Movie #121 - Robocop

"Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement."

One of my favourite movies coming out of the 1980's, only because I am a big fan of science fiction and I like action movies that have some possibilities for the future. Coming off the popularity of The Terminator just a few years earlier, Robocop is a movie about a cyborg police officer who is used to clean up the crime-riddled futuristic version of Detroit.

The futuristic predictions of this movie are definitely those being used or implemented today. There is references to GPS tracking devices, large scale photon weapons, metallic armor, and even cybernetic technology. Also, RC driven technology is portrayed throughout this film, quite an imagination from Paul Verhoeven and his production crew.

Verhoeven's big break into mainstream Hollywood was through the cult success of Robocop. Through the first installment, Verhoeven was able to get other projects such as Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Showgirls, Starship Troopers, and Hollow Man just to name a few. Unfortunately, all had mixed success with Basic Instinct and Total Recall being his most renowned.

Peter Weller, on the other hand, didn't really parlay his role as Robocop into other successful roles. Coming out of small roles on television and B-rated movies, Weller was cast to play Robocop, a role that curtailed his ability to land bigger roles shortly afterwards. Weller was type cast into science fiction roles throughout his career and even the Robocop role in the unsuccessful sequel in 1990.

This film does have a strong supporting cast, with appearances from Ronny Cox, Miguel Ferrer, Paul McCrane, and Kurtwood Smith. All went onto solid cast members on television, most notably Ferrer on Crossing Jordan, McCrane on ER, and Smith on That 70's Show.

In fact, its Smith's role as the main villain that makes me laugh the most whenever I watch this film, because Robocop is getting his ass kicked by Foreman's Dad and the surgeon from ER. Quite funny when you start crossing more notable roles into other bodies of work. It ends up becoming a fun game when you start referencing previous roles for various actors in movies and television. I suggest you give it a try - the game itself tends to be quite fun when you know this much about movies and television.