Review of RoboCop 2 (1990) by Keith S — 15 Aug 2010

Robocop wasnâ??t the most subtle movie, with its corporate satire and ultra-violence. But itâ??s more than just a smart-alecky mockery of the Reagan era. Itâ??s also a good cop cleans up the city story â?? a twisted, modern take on the Western. You can enjoy the movie on numerous levels, which is why itâ??s endured, but itâ??s that heroic struggle at the centre that makes it really popular. Not so in Robocop 2, which is a dismally mean-spirited and rotten-hearted enterprise from beginning to end. It ups the violence of the first one, focuses on the slimy suits and the corrupt cops, and simply forgets about the good guys. Here is a world in which it doesnâ??t matter if thereâ??s at least one good police officer out there: heâ??s not going to make a damn bit of difference.

The story is a tedious mess, flirting with ideas such as reprogramming Robocop to become an effete, overly polite imbecile, without any real reason to do so. (And the sequence topples the filmâ??s already uneasy balance, making what should be a black comedy more closely resemble a bad sitcom.) The movieâ??s main villain is literally Robocop 2, a giant robot with the brain of a psychopath â?? but that turn of events comes so late that it doesnâ??t feel remotely like the core of the film. What the hell is this film about, other than people getting luridly murdered and sleazy execs making a buck out of it?

There are fleeting good moments for Peter Weller inside his much-maligned Robocop outfit, as he continually struggles with his inner humanity, but itâ??s not enough of a struggle, it never goes anywhere more satisfying than in the first movie, and he misses out large chunks of the film anyway. The villains include psychotic, drug-peddling children, which is presumably meant to be yet more satire, but sorry boys: it isnâ??t funny. Itâ??s all so straggeringly mean and nasty, itâ??s difficult to crack a smile. Itâ??s not juxtaposition: itâ??s just weirdly inappropriate.

Itâ??s overlong, itâ??s underwritten, itâ??s ridiculous and itâ??s horrible. It leaves a spectacularly sour taste in the mouth, so I canâ??t advise you to stay far enough away from it.