RoboCop (1987) | Rinema
RoboCop (1987)
Signin to view reviews from people you are following.
From Everybody:
"Part man. Part machine. All cop. The future of law enforcement."
Plot:
In the near future, Detroit, Michigan is on the verge of collapse due to financial ruin and unchecked crime. The mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP) enters into a contract with the city to run the police force. OCP plans to demolish "Old Detroit" and redevelop it as a high-end utopia called "Delta City." To address the city's crime, OCP tests several projects to engineer robotic law enforcement. During a presentation of a project spearheaded by the senior president, Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), the ED-209 enforcement droid malfunctions and kills a junior executive. With Delta City's construction scheduled to begin within months, the OCP Chairman (Dan O'Herlihy) immediately advances an alternative put forth by an ambitious, middle-ranking executive named Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer). Morton calls his cyborg project: "RoboCop."Veteran police officer, Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller), is transferred to a new precinct in Old Detroit and is partnered with Officer Ann Lewis (Nancy Allen). On their first patrol, they chase down a team of criminals led by crime boss, Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith), to an abandoned steel mill. After Lewis is knocked unconscious by one of the gang, the rest of Boddicker's men corner Murphy and brutally murder him. Murphy is pronounced dead at the hospital, and OCP subsequently harvests his bodily remains to construct the first RoboCop.RoboCop single-handedly deals with violent crime in the city according to three simple directives programmed by the engineers (Serve the public trust, Protect the innocent, and Uphold the law) along with a fourth, classified directive. The RoboCop project is hailed by the media, and Morton is promoted to vice president (which draws the ire of Jones). However, unbeknownst to the OCP engineers, remnants of RoboCop's life as Murphy have survived the memory wipe, including brief glimpses of his wife and son and the habit of twirling his gun before holstering it. Lewis recognizes the habit and deduces RoboCop's identity.After thwarting the armed robbery of a gas station by one of Boddicker's men, Emil (Paul McCrane), RoboCop has a nightmare featuring memories of his previous life. He identifies the members of Boddicker's gang from his dream and hunts them down. Meanwhile, Boddicker's alliance with Jones is revealed when Jones orders him to kill Morton.Robocop tracks the crime boss to a cocaine factory, where he kills an army of criminals to get to Boddicker. When it becomes clear that the cyborg means to kill him, Boddicker reveals his alliance with OCP senior vice president, Dick Jones. Boddicker is then arrested, and RoboCop visits Jones at his corporate office, intending to arrest him as well.The attempted arrest, however, triggers RoboCop's classified Fourth Directive, disabling him from harming any senior executive of OCP. Jones then dispatches an ED-209 against the now-vulnerable RoboCop. The ED-209 pursues RoboCop with an onslaught of military-grade firepower, but it is unable to follow him down a stairwell. RoboCop's escape, however, is cut off by an ambush by a police SWAT team with orders to destroy him. Lewis arrives to save him, and they retreat to the steel mill.After the police launch a labor strike, the city is plunged into chaos. Because the recording of Boddicker's confession could implicate him, Jones arranges for the release of Boddicker and his men from prison and provides them with "Cobra assault cannons" to destroy RoboCop. Using a tracking device, Boddicker and his gang converge on the steel mill for a showdown. RoboCop and Lewis kill all the gangmembers.RoboCop returns to OCP headquarters and uses a Cobra assault cannon to destroy the ED-209 guarding the building. He then interrupts Jones' pitch to resume the ED-209 project and informs the OCP chairman about his inability to act against Jones due to the Fourth Directive. After Jones' recorded confession of his role in Morton's death is presented, Jones quickly grabs a gun and takes the chairman hostage. During the standoff, the chairman terminates Jones' employment, thereby enabling RoboCop to shoot Jones and send him falling to his death.The chairman commends RoboCop for his skill and asks for his name, to which RoboCop replies: "Murphy."
Release Dates:
Theatrical : 1987-07-17 : United States of America
DVD : 2001-10-02