“RoboCop” (1987) is a marvel of satirical balance. Normally, I do not get my laughs from violence, but somehow the ingenious (and unfortunately timeless) screenplay by Edward Neumeier mixes perfectly with the over-the-top gore of director Paul Verhoeven in the first of their two franchise-launching sci-fi classics. The latter is “Starship Troopers” (1997), which could be the world of “RoboCop” transported further into the future and into space.
Neumeier and co-writer Michael Miner pen biting clips of newscasters happily relaying horrifyingly bizarre tidbits, such as a military orbital laser that malfunctions and murders more than 100 innocent civilians. In 1987, the newscasters’ rapid-fire jumps from subject to subject made the film seem chaotic; now, it seems like a sneak-peek of the 21st century.
I’d buy that for a dollar!
Also, we get commercials, including one for the board game Nuke ‘Em, a higher-tech version of Battleship where the goal is to obliterate the world. OK, so viewers’ smiles perhaps resemble that of the Hide the Pain Harold meme, but Neumeier and Miner are laser-focused on the absurdities of a manipulated modern society, muzzled by the corporate state.
“RoboCop” (1987)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Writers: Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner
Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy
This week, RFMC looks at the films and TV shows of the “RoboCop” saga.
I see “RoboCop” as a commentary on the militarization of police, politicized crime fears, the idiocy of the Drug War, and the increasingly blurred line between corporations and government; Detroit police duties are outsourced to Omni Consumer Products. But a viewer of pretty much any political persuasion could bring their own subtext and find the film speaks to them.
The movie is for the brain, the funnybone, and to some degree the heart, as Peter Weller’s Alex Murphy/RoboCop is a tragic figure in a much different way than a Good Terminator. When Murphy is killed in his first mission with partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen, “Blow Out”) at his new precinct (“Welcome to hell,” a new colleague greets him), it’s a “Psycho”-esque surprise, even though we know he’ll become a robotic cop.
The film could’ve done more with Murphy’s relationship with Anne and with his wife and kid from his time among the living. The tech nightmare of a dead man being resurrected as a robotic cop doesn’t have the sting now that we’ve seen so many films like this.
If memory serves, the 2014 remake digs more into Murphy’s emotional pain. Still, the O.G. “RoboCop” gives us so many flavors that we’re never not entertained by something – even if it’s the villains gratuitously shooting up Detroit (with Dallas, of all places, standing in) with a collection of new guns supplied by their boss.
A who’s who of bad guys
This is a helluva cast of baddies, including Kurtwood Smith – best known for “That ’70s Show,” but he should be famous for this — as the studious-looking but nonetheless badass bank robber and cocaine dealer Clarence Boddicker. Daniel O’Herlihy and Ronny Cox are slime-dripping boardroom villains, Miguel Ferrer is a classic corporate climber, and Ray Wise appears in a rare toady role.
The violent action is entertaining because it’s so unhinged from what’s likely in the real world or even in other action movies, starting with OCP’s presentation to the city’s leaders. The enforcement droid ED-209 malfunctions in a boardroom demonstration; the robot doesn’t realize the “culprit” has dropped his gun within the required 20 seconds, and proceeds to machine-gun him to shreds.
The movers-and-shakers then go to a corner to discuss whether the fact that the robot kills unarmed people will be a problem (the majority opinion is no, nobody will care) and in the background we hear horrified voices still comprehending the slaughter.
Neumeier’s messages and Verhoeven’s directorial sensibilities are not precisely the same brand of dark humor, but they smoothly interweave, as they will again on “Starship Troopers.” It’s a shame those are their only two collaborations. Neither would work on another “RoboCop” film, although I see Neumeier wrote three more “ST” movies and did some “RoboCop” TV work; I’ll have to check those out.
When it comes to sci-fi satire, few filmmakers are blunter than this duo. But likewise, few are superior.