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ROBOCOP TRILOGY

The pristine widescreen presentation of this action trilogy on this classy fold-out DVD boxset is the only way in which it ought to be viewed. Although the quality of the movies takes a steady decline from the first to the third, it remains a blast. This fine triple disc set contains some cool extras from documentaries, interviews and featurettes, to deleted scenes, photo galleries, storyboard comparisons, trailers and commentary tracks - the whole package totals over 5 hours of viewing.
Also includes a 12-page booklet with production info, notes, pics and trivia.







ROBOCOP
With Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Daniel O'Herlihy, Miguel Ferrer, Ronny Cox, Ray Wise
Directed by Paul Verhoeven

Created by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, this classic modern sci-fi action flick took the genre to the next level. A good cop killed on the job becomes the first cyborg peace officer to rid the streets of old Detroit, to pave a new era for the planned Delta City. But, he becomes a pawn in a corporate yuppie war to get the contract for mechanized cops. The big corporate company OCP (Omni Consumer Products) pretty much runs everything from car manufacturing to the cops. With the ED-209 police robot malfunctioning dramatically, the new young upstart and his team fast-tracks their Robocop project. Amid this the man once known as Alex Murphy not only starts to get flashes of the life he once had (with a family), but also of his killers, men used by one of the rival corporate suits for a variety of dirty deeds. Dutch director Verhoeven's
Flesh And Blood didn't make much waves, but after Robocop he was catapulted to the A-list. Yet, not without controversy, as there was a huge outcry over the film's violent scenes. Some pretty intense moments had to be shortened but in this DVD box set you can choose the director's cut with all of the hectic bits originally omitted. Rob Bottin, the man behind The Thing's incredible scenes, designed the amazing make-up FX and Robocop suit. Kurtwood Smith gives one of the best bad-guy performances ever and Weller does an amazing job as the man-machine. Damn fine soundtrack from Basil Polidouris on top of it all.

6 / A
- PB


1 2 3 4 5 6
A - B - C



ROBOCOP 2
With Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Tom Noonan, Belinda Bauer, Gabriel Damon
Directed by Irvin Kershner

This not-too-shabby sequel was directed by the man behind
The Empire Strikes Back. This time round our metal lawman is faced with a possible replacement. The suits are still as corrupt as ever. For their prototype Robocop 2, they use the brain of an insane drug dealer / cult leader Cain, who is behind the Nuke drug scourge. Needless to say things go beyond pear-shaped and it's up to our hero to sort things out, an intense showdown between him and the new maniacal robot. The style and look was well replicated from the first classic and the animation is still so much better than digital. A cool angle places a pre-teen in the violent criminal role of one of a Cain's lead henchman. Also retained the comic book humour of the first, but lost a bit of the original's intensity.

4 / B
- PB


1 2 3 4 5 6
A -
B - C



ROBOCOP 3
With Robert John Burke, Nancy Allen, Rip Torn, John Castle, Jill Hennessy, CCH Pounder, Mako
Directed by Fred Dekker

Whenever a kid gets thrown into the mix, you should expect a slip in the quality. On top of this, original
Robocop Peter Weller didn't return, replaced by Burke. Anyone but Christopher Reeve as Superman just doesn't work. You get attached to these characters, and changing it to such an extent smashes the myth with which we've come to identify the spirit of the character. Here the series' ever-present OCP exercise their oppressive force by evicting people from their homes. This fascist state doesn't lie well with Robocop who is not only compelled to do what's right, but also has to see justice for his killed partner. The more kiddy feel of the movie is evident and made the transition easier to the appalling TV series. This time he also has to face a new foe in the shape of a super-robot built in the East. Robocop also makes the full transition into superhero status by taking to the sky. Not too bad, but like the third Mad Max, a film which is badly flawed in the shadow of its predecessors - as a freestanding entity unattached to the series it can be seen as having more merit.

3 / B
- PB


1 2 3 4 5 6
A -
B - C


never let a review decide for you, but for those who need a rating, see the Flamedrop scale below
6 - Volcanic
5 - Blistering
4 - Hot
3 - Smolder
2 - Room Temperature
1 - Fizzled
0 - Extinguished

A: Multi-Viewing Potential

B: Could Enjoy A 2nd Look

C: Once Should Suffice



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