RoboCop (1987)

Film: RoboCop

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Country: Netherlands / USA

Released: July 1987

Runtime: 102 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

Studio: Orion

Influenced: James Cameron, The Wachowskis, Darren Aronofsky, Neill Blomkamp, Zack Snyder

Set in a dystopian and crime-ridden Detroit of the near future (the year 2043), the film follows the story of Alex Murphy (Peter Weller), a dedicated police officer who is brutally murdered by a gang of criminals. The idea for the film emerged from an original script by Michael Miner (the film's co-writer along with Edward Neumeier), and director Paul Verhoeven saw the potential in merging the more serious sci-fi elements of the script with biting social satire and commentary on corporate greed and media influence. I first watched RoboCop as a teenager in the 90s – there was a guy in my neighbourhood in south London who had access to a VHS copy and who provided private screenings for a small fee to local kids – and it was like nothing I'd seen before. The film's graphic depiction of violence, sex and drug taking, mixed with social satire, made Verhoeven such a unique filmmaker.

Throughout the film, RoboCop navigates his new existence while trying to piece together his lost memories of being Alex Murphy. His remains are used by the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) to create a part-human, part-robot law enforcement officer. As RoboCop, Murphy is programmed to uphold the law and combat crime in the city. We see that RoboCop has three primary objectives and one classified one (which we find out about later in the film), and in this regard the film is a prescient exploration of artificial intelligence and the risks and unknowns of goal-seeking behaviour in robots. As Murphy investigates his own murder, he uncovers a web of corruption and greed involving OCP and various criminal elements. The film highlights the tension between human emotions and technology, as well as the ethical implications of corporate control over law enforcement.

Particularly innovative is the film's use of stop-motion animation to create the scenes featuring robotic law enforcement enforcer ED-209, which malfunctions and kills an OCP executive and later goes into battle with RoboCop. The film pushed the boundaries of violence and gore for its time, using cutting-edge practical effects to create visceral moments of action. I also love the way the film explores the theme of identity. Throughout the film, RoboCop experiences fragmented memories of his former life as Murphy, leading to moments of introspection and emotional conflict. There's a great scene in which RoboCop discovers who he really is on the police computer and then goes to visit his family on Primrose Lane in Detroit. RoboCop's internal struggle between his human memories and his robotic programming added depth to the character, going beyond the typical action hero.

The final battle between RoboCop and the main antagonist, Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith), culminates in a violent confrontation that reveals Boddicker's connections to the corrupt OCP corporation. RoboCop was a critical and commercial success, spawning sequels, TV series, comic books and video games. It remains a cult classic and is celebrated for its blend of action and satire of the excesses of 1980s consumerism. The film's themes of corporate control, identity and the intersection of humanity and technology continue to resonate, making it a significant entry in the science fiction genre. Verhoeven embraced the cyberpunk visual style, conjuring up a gritty, dystopian future characterised by neon lights, urban decay and advanced technology. The success of RoboCop served to solidify Verhoeven's reputation and influence in Hollywood, and the director went go on to oversee many of the biggest blockbusters of the 90s, including Total Recall (1990), Basic Instinct (1992), Showgirls (1995) and Starship Troopers (1997).