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The Frightening Dystopia of ROBOCOP (Cybernetic Vengeance, Production + Ending) Explained

FilmComicsExplained

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When Paul Verhoeven's RoboCop exploded onto screens in 1987, it was easy to mistake it for just another slice of Reagan-era ultraviolence—a bloody B-movie packed with explosions, one-liners, and the kind of violent spectacle that earned instant cult status. But beneath its bullet-ridden chassis, RoboCop is one of the most subversive, intelligent, and thematically rich science fiction films of the twentieth century. Part corporate satire, part religious allegory, and part exploration of identity, free will, and systemic corruption, it’s a film that disguises its razor-sharp intellect behind the armor of a dystopian action flick—and does it brilliantly.

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20 Comments

@BardicProductions 10 months ago (edited) Pinned

Another video by filmandcomics explained. Stuff like this makes my day better and better. Keep it up man.

@sfb7247 10 months ago

I love that OCP never learns to unarm its robots during presentations in all the movies

@kidpeligro7878 10 months ago (edited)

"Come with me if you want to live"
....oh wait! wrong universe

"Dead or alive, you're coming with me"

@TheBrolagarchy 10 months ago

Seeing Murphy shot to pieces is one of those scenes that really sticks with you

@TheDarkHarper 10 months ago

Robocop is a western about revenge. That cruise through Detroit with that music goes hard.

@pyroromancer 10 months ago

The first RoboCop film, is a guilty pleasure that you can literally watch every weekend and it'll never get old.

@MurseTech64 10 months ago

Practical effects are a big part of why this film is so good.

@dougsmith6262 10 months ago

0:28 Fun fact: Clarence spitting blood onto the desk was improvised by Kurtwood Smith, but he didn't tell any of the other actors. So the Sergeant saying "What the FUCK?!" was genuine surprise from the actor.

@Col-Heem 10 months ago

As a kid I watched this movie so many times 😂

@the_green_gorilla 10 months ago

Can you fly Bobby ? 😅

@Papa_Pumpkin 10 months ago

You call this a glitch?!

@ashscott6068 10 months ago

People usually miss the fact that Murphy was transferred to that precinct specifically because he had an attitude very likely to get him killed. They never specifically say it, but there's a conversation about how they transferred candidates "based on risk factor", and we know Murphy was just transferred. OCP coulda just waited for a cop to be seriously injured, but they were in a hurry, so they transferred all the gung-ho cowboys from soft districts, into areas where their bravado would likely end up with them getting shot to shit very early on.

@MrJonesthe1st 10 months ago

‘Set in a crumbling, dystopian vision of Detroit’ …. So just Detroit then

@Daimon-X 10 months ago

"What's your name, son?"
"Murphy."

Timeless flick, one of the best sci-fi movies ever made.

@MooVCidal 10 months ago

'87-'91 we were so spoiled by Robocop, Lethal Weapon, Predator, Die Hard, Total Recall, Last Boycott, T2....where must we go, in search of better movies?

@PotatoHopback 10 months ago

How they went from this to the sequels is such a comical example of the corporate degeneracy that the movie was satirizing. It's not a surprise that it went well over the studio executives' heads.

@VexElectronica 10 months ago

One hour of RoboCop lore? Let's go.

@thecopperiris 10 months ago

29:58 I especially love the accuracy of some of the sounds, such as the ED-209's hydraulics.. when it's stationary it's quiet, but as soon as it comes to life, you hear an electric hydraulic pump.. as a mechanical guy, so cool 😂

@theblackpearlofbraavos 10 months ago

Tne 2023 documentary RoboDoc is fantastic. A must see for all fans. Peter Weller is unintentionally hilarious in the commentary.

@Ye4rZero 10 months ago (edited)

The first time I saw this on TV it had it's own dystopian commercials. I remember one cartoon one that was about kids recycling their pets when they died in a kind of vending machine. It fit the whole theme of the film very well. I've never been able to find this version again... Verhoeven is a brilliant and I think misunderstood director.