RoboCop 2

 

MPAA Rating

Reason

Running Time

Distributor

Theatrical Release date

R

Violence, gore, drug references, and language

117 minutes

Orion Pictures

June 22, 1990

The second installment of “Robocop” takes a sharp turn than the futuristic Detroit we knew. Robocop (Peter Weller) and Officer Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen) are still on the job while the Detroit Police force are on strike demanding better wages. OCP is still active in running the Robocop program, but have changed their motives from moral ambiguity to sinister greed: the president (Daniel O’ Herihly) is seen as a ruthless, cold villain instead of a harmless individual portrayed in the original film. The satirical commercials and the MediaBreak news clips are there (gotta love the MagnaVolt spot), but the comical and satirical tone of the movie is replaced by low-brow humor, over-the-top villains (including a tyrannical drug cult leader and a fowl-mouthed 10-year old kid with a machine gun), and too much graphic blood. Oh, and an early-drawn CGI fight sequence that, while amazing at times, is weakened by a loose script.

While the police are on strike, the criminals are running amok. Robocop is there to being crime down, and to stop a distribution of the newest drug craze Nuke, masterminded by fanatical drug cult leader Cain (Tom Noonan). Robocop is also on watch from OCP as he becomes a liability due to the fact that he has regained human conscious. An interesting subplot is that they bring Murphy’s wife back, and it could’ve taken that human route if she were not removed after spending a few seconds onscreen. Anyhow, The corporation deems Robocop obsolete and begins productions on a new machine model, designated----what a coincedence---Robocop 2. (I bet they wanted it to sound cooler instead of Robocop v2.0) All candidates have failed until psychologist Juliette Faxx (Belinda Bauer) is brought in. Not only does she improve Robocop by giving him new directives due to enormous pressure from parents’ groups, but she goes behind the back of OCP by screening potential candidates: all of them psychotic killers currently on death row.

For all those movie fans who enjoyed the original, be warned while watching “Robocop 2”: it’s not for the faint of heart. Bodies are everywhere, kids are encouraged to rob stores and have filthy mouths. Other than that, “Robocop 2” is a weak film that could’ve used a little more tweaking in the script process. Frank Miller, who went on to make “Sin City” and “300” wrote the original draft, but the ending result is that less than half of his material made it into the final film. He later published a nine-part comic book series based on his original script, which from reviews was way better than both the previous installment AND the finished product. What a shame!

Rated: R
Released Thru: Orion Pictures ©1990
Running Time: 117 minutes
Grade: ** (C out of ****)



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