Review of RoboCop (1987) by Daniel M — 13 Dec 2015

The natural cultural successor to Dirty Harry. Subversive, provocative and full of purpose, Robocop to me is the pinnacle of genre filmmaking. Turning so many tropes against themselves whilst never taking us out of the story, this Sci-fi action masterpiece leaves it to us to decide what to pity about the culture it targets. Its a truly subversive product of its time, one that could have only been made in a nations period devoted to embracing the horrors it unleashed upon itself a decade prior rather than rectifying them for future generations. The violence is explicit, the morals are out of the question and the only answer is facism. Although in the hands of lesser talent, I probably wouldn't have even bothered with the politics. Unlike similar efforts like the super soviet silly Red Scorpion, Robocop works within its repressive times so that the very much warrented criticism becomes even more potent, much like Douglas Sirk's melodramas.

It's sophisticated commentary is not all what makes Robocop a classic though. Less we forget the impactful direction by Verhoeven in his prime, a bevy of well toned hyper real perfomances as well as some inspiring worldbuilding techniques that eases us effortlessly into its future shock setting, never the focus, yet sets up the dynamics in order so that the story can work. As a wannabe writer, I can tell you from personal experience just how much it matters that the audience accepts your world in the right way and robocop is a prime example of how to do it right.

In conclusion, Robocop is simply a joy to behold. A perfect marriage of art and commerce that never ceases to amaze me with its robust unpretentiousness and humble intellect.