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RoboCop (1987)
In director Paul Verhoeven's gory and ultra-violent
sci-fi, cyber-cop action-thriller film, a sleeper hit, it told about
the Frankenstein-like transformation of a police officer after his
death at the hands of drug dealers - into a heavily armed enforcement
robot:
- the introduction of good-guy veteran Detroit Officer
Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller), who transferred into the hellish,
crime-ridden, Metro West Detroit precinct from Metro South; he
was partnered with fierce veteran Officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen),
often seen blowing chewing gum bubbles
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Officer Murphy
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Officer Anne Lewis
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- meanwhile, in the
boardroom of the megacorporation OCP (Omni Consumer Products), contracted to
"run local law enforcement" (including the Detroit Metro Police
Department), Senior President Dick Jones (Ronny
Cox) announced plans for his company to transform the dystopic Old
Detroit (suffering from the "cancer" of
crime) into a utopian Delta City; he gave a stirring preview of future
law-enforcement: "We need a 24-hour-a-day police officer.
A cop who doesn't need to eat or sleep. A cop with superior firepower
and the reflexes to use it"
- in the product demonstration sequence, he spoke
about a new robotic ED (Enforcement Droid) for "urban pacification"
- a Series 209 prototype; it was heralded as "a
self-sufficient, law-enforcement robot" and "the
hot military product for the next decade"; he introduced
a giant, awkward, top-heavy robot to show a simulated arrest and
disarming procedure of an "arrest subject" - an innocent opponent
selected from the audience named Kinney (Kevin/Ken Page)
- when the demo began, ED-209
gave a stern warning when Kinney's Desert Eagle pistol was threateningly
pointed at it: "Please
put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply"; but
the incompetent, poorly-performing ED-209 malfunctioned, stepped
forward, growled in a deep voice, and warned: "You
now have 15 seconds to comply," even when the gun was surrendered
and thrown down on the floor; after a countdown, it mercilessly killed
Kinney with a violent volley of shots, claiming it was now authorized
to use "physical force" according
to Penal Code 1.13, Section 9; Kinney died after falling backwards
onto a model of Delta City
- after the murderous assault by ED-209, executive
Bob Morton (Miguel Ferrer) shouted for assistance to the hapless
volunteer: "Somebody want to call a god-damn paramedic?"; the OCP's head of the
board, the Old Man (Dan O'Herlihy) was upset by the failed robot,
and spoke harshly to Senior President Dick Jones: "Dick,
I'm very disappointed", and Jones responded - with a classic
line: "I'm sure it's only a glitch, a temporary setback"; the Old Man
was aghast: "You call this a glitch!! (pause) We're scheduled to begin construction
in 6 months. Your 'temporary setback' could cost us 50 million
dollars in interest payments alone!"
- the contingency plan (after the failure of ED-209) was the RoboCop program
recommended by executive Bob Morton of OCP (causing antagonism from
Jones), to create experimental cyborg cops
- while on patrol with Lewis investigating an armed
robbery at a pharmaceutical company, the criminals were located
in an abandoned steel mill; while Lewis was knocked unconscious,
there was a prolonged, horrifying torture-killing sequence of
the death of Officer Murphy - in the line of duty - his murder
was delivered by the sadistic drug gang of punks led by "crime
boss of Old Detroit" - Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith); when
Murphy insulted Boddicker: "Buddy,
I think you're slime," his gang laughed in unison;
Boddicker responded: "See, I got this
problem. Cops don't like me, so I don't like cops"
- as Boddicker made the sound of a tracking device,
he aimed his shotgun at Murphy's right arm that was held down by
Boddicker's foot; his right hand was mercilessly blown off with
the shotgun - as the villain joked about the mutilation: "Well,
give the man a hand"; the sadistic gang leader then told
his thugs: "He's all yours"; then
Murphy's entire right arm was blasted away - followed by a non-stop
volley of gunshots into his body by the sadistic group functioning
as a firing-squad; miraculously still alive, Boddicker executed Murphy
with another blast to the head
Cop Murphy vs. Boddicker
Murphy's Brutal, Sadistic and Merciless Murder
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- after Murphy's recent death, his terminally-wounded
body was rushed to a hospital in order to transform him into a
half-human, half-robotic crime-fighting super-cop cyborg, known
as RoboCop ("The Future
of Law Enforcement"); as he was being operated upon in the trauma
unit, Murphy began to relive and envision past events from his life
(and would continue to do so); he experienced a few
intermittent, ghost-like POV flash-backs of his old life as Police
Officer Alex Murphy; his son Jimmy (Jason Levine) was watching a
cop show on TV titled TJ Lazer, while his pink-robed wife Ellen
(Angie Bolling) was in the bedroom intimately telling him: ("I
really have to tell you something...I love you!") - there would
be more visions later
RoboCop's First Flashbacks to Old Life as Murphy
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- in a scene from Murphy's POV, Murphy was
transformed and converted into RoboCop (with his outer skin composed
of "titanium, laminated with Kevlar", and mechanical hands with
400 ft./lbs. of force); talking to RoboCop in close-up, executive
Bob Morton gloated: "You're gonna be a bad motherf--ker!"; he
promoted RoboCop's abilities: "The fastest reflexes technology
has to offer, on-board computer-assisted memory, and a lifetime
of on-the-street law-enforcement programming"
- afterwards, RoboCop was unveiled as he strode into
the police station precinct where his abilities (tracking system,
voice stress, etc.) were demonstrated, diagnosed, tested and monitored;
the cyborg was continually being fed a brownish paste (tasting
like "baby food") to replenish his organic systems; Morton
questioned what RoboCop's three Prime Directives were - and RoboCop
dutifully recited: "Serve the public trust, protect the innocent,
uphold the law"; Directive 4 was considered "CLASSIFIED"
- during RoboCop's first night on patrol, he entered
a convenience grocery store run by a couple (Marjorie Rynearson
and Jo Livingston) that was in the midst of being
robbed by a threatening trench-coated armed thief; bullets ineffectively
bounced off RoboCop's bulletproof coverings; the cyborg law enforcer
bent the shotgun's barrel, and punched the robber with a terrific
blow, sending him unconscious into a refrigerator; his second encounter
was against two criminals who were assaulting and raping a blonde
woman (Donna Keegan); with precise aim, RoboCop shot the perpetrator
in the groin (the bullet tracked through the female's dress and
between her legs); he then threatened the second assailant: "Your
move, creep!" - the thug immediately surrendered; RoboCop coldly
told the grateful female: "Madam, you have suffered an emotional
shock. I will notify a rape crisis center"
- during negotiations with a SWAT team at
City Hall with crazed and desperate ex-city councilman Ron Miller
(Mark Carlton) who held the mayor and his staff hostage and demanded
a vote recount, the RoboCop calmly made his way to the 2nd floor;
during the tense scene, the negotiator promised Miller "a bigger
office...a new car...one with reclining leather seats that goes
really fast and gets really s--tty gas mileage...with cruise control";
the negotiator also added: "Let the mayor go, we'll even throw
in a Blaupunkt"; using thermal imaging, RoboCop located Miller,
grabbed him through an adjoining wall, and punched him through
a window to his death
- the scene of the RoboCop's PR visit with children
when he was interviewed and asked by a reporter: "Any special
message for all the kids watching at home!?" and the RoboCop's
four-word reply: "Stay out of trouble"
- the film's many humorous commercial advertisements
during news broadcasts - to satirize American
consumer culture - e.g., the video home game Nukem ("Get them before
they get you"), or later in the film, the car commercial for the
gigantic, over-sized 6000 SUX sedan ("Big is back. Because bigger
is better. SUX, an American tradition")
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Nukem - Family Board Game
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6000 SUX
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- the confrontation sequence in a men's room urinal
when an enraged Dick Jones (who was thought to be "pretty pissed")
threatened Bob Morton for upstaging him with his RoboCop creation;
asserting his authority as the "number two" man in the company
behind the Old Man, he grabbed Morton's hair and warned: "You've
insulted this company with your bastard creation....You just f--ked
with the wrong guy....You better pray that that unholy monster
of yours doesn't screw up"
- the scene at
a SHELL gas station during a robbery in progress, when RoboCop recognized
Emil Antonowsky (Paul McCrane), the gang member who shot off his
right arm; he approached and ordered: "Drop it! Dead or alive,
you're coming with me!"; Emil panicked, yelled out: "I know
you. You're dead. We killed you!", and before zooming away, he set
the station on fire; however, his bike was shot out from under him
and RoboCop took the seriously-injured Emil into custody
- after learning the home address of Officer Murphy
from a database on the police's mainframe computer, RoboCop visited
his now-abandoned, for-sale former home at 548 Primrose Lane and
experienced more hallucinations of his former life; besides seeing
his son and wife, he also discovered a family photo in the kitchen,
and again saw his wife in the bedroom; as
RoboCop left the property, he punched
the TV with a video-realtor imploring: ("Hey, have you thought
it all over? Why not make me an offer?")
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RoboCop's Visit To His Former Home
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The Murphy Family Picture
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RoboCop Destroying the Realtor's Video Monitor
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- at his home, as Bob Morton was snorting cocaine
with two call-girls, Clarence Boddicker entered with a firearm,
commanded that the "bitches leave," crippled Morton by shooting
him four times in the legs, and then played a CD video message
from his boss, Dick Jones - he criticized the ambitious Morton's
non-compliance with OCP protocols, necessitating his elimination:
("Do you know what the tragedy is here, Bob? We could have been
friends. But you wouldn't go through proper channels. You went
over my head. That hurt. But life goes on. It's an old story, the
fight for love and glory. It helps if you think of it as a game,
Bob. Every game has a winner and a loser. I'm cashing you out,
Bob"); Boddicker pulled the pin on a hand grenade and set it on a coffee table before
leaving; the weapon detonated and destroyed the house and Morton
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Boddicker with Jones' Videotaped Message For Morton
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Wounded Morton Struggling to Reach a Detonated Hand
Grenade on the Coffee Table
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- the next sequence was at a competitor's cocaine
processing factory, where Boddicker threatened his criminal rival
Sal (Lee de Broux) to give him a volume discount and/or join his
distribution network; RoboCop interrupted and broke down the door,
and a massive shootout commenced; after all of the gang members
were shot dead, RoboCop brutally beat Boddicker, and forced him
to confess his association with OCP's Senior President: ("I
work for Dick Jones...He's the number two guy at OCP! OCP runs
the cops! You're a cop!"); but RoboCop was unable to vengefully
kill Boddiker because of Prime Directive 3 ("Uphold the law");
Boddicker was placed under arrest and transported to the police
station, where RoboCop ordered: "Book him" - on charges
of being a "cop killer,"
although shortly later, Jones paid the bail and freed him
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RoboCop Assault on Boddicker - Forcing Him to
Confess He Worked for Jones
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Jones' Activation of Directive 4 - an OCP "Product
Violation"
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- the RoboCop then entered Jones' office in the modernistic
OCP Tower, played a video recording of Boddicker's confession, and
charged Jones with "aiding and abetting a known felon";
however, this activated the 'Classified' Directive 4 - Jones' system
safeguard (or "insurance policy") by creating a "product
violation" - it shut down RoboCop and prevented him,
as an OCP "product," from
harming an OCP official: (Jones: "Any attempt to arrest a senior
officer of OCP results in shutdown...You're our product and we can't
very well have our products turning against us, can we?"); Jones
then openly admitted that he had ordered Morton's death: ("I
had to kill Bob Morton because he made a mistake. Now it's time to
erase that mistake")
- in the next sequence, Jones' ordered ED-209 to pursue
RoboCop and eliminate him; the ED was unable to follow RoboCop
down flights of stairs to the garage (due to his oversized, clumsy
feet), and on his backside after falling, he had a childish temper
tantrum - a film highlight; however, RoboCop was ambushed in the
underground garage by police, and was able to escape, with Lewis'
aid, to an abandoned steel mill
- after releasing Boddicker from jail, Jones was adamant
that the RoboCop had to be eliminated, because the cyborg had recorded
his guilt: ("He recorded every word you said. His memory's
admissible as evidence! You involved me!"); he
offered crime lord Boddicker and his thugs an enticing promise
- full control of drugs, gambling, and prostitution
during and after the construction of the planned community of Delta
City ("Virgin territory for the man who knows how to open up new markets");
in exchange, Boddicker had to pursue and destroy RoboCop with major
firepower - heavy military .50 caliber weapons and a tracking system
- the sequence of RoboCop removing his helmet - and
viewing his reflection, while telling Lewis: "You may not like
what you're going to see"; he asked about his wife and son, and
learned they had moved away after Murphy's funeral to start over
again; RoboCop reacted: "I can feel them. But I can't remember
them"
- during the ensuing assault at the steel mill,
Boddicker's men were quickly eliminated one by one; a
special death was reserved for bad guy Emil - known as the Melting
Man death scene; during the conflict, Emil drove a large truck-van
directly at RoboCop: ("Now,
I've got ya"), but was tricked when the RoboCop enforcer
shot his windshield, spun away, and caused Emil to crash into
a gigantic tank ominously labeled 'TOXIC WASTE'; from its back
doors, the van spilled out gallons of toxic waste along with the
quickly melting and liquifying driver; he gasped for breath as
he crawled to his feet, noting his clawed hands and disintegrating
flesh; he staggered around, moaning piteously: "Help me!";
his gory death occurred a few moments later when he stepped in front
of Boddicker's speeding vehicle -- his body splattered explosively
across the hood and windshield, obscuring the driver's view and
causing him to crash upside-down
Acid Bath Dowsing and Body Splattering Death of
Emil Antonowsky
After He Drove His Truck at RoboCop and Hit a TOXIC WASTE Tank
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- during a standoff between RoboCop and Boddicker,
as RoboCop was pinned under scrap metal debris dropped onto him,
Boddicker approached to finish him off with a large rail bar ("Sayonara,
RoboCop!"), but RoboCop was able to maneuver himself to violently
stab him in the throat with the computer data spike concealed in
his fist
- in the film's climactic showdown, RoboCop returned
to the OCP Tower, where he confronted and triumphed over ED-209
guarding the front entrance, by blasting its entire mid-section
with Boddicker's giant high-powered weapon; RoboCop then turned
his attention toward Jones who was leading a board meeting in the
building; he approached with the statement: "Dick Jones is wanted
for murder," and then played the recording of Jones' confession
of Morton's murder to the board members; the desperate Jones grabbed
a gun and took the OCP Old Man (the corporate President) hostage,
with plans to flee in a chopper from the roof; his plan failed
when the Old Man summarily fired Jones - thereby nullifying Directive
4; RoboCop fired at and killed Jones who was propelled backwards,
smashed a window, and fell to his death; RoboCop
then re-holstered his gun
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Old Man Taken Hostage by Jones
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Jones' Death
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- to end the film, there was a memorable closing exchange
between the very thankful and impressed Old Man and RoboCop after
the villainous Dick Jones was dispatched: (Old Man: "Nice
shootin', son. What's your name?", RoboCop: (pausing and then
smiling) "Murphy")
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"Nice shootin', son. What's your name?"
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"Murphy."
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OCP Senior President Dick Jones
Kinney's Death by Malfunctioning ED-209
OCP Senior President Dick Jones: "I'm sure it's only a glitch, a
temporary setback"
Murphy Operated Upon and Transformed into RoboCop
Executive Bob Morton to RoboCop: "You're gonna be a bad motherf--ker!"
Robocop's Introduction - in the Police Station
The Three Prime Directives
RoboCop Halting a Convenience Store Robbery
Ending an Assault and Rape Attempt
Ending a Hostage Situation - Grabbing Miller Through Wall
Advice to Children:
"Stay out of trouble!"
Enraged Dick Jones' Threat Toward Bob Morton - Grabbing His Hair
At Gas Station - RoboCop To Emil: "Drop it! Dead or alive, you're coming with
me!"
RoboCop - Learning His Previous Identity
Jones Ordering ED-209 to Attack RoboCop
ED-209's Battle Against RoboCop
ED-209 Tumbling Down Stairs
RoboCop's Self-Reflection
Final Standoff: Boddicker vs. RoboCop
ED-209 Guarding the OCP Tower - and Blasted by RoboCop
RoboCop Entering the OCP Boardroom to Confront Jones
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