RoboCop

1987 Sci Fi

Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film, Robocop, is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty whom the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The RoboCop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film.

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer

Reviews

  • Robocop is as tightly worked as a film can be, not a moment or line wasted.

    - Variety

    27 April 2013

  • A first-rate production full of nonstop action and inventive special effects but what truly makes Robocop spellbinding is a superior script.

    - TV Guide

    27 April 2013

  • Despite a level of lurid violence that may offend many, this movie has a motor humming inside. It's been assembled with ferocious, gleeful expertise, crammed with humor, cynicism and jolts of energy. In many ways, it's the best action movie of the year.

    Michael Wilmington - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • It was this love of mayhem combined with a biting comic attack on neo-fascist corporatism - most notably seen in the TV ads for products like the apocalyptic board game Nuke 'Em - which helped raise Robocop above the common sci-fi herd.

    - Empire

    27 April 2013

  • Robocop is a thriller with a difference.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Stephen Hunter Flick

    Academy Awards (1988)

  • Best Director

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1988)

  • Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival (1988)

  • Best Make Up Artist

    BAFTA Awards (1989)

     
  • Basil Poledouris

    BMI Film & TV Awards (1988)