RoboCop
1987 · Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Original language: English
- action
- thriller
- science fiction
The story
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
What it’s like
Grimy, rain-slicked Detroit under sodium streetlamps and the sickly fluorescent glare of corporate boardrooms, with a palette of concrete grey, rust, and bruised blue that feels like a city already decaying. Verhoeven shoots with a restless handheld energy and abrupt cuts, and the satirical commercials and television news bulletins that punctuate the drama have a glossy, brightly lit artificiality that makes the world feel cynically sold back to itself. The sound design is a mechanical whir and metallic clank, with Basil Poledouris's brassy, heroic score swelling over scenes of brutal violence. The vibe is bleak, sardonic, and pulpy, the kind of film to watch late at night when you want something loud and cynical. Its violence is frequent, sudden, and graphic, with gunshots that spray blood and an extended torture-adjacent sequence that lands hard; there is also nudity and crude humour. The rhythm is brisk and muscular, the emotional register oscillates between tragedy and gallows wit, and its central figure is a damaged man slowly reclaiming a fragment of his humanity. It suits viewers who enjoy satirical science fiction, cyberpunk allegory, and action with a sharp edge, and it is not for anyone seeking gentleness.
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