"Part man, part machine. All cop...the future of law enforcement." Who can forget the (very) hokey and cheesy tagline? As a teen of 14, this film had a very profound effect on me. Although not a horror movie the shooting of the main character and the ED209 glitch scene gave me prolonged nightmares after viewing. I recently found out that the version I had seen in my youth was in fact the directors cut released over here recently. No wonder I was traumatized. Unlike the "robocop" remake which was tailored for a wider audience cutting out nearly all of the gore (although not the cheesiness) this was an entertaining piece of cinema (or VHS/VCD/laserdisc) and the chessiness of it was tongue-in-cheek. Sure, most of the acting was over the top and laughable but as it is meant to be a black comedy it did what it said on the tin. I mean like if in reality a (robo)cop were to cause more mayhem and anarchy than the criminals themselves then he would be open to numerous lawsuits not to mention kicked off the force in record time but that was the beauty of most 80-90s films, they were made for entertainment and to be poked fun at. This was Paul Verhoeven's first US film and a treat to watch...no brains required. His later film that came close to this one was the ultra violent (still a black comedy though) "starship troopers". Both films do have some similarities and are a recommended watch for those of you who don't take films too seriously. I would have to say that I would recommend both this and the latter "starship troopers". It's just a shame that Verhoeven hasn't made any other similar themed film(s) to date. Violence and gore aplenty but you just got to laugh at the excessiveness of it all.
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