Review of RoboCop (1987) by Spangle — 13 Feb 2016

I love the work of Paul Verhoeven and Robocop is not an exception to this rule. An astute criticism of American culture and also a fantastic shoot em up late 80's action flick, Robocop features solid acting, solid special effects, and a killer plot coupled with great direction and writing.

A fun and entertaining film, Robocop works on both a pure entertainment level and the satirical level, similar to Verhoeven's later work on Starship Troopers. In Robocop, Verhoeven uses its relatively straight forward plot as a tool to critique American culture, namely when it comes to violence, television, the military, capitalism, and the very infrastructure of our society.

In addition, I also really thought Verhoeven was ahead of his time in his portrayal of women here, as they are shown as being largely on the same playing field as men and if you did not know better, you would have no idea what gender they are.

Somehow, this film was criticized for being sexist, but I have no idea how. As I watched, I was struck by how well done the women in the film were, but I guess maybe I am the one who is wrong. Who knows.

Anyways, Robocop is a very well made action film by Paul Verhoeven that is both entertaining and thought provoking.