RoboCop

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RoboCop
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RoboCop

RoboCop is a satirical 1987 science fiction action movie, directed by Paul Verhoeven. It has also spawned a comic book, two sequels and television series, all featuring a cyborg police officer.

RoboCop is a film about a near dystopian future, set in the city Detroit, Michigan. Violent crime is out of control, and the city is in financial ruin. The city charges the megacorporation OCP (Omni Consumer Products) with operating the police department. In other words, the Detroit Police Department is privatized. OCP is interested in rebuilding "Old Detroit" and replacing it with what they call "Delta City". Before this large construction project can begin, OCP wishes to end crime in the city, and so creates RoboCop, a cyborg.

Contents

Plot

Alex J. Murphy

RoboCop was once a dedicated police officer by the name of Alexander John Murphy, played by Peter Weller. Alex Murphy was married with one son, and was unknowingly transferred to a different precinct in Detroit by OCP. He was on the list of potential "volunteers" for OCP's Robocop project, which was the primary reason for his transfer.

Richard "Dick" Jones (Ronny Cox) was vice president of OCP, and had secret ties to Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) - the head of the local mafia. Dick Jones introduced the Enforcement Droid 209 (ED-209) during a board meeting as a means of policing areas of high criminal activity without risking officer safety. However, when the robot failed to respond correctly during an exercise and executed one of the board members, the President of OCP turned to executive Bob Morton. Morton had been developing a similar project whilst waiting for Jones to slip up; a human-machine hybrid - a "Robo-cop". All that was needed was an unfortunate volunteer.

Alex Murphy and his new partner, Anne Lewis, had been pursuing Clarence Boddicker and his gang after a failed bank robbery, in which the money was accidentally burned. Chasing the villains to an abandoned steel mill and separated from his partner, Murphy shot and killed one of the thugs before being surrounded and tortured, and then murdered. After having his weapon knocked away and collapsing after a blow to his legs, Murphy's right hand was blown off at point-blank range by Boddicker's shotgun.

As Murphy rose up in pain, a thug named Emil Antonowski shot Murphy's entire right arm away at the shoulder. Immediately the rest of the gang followed and opened fire on the helpless officer until they ran out of ammunition. Thanks to his body armour, Murphy was not killed instantly but sustained multiple shotgun blasts to his torso. Boddicker ended it with a single shot to Murphy's head. Lewis discovered her fallen partner and called for a medical transport which delivers Murphy's braindead body for an emergency operation; however, Murphy's heart flatlined on the operating table. At this point, OCP stepped in.

Property of OCP

Murphy was chosen to be the center of a new cyborg. His brain, face, and other organic parts were attached to a life-support system in a human-like titanium body; this cyborg was named RoboCop. His organic right hand had been destroyed before Murphy was killed, which made it necessary to fashion a replacement. Whilst the surgeons were able to save the left arm, Bob Morton (head of the RoboCop Project) insisted on giving him an entirely artificial body. The left arm was then removed.

RoboCop's external-skeleton was made out of titanium, and was coated with kevlar, rendering him practically bullet-proof. His hands and legs were enhanced by hydraulic motors, enabling him to crush a human throat with his grip and break through concrete walls. His hands were capable of exerting 420 foot pounds (570 N·m) of pressure, which would be enough to crush every bone in a human hand. His remaining organic material required a limited amount of sustenance, which RoboCop was able to get from a nutrient-paste solution, similar to baby food.

Equipment

RoboCop was equipped with a modified Beretta 93R machine pistol, capable of (and used almost exclusively with) a three-round burst setting. When not using his pistol, he stored it in a retractable holster built into his right thigh. Before his death, Murphy would mimic his son's favorite television show hero, "TJ Laser", by spinning his gun around his index finger and holstering it - a trait which he continued to use as RoboCop. RoboCop also had an automated targeting system, which made him an unparalleled sharpshooter.

RoboCop had several useful features such as thermal vision, voice recognition and an inbuilt video recorder. He could also access computers - such as the police department's computers and some of OCP's systems - directly using a retractable input/output jack built into his right hand, between his second and third knuckle. The jack was in the form of a sharp spike which also made it a suitable emergency weapon in hand-to-hand combat (see Marvel Comics Wolverine).

RoboCop also had a radio transmitter built into him. This enabled OCP, government officials, and anyone else with a specialized tracker to be aware of his location at all times. It also enabled computerized dispatching programs to communicate with RoboCop and make him aware of situations requiring his presence.

The Prime Directives

RoboCop was programmed to follow four prime directives (which may be compared with Asimov's Laws of Robotics):

  1. Serve the public trust
  2. Protect the innocent
  3. Uphold the law
  4. Classified

The fourth directive, which he was programmed to be unaware of unless it became relevant, rendered him physically incapable of placing any senior OCP employee under arrest. In the first movie it made him unable to act against corrupt Vice-President Richard 'Dick' Jones until Jones was fired by the chairman of OCP. During the second movie, he was unable to act against OCP officials, even though he knew that they had committed crimes. In the third movie - when RoboCop became a member of the resistance against OCP - the fourth directive was finally erased.

Murphy resurfaces

Whilst at first no one outside a few OCP employees knew who RoboCop had been, eventually a few clues surfaced that revealed his original identity. Former partner Anne Lewis realized that RoboCop was Murphy after he used his personal holstering technique. She confronted RoboCop with the phrase "Murphy - it's you" just after he had a flashback about his final moments alive. When Emil - played by Paul McCrane - heard RoboCop say, "Dead or alive, you're coming with me", he also realized who RoboCop actually was. Emil then yelled back, "You're dead! We killed you!", causing the officer to hesitate as he replayed the sentence.

Reflecting on this new information, Robocop enters the Detroit Police data storage facility, using his data spike to find Emil's criminal history and gang connections to Boddicker, who had a history of killing police officers - with the latest being Alex Murphy. Robocop then pulls up the address of the deceased officer, before leaving the building, driving to the location.

As Robocop nears the house, memories surface; a passing street sign, with Murphy's address, and his wife and son waving goodbye as he drives to work. Murphy's home is deserted; his family having moved away after his death -video recordings addressing prospective buyers activate when Robocop enters, cheerfully noting various features of the house. As he moves through the house, further memories surface; those of Murphy's son in a Halloween costume, his asking Murphy if he could spin his gun like TJ Laser, and his wife telling Murphy she loves him. Seething at these new revelations, Robocop punches a video screen before leaving.

Upholding the law

At this point, it has become personal; Robocop tracks Boddicker to a cocaine-processing warehouse, where he is attempting to negotiate a deal between his group and the distributors. Suddenly, Robocop breaks the barred and reinforced door down, calling for the gang's surrender. Armed with machine guns, they try to shoot him, but the bullets bounce off his frame; he returns fire with his Beretta, accurately killing all of the hostiles until only the unarmed Boddicker is left. Closing in on the man, Robocop throws him off a catwalk, sending him crashing through an office, and then through several windows, before the bloodied man spits out the name of his boss - OCP President Dick Jones. Robocop grabs him by the throat and is about to break his neck, but is stopped by Directive 3; Uphold the Law. Instead, he brings him into the police station for booking, the charge being "he's a cop killer"; Boddicker has no reply, just tiredly demanding his phone call.

As Robocop drives towards the headquarters of OCP, Boddicker calls ahead to warn Jones of his confession; the latter responds with predictable anger but promises to have him released quickly, and calmly waits as the officer enters his office and cites a list of offenses, including his ties to Boddicker. The vice president acknowledges these, and surrenders himself; as Robocop moves to arrest him, he is suddenly immobilized, falling to one knee as Jones explains the previously concealed Directive Four to him; as the Vice President, Jones included this directive secretly to prevent his arrest by Robocop, should his history be revealed. It was also a personal matter; Bob Morton had stolen his glory through the Robocop project, and Dick had him killed - now, it was his creation's turn. As Robocop struggled to his feet, the ED-209, Dick Jones's project, enters the office and fires on the officer, its chaingun bullets severely damaging his armor. Robocop manages to outmaneuver the slow-moving robot and flee down an emergency stairwell; it cannot follow, the design of its "feet" causing it to tumble down and end up on its "back", flailing its limbs and squealing pathetically.

Exiting into an underground garage, the wounded Robocop is confronted by the Detroit Police, who, on orders from OCP to destroy the "rogue" unit, reluctantly open fire with automatic weapons. Robocop crawls through the hail of gunfire onto a lower level, and is rescued by Ann Lewis, who pulls him into a police car and quickly drives off.

Making good on his promise, Jones quickly paroles Boddicker and calls him for a private meeting; at this point, he is desperate to destroy the cyborg before he can reveal anything, and supplies Boddicker and his gang with the Cobra Assault Cannon, a weapon co-developed by OCP for the military which fires armor-piercing explosive rounds, telling him to hunt down Robocop, and gives Boddicker a tracking unit to pinpoint where Lewis had taken him; the steel mill where Murphy had been killed. His visual scanner having been damaged, Robocop unscrews his helmet and finally looks at his own face in a mirror, and asks Lewis about Murphy's family, before noting "I can feel them, but I can't remember them".

His damage and the opponent's superior weaponry force Lewis and Robocop to fight defensively; however, they manage to defeat their attackers one-by-one, and the cyborg returns to OCP to confront Jones. After using a recovered Assault Cannon to destroy the ED-209 standing guard, Robocop storms into a board meeting held by Jones and inserts his data spike into the wall-screen display, playing his recording of Jones' bragging about killing Morton to the OCP senior management. Realizing his hopeless situation, Jones grabs the pistol left behind from the ED-209 demonstration and holds the company president (played by Dan O'Herlihy) hostage, demanding a helicopter for escape. Robocop tells the president that he cannot act against Jones because of Directive Four; thinking quickly, the president loudly yells that Dick is fired before breaking free of his hold. Cleared of the restriction, Robocop states "thank you" before firing a burst into Jones' chest, sending him through the window of the boardroom and hurtling towards the ground, screaming despite his injury.

Quickly recovering from the shock, the president gratefully asks RoboCop his name. Having regained his identity, he responds with "Murphy", before walking out.

RoboCop damaged in a fight
RoboCop damaged in a fight

Trivia

  • "RoboCop" was Dutch-born director Paul Verhoeven's first American movie; however, when he first glanced through the script, he threw it in the garbage. Afterwards, his wife read the script more thoroughly and convinced Paul that the plot had more substance than he originally assumed.
  • The oddball TV show with its catchphrase "I'd buy that for a dollar!" seen throughout the movie is called "It's Not My Problem". This is not shown in the movie, but is rather revealed by script writer Ed Neumeier on the commentaries track of the Robocop Trilogy DVD release.
  • Actor Peter Weller was chosen for the lead role in part because of his small frame, which allowed him to fit into the Robocop suit without adding too much bulk.
  • The actors of some of the movie's most notable villains, including Dick Jones (Ronny Cox), Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and Emil Antonowski (Paul McCrane) are all described as being very friendly people in real life.
  • "Barbara", secretary of OCP executive Dick Jones, is played by Joan Pirkle, real-life wife of Kurtwood Smith.
  • In the ninth episode of Sailor Moon, about 18 minutes into the episode, Sailor Mercury's computer screen shows the first three prime directives.
  • The scene in which Murphy is tortured by the gang members was parodied on Family Guy.
  • Parts of Dallas City Hall was used as the backdrop for the fictional OCP Headquarters.
  • The titular character of the video game James Pond 2: Codename Robocod spoofs Robocop.
  • The ED-209 is referenced several times by The Daily Show and makes appearances in episodes of Family Guy, South Park and The Simpsons.
  • The multiplayer mode character Cyborg Chimp in Timesplitters: Future Perfect is a parody of Robocop. It even has a banana in its concealed holster.
Another picture of Robocop
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Another picture of Robocop

Spin-offs

Due to the enduring popularity of the character, there have been a large number of RoboCop spin-offs. These include:

  • Video games for arcade and home systems.
  • Two animated television series, the first in 1994 and the second from 1998.
  • A live action TV series, and a mini-series, RoboCop: Prime Directives.
  • Comic books published by Marvel and Dark Horse that along with containing the further adventures of RoboCop also included titles such as the speculative RoboCop vs The Terminator (which was also converted into a video game) and Frank Miller's RoboCop, a graphic novel mini-series of Miller's rejected original script for RoboCop 2.
  • Robocop was originally to be directed by highly critized and controversial Scranton born director Frederick Babarsky. But he passed up the position because of chronic illness.

See also

External links

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