Review of RoboCop 2 (1990) by K.c. L — 25 Feb 2014

As much as it might pain diehard Robocop fans to hear me say it, Robocop 2 surpasses the original nearly every way. The first film is generally lauded for its "biting" satire of 1980s libertarian techno-corporatism. But to me it really wasn't intelligent enough to be a good satire; it's just too goofy, over the top, and on the nose. The thing that's brilliant about the satire is the tone, and the makers of Robocop 2 really seized on and amplified the franchise's unique blend of camp and hyper-violence.

This movie has an incredible sense of humor. Its most famous gag is just a riff on the ED-209 unveiling from the original, and perhaps on Robocop in general. A series of Robocop 2 prototypes variously breakdown, commit suicide, and attack their makers. As simple as it seems, it's a brilliant scene. It's a callback to the original, it shows us that Omnicorp. remained steadfast in its hubris, and it exemplifies the tone of the series.

But the best gags are the most unexpected. A Little League team ransacks an electronics store, holding the proprietor hostage at bat-point. The villain's hideout contains a mummified Ellis Presley. Robocop's new PR-inspired directives include gems like "DIRECTIVE 250: Don't walk across a ballroom floor swinging your arms.".

I also found the plot a fair bit more interesting, with the exception of Robocop's arc, since his struggle for autonomy and humanity here are too often sidelined in favor of political intrigue and a bloated final showdown. The villains this time have much more personality. As much as Cain was a cliché, even down to his name, he showed a bit more personality and ambition than either of the first film's villains. More importantly, the relationships between Cain's organization, Omnicorp, and the city of Detroit were much more complex and interesting. While Boddicker and his organization are essentially revealed as pawns of Dick Jones, Cain's organization has its own goals, which the wonderful child-crime-prodigy Hob turns to his own interest, against both the city and Omnicorp. Hob is easily the stand-out villain of the whole franchise.