"I'd buy that for a dollar"

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH SERIES: ARTICLE #1-ROBOCOP

I’ve been on this late 80’s early 90’s kick lately. I guess I am on some kind of very unfocused journey to figure out what still holds up, if only in my eyes, some 20 years later. I remember them vividly, if only in pieces. These movies I am diving into are typically movies that went over my head but made enough of an impact that I feel some sort of obligation to myself to reevaluate them now. As you will see, these movies tend to be geared towards adults and not 8-year-old boys, hence, youth without youth. These wont be movies that I watched or studied at any point in time (I don’t think) and should be fun for me and hopefully for you all as well.

Lets Begin.

“I’d buy that for a dollar”! Why I remember Murphy.

My first memory of Robocop, aside from the trailers, was my mother telling me that I could never see this movie. Bad move Mom; of course it was the only movie I wanted to see after she said this. Eventually, I managed to secure a VHS copy of Robocop and watched it with my jaw on the floor. It was pretty heavy then and in a lot of ways, after watching it again the other night, it’s still pretty heavy.

The Plot:

Set in the run down city of Detroit, MI in the near future this movie, if only on the surface, is a typical Sci-fi / action flick. Detroit is being taking over by a large corporation (OCP) who is aspiring to produce robots that will act as or accompany the police force.

In the first scene we see a completely robotic officer go haywire and kill an unsuspecting board member of OCP during a demonstration. Quickly they decide to opt for the more controllable model, one that comes with some human parts.

Enter Murphy and quite possibly the worst first day of work ever. During his first response to a call he is separated from his partner chasing down a bunch of ruthless bank robbers (I don’t say ruthless just cause it sounds good here people, these dudes are RUTHLESS). They blow Murphy to bits with shotguns at close range. OCP decides to turn Murphy into Robocop.

The people love him, then they hate him, the Police Officers go on strike, Murphy….errrr….. Robocop saves the day. Churn out 2 sequels, a TV series, a cartoon series, comic books and action figures.

Job well done.

So why do I remember Murphy?

Robocop could have been just another robot movie. There are plenty of them out there. Some, changed movies forever (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) while others just wasted our time. There is something special about a movie like Robocop, so lets explore.

Set Design/Wardrobe. Downtown Dallas Texas. The newly constructed futuristic looking buildings were the perfect backdrops for the future. The neon lights stuck to everything let us know its not 1987, but somehow remind us it was made in 1987.

The police officers look like a polished version of something out of Star Wars. Familiar and futuristic without going over the top. Spot on.

Social Commentary. Lots of movies attempt to comment on the current state of the world. Sci-Fi movies exist for this very purpose. The commercials for cars and the news channels in Robocop are a telling sign of things to come and they help to sprinkle in some comedy against the harsh backdrop of….

Gore. This movie is pretty gnarly, even by today’s standards. Don’t get me wrong, the effects aren’t great, this is a low budget movie, however, when shots are fired slugs are ripping through flesh and they do their best to show you the affects of it. Score.

Delivery. I would never consider Robocop to be groundbreaking but it did successfully combine and improve many elements from other movies that gave it a very unique feeling.

The build up to Robocop being unveiled is well constructed. Like a horror movie’s monster, our curiosity is at its peak when we finally get to see the newly constructed Murphy up close and personal, and he is pretty impressive, even by today’s standards.

In closing

I think part of the thing I appreciated about movies made before CGI became a cost effective alternative was the production value of a movie (think about Back to the Future II). While there are times when things in Robocop look pretty low budget but they are working with what they got. Robocop himself looks pretty legit, albeit there are a few moments when it is painstakingly obvious that it is a costume pieced together. More often than not it looks freakin’ awesome.

My Vote: If you haven’t seen this movie, you need to. If you have, it’s been too long, head to best buy and plop down your hard earned $12 on this instead of Transformers.