Review of RoboCop (1987) by Todd A — 05 Jul 2012

Aside from being smart, funny, unique, action-packed, sincere and enjoyable, Robocop nails one thing that seems to be exceptionally hard for action and sci-fi films: Pacing.

From start to finish this movie is an absolute blast. It's hard to find anywhere throughout the running time where there's more than 5 minutes where there aren't guns going off, punches being thrown, explosions sounding off, cars being chased/flipped glass being broken, etc.

There is more action and fun in this one movie than in most action/sci-fi trilogies.

That's not to say the film lacks humanity, though. Alex Murphy/RoboCop himself may be one of the most interesting and most human protagonists in the genre. The film never drags with plot/exposition, but it never forgets the humanity of its characters, either. That is an extremely hard balance to strike. Every character has a strong identity and makes the movie work. From Peter Weller's nailing of the difficult role of a cyborg slowly recovering his humanity to Kurtwood Smith giving a shockingly great performance as a cruel, impulsive and ruthless villain, every performance makes the whole movie work.

The film is also visually rich, like a gritty, pulpy adult-oriented comic-book brought to gory life. While the violence is ever-present, it's never without purpose or bland, and is instead the most enjoyable kind of visual conflict a movie can have.

One of my absolute favorites and a must-see for anyone who enjoys action or just well-made movies in general. See this movie. It's an absolute rush.