to Robocop. Most notably, he lists his three directives as "To Serve The Public Trust, Protect The Innocent, And Seriously Prod Buttock".
  • RoboCop's modified Beretta 93R is briefly featured in the movie Sin City, where the character Hardigan (Bruce Willis) looks at the weapons in a car stolen from two thugs. Frank Miller, who worked on the first two RoboCop movies also wrote, produced, and directed Sin City.

[edit] Sequels and Spin-offs

Due to the enduring popularity of the character, there have been a number of RoboCop spin-offs and sequels. These are:

[edit] Remake

Sony Pictures now owns the rights to the RoboCop franchise and is considering a remake of the original film.[2] There have no further updates on the project since November 2005. As of November 2006 Sony has scrapped plans to remake Robocop[citation needed].

[edit] Soundtrack

The soundtrack score for the movie was composed by Basil Poledouris and consisted of the memorable Robocop theme, one of the best known themes in cinematic history. The soundtrack is available on CD and has been reissued and remastered several times in recent years.

In the Nightclub scene of the movie, the song "Show Me Your Spine" by P.T.P was played. P.T.P was a short lived side project consisting of members of the band "Ministry". However, this song was not available in any official form until it was eventually released in 2004 on an album called "Side Trax" by Ministry.

[edit] External links

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RoboCop

Films: RoboCop | RoboCop 2 | RoboCop 3

TV: RoboCop: The Series | RoboCop: The Animated Series | RoboCop: Alpha Commando |
RoboCop: Prime Directives

Video Games: RoboCop | RoboCop 2 | RoboCop 3 | Robocop versus The Terminator

Comics: RoboCop versus The Terminator | Frank Miller's RoboCop

Characters: RoboCop | ED-209 | RoboCop 2

Organizations: Omni Consumer Products

Films directed by Paul Verhoeven
Business Is Business • Turkish Delight • Katie Tippel • Soldier of Orange • All Things Pass • Spetters
The Fourth Man • Flesh & Blood • RoboCop • Total Recall • Basic Instinct • Showgirls • Starship Troopers
Hollow Man • Black Book • Kneeling on a Bed of Violets
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Dead Ringers 		The Criterion Collection
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