What Is It About This Film That No One Can Replicate?

I would say that RoboCop had a great balance of the social satire and bleak, dark atmosphere elements that the sequels, even at times the TV series, couldn't get right nor balance properly. However, first and foremost, it's all in the storyline. The sequels(even the tv series to some extent) never really had a superb storyline/screenplay to be on par with the original. RoboCop 2, even though it still has it's supporters, has a ridiculously bad screenplay used in the final approved film that was given to us. It's storyline as a whole is just annoying and a big let down. From there on, the flaws would only get worse with whatever visual medium there was to continue bringing RoboCop to life on any screen.

Ed Neumeier, Michael Miner & Paul Verhoeven.

Just my personal opinion, y'guys, but I think this movie's lasting success and uniqueness can be explained in one word: TONE.

One of the consequences of being an English major is that I approach all entertainment, including movies, from a story/dialogue-first place. This has a genuinely good story, is well-written, and (OPINION-TIME, which may cause some DISAGREEMENTS, so BE CAREFUL) I think is agenda-free and politically/ideologically balanced.

Weirdly for two politically-oriented writers, this movie is actually very well balanced, and I grew up in a Reagan-Republican home (other side of the family were old-school Democrats who...also liked Reagan). Only reason I bring this up is to point out that even someone like ME can enjoy it, without feeling weird. But what I think is interesting is this is a story that all sides can relate to, all sides can find things to point their fingers at, and all sides can laugh at. Because the truth is...if you really, really had a choice, would you say 'no' to living in Delta City? Where did the NEED for Delta City come from? Is OCP corrupt, or is it just opportunistic renegades like Dick and Bob? ...does it really matter?

It's smart, and it isn't trying to cram an agenda at its audience. Rather, it just unravels an interesting story that stays with you and gets you thinking.

Or at least, that's what I get out of it.

Oh, and why hasn't any toy developer made a "NUKE 'EM" yet?!


There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly west

Robocop was one of the last ultra violent films of its time from when it came out future versions (with the exception of robocop 2) had to get tamer and tamer. Future movies just coulden't keep the same dark humour or dipict the sense of danger people living in that kind of future were experiencing. Robocop was a reflection of the growing violence of the late 80s in which people were expecting america to look like if its growth wasn't curbed. But after robocop came the huge budget movie era that demanded a PG-13 audience just to make money. Hence you couldn't shock the audience like you did with robocop anymore.

For me, it's the human story behind Officer Murphy's fate that stuck with me years after first seeing it in theaters. Many other people reminisce about the action sequences, visceral violence, and the tongue-in-cheek allusions to the American Dream run amok but for me it's the tragedy of a man being stripped of 90% of his essence yet within that 10% there's still a trickle of human dignity that shines through in the very last shot of the movie.

I saw the sequel and felt nothing from the first film despite the returning cast members. It totally felt like a cash grab. The latest one that came out was so forgettable I can't even recall most of things wrong with it only that it was completely forgettable and lacking of a soul.

RoboCop The Series at least manages to capture some of the atmosphere, and maintains it throughout. Some episodes are more comical than others, and some are of very serious tone. They did a good job with the music as well, even though it was still different from Basil Poledouris' work, it was at least more similar to RoboCop 1 than say RoboCop 2's strange theme choices.