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RoboCop

Play trailer Poster for RoboCop R Released Jul 17, 1987 1h 42m Sci-Fi Action Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 86 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
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RoboCop

RoboCop

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Critics Consensus

While over-the-top and gory, Robocop is also a surprisingly smart sci-fi flick that uses ultraviolence to disguise its satire of American culture.

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Critics Reviews

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Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com Peter Weller’s work as slain police officer Alex Murphy, and then as unstoppable law enforcement titan RoboCop, is a thing of peerless beauty. Rated: 4/4 Aug 24, 2022 Full Review Duane Byrge The Hollywood Reporter While those whose tastes don’t include the spectacle of large machines noisily blasting at each other are not likely to be enticed by Robocop, this shocked look at the urban future should engage and crank up action fans. Jul 18, 2022 Full Review Peter Bradshaw Guardian RoboCop was obviously inspired by that other 80s classic, The Terminator – but The Terminator didn’t have this sophisticated, subversive element. Rated: 5/5 May 18, 2022 Full Review Christopher Lloyd The Film Yap Paul Verhoeven's deeply satirical take on the sci-fi dystopia genre was as much about making fun of ourselves as delivering ultra-violent thrills. Rated: 5/5 May 27, 2024 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand The savagely funny satire of modern capitalism in the Reaganomics era hasn’t lost its edge over the years. Verhoeven’s stylish satire manages to be funny and intelligent amidst the carnage ... Mar 9, 2024 Full Review Adrienne McIlvaine Vague Visages “It only took three decades for ‘RoboCop’ to go from a sci-fi thought experiment to prescient documentary. What do the next few hold?” Feb 10, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Gabriel Thanks for bringing back this classic! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/29/21 Full Review Joseph V Never seen this movie till now. Really enjoyed it and glad that it was brought back for a Tuesday night classic Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/29/21 Full Review Madam D Have lost track of how many times I've seen this film, but it never gets old. The idea of machines being cops & soldiers is not a new idea now, but still as creepy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/05/25 Full Review Will G A fairy tale of love and romance in old detroit. Prince Alex dons a suit of armour to defeat prince Clarence and overthrow king Richard. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/01/25 Full Review Star S =☆ A Film That Shouldn’t Work ☆= RoboCop is one of those movies that, on paper, sounds like it should have been a throwaway action flick. A cyborg cop cleaning up a futuristic Detroit could have easily been another forgettable VHS rental. Instead, Paul Verhoeven delivered one of the sharpest pieces of satire wrapped in an action film ever made. The tone is brutal, funny, and smart all at once. It’s gory, it’s absurd, and yet it never loses sight of what it’s saying about corporate greed, media saturation, and the dehumanization of working people. That combination is why the film still holds up almost forty years later. =☆ Violence With Purpose ☆= The violence is extreme, and that’s part of why the movie was controversial at the time. But it’s not mindless. Every over-the-top effect, from Murphy’s execution to ED-209 malfunctioning in a boardroom, is pointed. The brutality is meant to shock, to make you laugh and then feel guilty about laughing, and to underline how cheap life becomes when profit is the only thing that matters. Unlike most action movies of its era, the violence in RoboCop serves the story rather than distracting from it. =☆ Peter Weller and the Humanity Under the Helmet ☆= Peter Weller deserves every bit of credit for why this film works. His performance as Murphy and then RoboCop is astonishingly controlled. Once he’s in the suit, every movement is precise, every line delivered with a balance of mechanical detachment and buried humanity. By the time he says his name at the end, “Murphy,” it lands like a gut punch. The whole point of the film is whether or not there’s still a man inside the machine, and Weller makes you believe there is. =☆ Satire That Aged Better Than It Should Have ☆= The commercials, the news breaks, the corporate jargon, RoboCop predicted more about our world than it had any right to. It feels more relevant now than it did in the 90s when I first saw it on cable. Watching as someone born in 1994, it’s eerie how much it reflects the kind of corporate dystopia we’ve actually slid into. The absurdity of “I’d buy that for a dollar!” isn’t even far off from the way memes and ad campaigns get recycled today. =☆ Why It’s a Five-Star Classic ☆= RoboCop is violent, funny, tragic, and satirical without losing sight of being entertaining. It’s easy to remember the gore or the one-liners, but what sticks with me most is that it’s about a man rediscovering himself after being stripped of everything by a system that sees him as expendable. That story will never get old. I was born after it came out, but when I finally saw it as a teenager in the 2000s, it floored me. Even now, with countless sci-fi films that have borrowed from it, nothing else quite nails the mix of satire and sincerity the way RoboCop does. Five stars, no hesitation. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/23/25 Full Review tim s RoboCop is exactly as violent, over-the-top, and goofy as one might expect from an '80s movie. Peter Weller is great in the title role, and the stone-cold delivery of his lines is iconic. Underneath the gore and exaggerated performances lies a satirical takedown of corporate greed and corruption. And alongside that, the film begs the question: 'How much humanity is left when a machine takes over?' Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/22/25 Full Review Read all reviews
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RoboCop

RoboCop: Official Clip - Dead or Alive, You're Coming With Me RoboCop: Official Clip - Dead or Alive, You're Coming With Me 2:12 RoboCop: Official Clip - RoboCop Kills Clarence RoboCop: Official Clip - RoboCop Kills Clarence 2:32 RoboCop: Official Clip - You're Fired! RoboCop: Official Clip - You're Fired! 2:53 RoboCop: Official Clip - ED-209 RoboCop: Official Clip - ED-209 2:52 RoboCop: Official Clip - Your Move, Creep RoboCop: Official Clip - Your Move, Creep 2:59 RoboCop: Official Clip - Clarence Kills Murphy RoboCop: Official Clip - Clarence Kills Murphy 2:25 RoboCop: Official Clip - Toxic Waste RoboCop: Official Clip - Toxic Waste 2:42 RoboCop: Official Clip - Clarence Kills Bob RoboCop: Official Clip - Clarence Kills Bob 2:52 RoboCop: Official Clip - You Are Under Arrest RoboCop: Official Clip - You Are Under Arrest 2:31 RoboCop: Official Clip - Cocaine Factory Shootout RoboCop: Official Clip - Cocaine Factory Shootout 1:49 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
Director
Paul Verhoeven
Producer
Arne Schmidt
Screenwriter
Edward Neumeier, Michael Miner
Distributor
Orion Pictures, Criterion Collection, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc.
Production Co
Orion Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Sci-Fi, Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 17, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 27, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$49.7M
Runtime
1h 42m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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