Robocop

Director - Paul Verhoeven

Cast- Peter Weller, Nancy Allen

Country of Origin - U.S.

Distributor - Arrow

Number of Discs - 2

Reviewed by - Scott MacDonald

Date- 12/26/2019

    Robocop was a film made for the 80's. This is a film with a title so amazing, it was going to have kids (like myself at the time) lined up in droves to see it. Robocop stars Peter Weller  as Alex Murphy a cop in Old Detroit, who is killed by a gang run by Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith).  Instead of letting him just die, his body is recreated as a cyborg, who views things through the lens of the law, and is not afraid to enforce them.

    Robocop is a 1987 film from director Paul Verhoeven which would be the first of 3 amazing science fiction films the director would make over the next decade including Total Recall, and Starship Troopers. The film had a title that was basically made for the 80's, and not just lives up to the premise, but exceeds it by an epic margin.

   The film is one of the best science fiction action hybrids of the 80's. Verhoeven can direct the hell out of an action scene, and does so here.  However, if Robocop were simply an action film it would still be  a damn near masterpiece, however, the film blends comedy, social satire, and drama with an anti-corporate social subtext that is still relevant today.   The film does have some FX moments that weren't great even for the time, but they are made up for by those moments that truly exceed expectations. Performances are FANTASTIC, Kurtwood Smith plays the villainous Boddicker to perfection, and Weller owns the role of Alex Murphy/Robocop. 

   Arrow Video like Scream Factory's recent Big Trouble in Little China disc takes an exising master and builds an extras filled edition around that. The Blu-ray is taken from the 2013 4k scan approved by Verhoeven, if you liked how that looked you will still be pleased here. The set is 2 discs and includes both the theatrical and director's cuts of the film.  There are multiple HD audio tracks in 5.1, 4.0, and 2.0 that all sound crisp, clear, and well-balanced.  Extras are so deep here that this automatically becomes the definitive version of Robocop, we have archival commentary tracks, and interviews paired with new ones, featurettes, Q & A's, alternate scenes, comparison features, and so much more. The Arrow Video Blu-ray of ROBOCOP comes insanely highly recommended. GET THIS NOW.