RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)

RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)
Rating: 8.4

I'm ashamed to admit that this was my first viewing of this film. RoboCop is an interesting hybrid film with mainstream appeal as well as artistic merit. The story itself is relatively uninteresting and secondary to the more intriguing premise. I felt that a lot of the dialogue was pretty lame and derivative, especially the villain/cop interactions(trying to kick a cyborg in the nuts, and firing endless rounds at his metal armor with no sign of significant damage being done). Fortunately Verhoeven doesn't take his film too seriously, much in the same vain as Starship Troopers, which he would make ten years later, a lot of this is meant to be taken as tongue and cheek. He mixes in some subtle humor and satire, most overtly through the television news and commercial intermissions. Despite the seemingly watered down screenplay at times, the film manages to explore some significant issues, and the editing, shot selections and compositions throughout mark an incredible achievement in directing.