Review of RoboCop 3 (1993) by Simon C — 31 Aug 2012

This film is officially the emasculation of Robocop...

Sometime in the future, Detroit is still a mess. Despite the presence of Robocop, crime continues to run rampant in this once proud metropolis. Omni Consumer Products (OCP), run by its current CEO (Rip Torn), continues in its efforts to turn Detroit into a utopia called Delta City. Which of course is utopian in the sense that the city is run by a major corporation and the rights you have as a citizen of this fair city are determined by how much stock you own in OCP. OCP however is about to go bankrupt -- and had to be bailed out by the Japanese. Sound familiar? The Japanese firm in charge of OCP is run by an individual named Kanemitsu (Mako). The enforcer for Kanemitsu is Otomo (Bruce Locke), an android that resembles a swordsman.

In order to make their vision of Delta City a reality, OCP has hired a mercenary named McDaggett (John Castle) to lead a group called the Urban Rehabilitators (Rehabs) whose job is to drive out the undesirables (a.k.a., the poor and working class), particularly those located in Cadillac Heights, out of their homes. Those who resist, will be executed by the Rehabs. Nothing will stand in OCP's way to create Delta City...

Among those who were systematically executed by the Rehabs were the parents of a young computer whiz named Nikko (Remy Ryan). On her own, her only means of survival is to join an underground resistance group led by Bertha (C.C.H. Pounder). But OCP is about to learn that they have messed with the wrong whiz kid because Nikko knows a thing or two about hacking into OCP's technology, including gaining control of the much feared ED-209...

Meanwhile, Robocop (Robert John Burke) is going about his usual business -- busting criminals and forgetting to read them their Miranda rights -- with his longtime partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen). While patrolling the streets of Cadillac Heights, Robocop and Lewis observe the Rehabs forcibly removing inhabitants from their homes. Robocop also sees a young girl running across the street heading to a church for sanctuary amidst the chaos. Somehow, that young girl brings back memories of Robocop's former past life and his own son whom he lost contact with...

Robocop and Lewis head to that very church only to learn that the Rehabs want the place torn down. The Rehabs allege that the church is the headquarters of an underground resistance. But Lewis believes that the church is simply a shelter for civilians seeking refuge. The two sides were unable to negotiate so of course this leads to a shootout. Unfortunately, Robocop proves not to be particularly effective because his programming includes a "Fourth Directive", meaning that if Robocop attempts to oppose any member of OCP (including the Rehabs), his programming automatically shuts down. With Robocop being ineffective, Anne Lewis is killed in the line of duty...

Robocop himself is severely damaged during the gunfight but is saved by the resistance. Dr. Lazarus (Jill Hennessy), one of the scientists who helped to create Robocop, has been called upon to save Robocop from complete destruction. She successfully restores Robocop to full operation. In addition to deleting the Fourth Directive, Dr. Lazarus has also modified Robocop by giving him some new tools, including a flamethrower, a rocket launcher, and a jetpack. I can't imagine any police officer, cyborg or human, needing to use a jetpack to fight crime in Detroit, but then again, it IS Detroit.

Robocop has become a symbol for the resistance. The resistance has vowed to take a stand against their oppressors. With his partner Lewis dead, this mission has become personal for Robocop. He must save the city from the Rehabs and OCP -- and seek revenge for his partner's death. Can Robocop save the day? More importantly, will Robocop be able to match wits with this robotic martial artist, Otomo?

Oh dear, what a disaster. Clearly, the filmmakers wanted to take the Robocop franchise in a whole different direction by making it more accessible to adolescents and younger audiences; one could say that this film's target base were the types of crowds who would end up seeing Harry Potter and the Twilight movies if they were teenagers some ten years later after this movie's release. Clearly, the filmmakers failed miserably in their task. Robocop for the teen/tween crowd just didn't sound right. Then again, they did do a children's cartoon adaptation of Robocop in the late 1980s. I know because I actually watched an episode or two of the cartoon series. Luckily, this movie was a major box office flop. Otherwise, there would have been a Robocop 4 and a 5, and probably a 6, which would have further emasculated this beloved law enforcement cyborg who was once the pride of Detroit.

One such example of the movie's intent to go in a more teen-friendly direction is the humor. The humor in this movie is clearly more sophomoric and juvenile, even going for nose picking jokes. This is in contrast to the first two Robocop movies, which contained acerbic humor tacitly jabbing the media, corporate America, and the decay of urban city life. Occasionally though, the humor does work. I liked the Johnny Rehab commercial for example. But the humor in Robocop 3 is generally crass and corny without the wit. Even Robocop 2 had some decent satirical moments. But Robocop 3 goes for lower brow humor, including making fun of corporate executives committing suicide after losing their jobs.

The action scenes are passable. Of course, this being a PG-13 movie, the violence in this movie is toned down considerably. There are shoot-outs and occasional blood squibs, but there is nothing particularly offensive about this movie. Considering all the ammunition fired in this movie, it's remarkable that the body count is not too high. The film's first major action sequence has Robocop taking down a bunch of street gang members known as the Splatterpunks, who look like a cross between punk rock groupies and your mother's worst nightmare. As one can surmise, the Splatterpunks weren't much of a challenge as Robocop was able to take them out pretty easily, though one managed to set Robocop on fire by throwing one of those Molotov cocktails at him. Of course, that did not phase Robocop one bit. There's also a somewhat thrilling car chase with Robocop pursuing the Rehabs while driving a pink vehicle he commandeered from a pimp (don't ask). The car goes up in flames, but Robocop continues the pursuit until he has to make an unexpected stop. There is also the anticipated fight scene between Robocop and Otomo. However, what could have been an exciting epic clash of technological titans is a let down.

And in probably one of the silliest action sequences in film history, during the massive showdown between the underground resistance (with an unlikely ally) and the Rehabs and Splatterpunks, we see Robocop with a jetpack flying in the air, gunning down the Rehabs and Splatterpunks and blowing away their tanks with a smartbomb attached to his arm. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Robocop???

The plot of Robocop 3 is also much weaker compared to the first two movies. The original Robocop of course had a fantastic premise and story about a dead police officer who becomes Robocop, a part man, part machine with revenge on his mind. Robocop 2 had a fairly interesting and controversial story about OCP using the brain of a dead drug kingpin to create a more aggressive version of Robocop. But the storyline of Robocop 3 is uninspiring. To add insult to injury, Robocop 3 actually manages to rip off the plot of a low budget Italian action film called Escape from the Bronx. That movie was about mercenaries hired by a greedy corporation whose job was to force poor inhabitants out of the Bronx in order for said corporation to construct a new metropolis. But the inhabitants won't go down without a fight and a resistance movement led by a guy named Trash (that's right) fights back against the mercenaries and the corporation. I can't say for certain whether Frank Miller or Fred Dekker actually saw Escape from the Bronx, but the plot similarities between the two movies are pretty astonishing. Look them up yourself.

Robert John Burke tries very hard and inherited the unenviable task of replacing Peter Weller in the role of Robocop, but simply put, Peter Weller is Robocop. I thought that child actress Remy Ryan did a fairly decent job as the young whiz kid Nikko, as did Jill Hennessy, who portrays a resourceful scientist managing to show the right balance of empathy and strength. The villains in Robocop 3 aren't particularly compelling. The CEO of OCP is reduced to an obsequious clown trying to ingratiate himself with his Japanese superiors. And McDaggett just doesn't compare to Clarence Boddicker or even Cain -- the villains from the first and second Robocop movies, respectively.

At the time this movie was made, yellow peril was the rage all across America. You see, during the 1980s till about the mid 1990s, the Japanese were kicking our arses. Japanese students were outperforming American students academically. While American students were supposedly playing video games and enjoying their summer vacation, Japanese students were concentrating on their studies and jeopardizing their social lives (and sleep) in order to focus on getting the highest test scores possible. Japanese manufacturers were also turning out superior products, unlike the defective crap made in the United States. The Japanese economy was growing at an exponential rate while the American economy was sputtering. The yellow menace known as Japan was a viable threat on the American way of life. Of course nowadays, Japan has its own problems and one would replace Japan with China, but that's a whole different topic. The point I'm trying to make is that the Japanese villains portrayed in this movie are the embodiment of every offensive Asian stereotype imaginable. And obviously the Japanese villains were a manifestation of all of the Americans' fears of a possible Japanese takeover of this country. It's ridiculous and over the top.

And to belabor the point even further, McDaggett himself has a very obvious British accent. Which goes to show that anybody with a foreign accent is not to be trusted. I don't know if this was a conscious decision or not, but McDaggett looks and sounds like a villain straight out of the Apartheid era in South Africa. The problem I have with Robocop 3 is that the villains are less like interesting flesh and blood characters and more like neatly packaged stereotypes.

In many ways, Robocop 3 was doomed from the start. A watered down version aimed for younger audiences just wasn't going to work no matter how good the intentions. It's just like if the filmmakers attempted to make Freddy Krueger into a good guy. With Robocop 3, the filmmakers essentially alienated fans of the Robocop series. And it really is a shame. Robocop 3 is far from being the worst movie and it does have its strengths, but the Robocop movies are meant to be hardcore and relentless. Teens who are too young for most R-rated action movies may enjoy this film to some extent, but I can't really award the filmmakers a lot of points for their lame attempt at trying to make a teen-friendly version of Robocop. Sorry. I'd say the same thing if this were Rambo or the Terminator (oh, wait...).