In the not too distant future, Officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is an experienced cop who just started work in a new precinct. With his new partner Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), he is patrolling the streets of Detroit when a radio call puts them on the trail of a group of bank robbers.
While in pursuit of their getaway van, the bad guys open fire on the police car and try to lose the cops in an old steel mill.
While waiting for backup, Murphy and Lewis follow the men into the mill. Murphy is trapped and gunned down by the cold-blooded villains and left comatose. Soon after the ambulance finally arrives, he is proclaimed dead.
In the meantime, a high-tech corporation is working on the ultimate robotic/cyborg crime-fighting force.
The corporation utilises parts of Murphy’s body (and his brain) to create their prototype weapon against crime: the indestructible “Robocop”.
With a police strike threatening law and order, Robocop is put to work on the crime-ridden streets of Detroit. His methods are just barely within the letter of the law but catapult him to public fame.
Behind the hard shell Robocop body armour, Murphy’s memories start breaking through.
With the help of his former partner Lewis (who recognises the cyborg as her old partner), he is able to break free of his programming and function as an autonomous intelligent being.
Robo-Murphy soon discovers that the real threat to the city and the power behind the crime wave shaking the city is sitting in the executive ranks of the multinational OCP (Omni Consumer Products) Corporation that created him.
Robocop is very violent and graphic film – Dutch director Paul Verhoeven is known for his extreme display of violence on screen and has gathered a great many followers in doing so.
Nevertheless, it is one of the more memorable action films of the 80s, with more than enough special effects to keep you happy for a while.
RoboCop became an iconic creation of the 1980s, spawning two sequels, an animated series, a pair of television franchises and all number of merchandise tie-ins.
Despite a sizable budget and star-studded cast, a 2014 remake – from Brazilian director Jose Padilha – failed to make a significant impression either critically or at the box office.
“I’ll buy THAT for a dollar!”
Officer Alex J. Murphy / RoboCop
Peter Weller
Officer Anne Lewis
Nancy Allen
The Old Man
Dan O’Herlihy
Dick Jones
Ronny Cox
Clarence J. Boddicker
Kurtwood Smith
Bob Morton
Miguel Ferrer
Sergeant Warren Reed
Robert DoQui
Leon C. Nash
Ray Wise
Johnson
Felton Perry
Emil M. Antonowsky
Paul McCrane
Joe P. Cox
Jesse D. Goins
Kaplan
Del Zamora
Steve Minh
Calvin Jung
Walker
Rick Lieberman
Sal
Lee de Broux
Director
Paul Verhoeven
