Rated
PG-13 (Violence)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 45 Minutes
Cast:
Robert
John Burke-Officer Alex J. Murphy/RoboCop
Nancy
Allen-Officer Anne Lewis
John
Castle-Commander Paul McDaggett
Jill
Hennessy-Dr. Marie Lazarus
Remy
Ryan-Nikko Halloran
Robert
DoQui-Sergeant Warren Reed
C.C.H.
Pounder-Bertha Washington
Rip
Torn-OCP CEO
Felton
Perry-OCP Vice President Donald Johnson
Bruce
Locke-Otomo
Stanley
Anderson-Zack
Daniel
von Bargen-Moreno
Stephen
Root-Coontz
Mako
Iwamatsu-Kanemitsu CEO
Directed
by Fred Dekker
 |
| They gave him a f*cking jet-pack?! |
Note: Part of the "RoboCop Trilogy" Blu-Ray set.
When
I was a kid, I used to have a RoboCop action figure. Pressing the little button
on his chest would make his visor light up and you could also attach a jet-pack
on him. The packaging had a strange blurb though, with a big red arrow inviting
you to ‘just touch him.’ What does this story have to do with anything? Well,
it’s to point out that “RoboCop 3” reduces our cyborg hero into a children’s
plaything. Much of the biting satire and wit of Verhoeven’s original has now
been lost and the bloody violence has been severely toned down to a
kid-friendly PG-13. While it’s never boring, “RoboCop 3” is a mediocre,
run-of-the-mill superhero flick, marking a sad end to one of the best action
films of the 80’s.
On
the verge of bankruptcy, OCP (Omni-Consumer Products) has been brought out by a
Japanese company, the Kanemitsu Corporation. Still intent on making Delta City
a reality, the new CEO (Rip Torn) creates an armed mercenary force called the
Urban Rehabilitators or ‘Rehabs’ for short. Led by Commander Paul McDaggett
(John Castle), the Rehabs begin forcibly removing people from their homes to
make way for the demolition team. When RoboCop (Robert John Burke) and his partner,
Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen), attempt to defend a group of civilians hiding out in
a church, McDaggett kills Lewis and damages RoboCop with an M203 grenade
launcher. Members of a ragtag resistance, led by Bertha Washington (C.C.H.
Pounder) come to RoboCop’s assistance and spirit him away to an underground
hideout. With his system efficiency dropping to dangerous levels, RoboCop asks
his new allies to find Dr. Marie Lazarus (Jill Hennessy), who has the technical
know-how to repair him. He also befriends a recently orphaned young girl named
Nikko Halloran (Remy Ryan). In order to stop RoboCop from interfering with
their plans, Kanemitsu’s CEO (Mako Iwamatsu) sends an elite Ninja assassin,
Otomo (Bruce Locke).
Oh,
how the mighty have fallen! “RoboCop 3” is a slightly more violent Saturday
Morning Cartoon. Almost all of the witty satire has been stripped away and the
trademark commercials and newscasts feel like an afterthought. One of the core
themes of the previous installments was RoboCop struggling to regain his
humanity even though he’s now more machine than man. This is only glossed over
in a few throwaway scenes and then promptly forgotten. The main plot involves
Old Detroit’s displaced citizens fighting back against OCP and their mercenary
army, the Rehabs, a not-so-subtle metaphor for the Nazis. At least it’s more
coherent plot-wise compared to the episodic feel of “RoboCop 2.” I’m surprised
Frank Miller returned to write the script so I admire his perseverance to make
it in Hollywood. Unfortunately, director Fred Dekker essentially guts the
script to appeal to children. Dekker’s credits amount to a handful of
forgettable B-movie horror flicks. Many aspects of the film feel silly or
overly sentimental when compared to its more violent original. The streets are
now plagued by a gang called the ‘Splatterpunks,’ who have bad teeth and look
like a bunch of rejects from “Mad Max.” Whenever a good guy dies, the sad music
swells to elicit emotion. Things take a turn for the ridiculous when RoboCop
commandeers a pimp’s car! There’s certainly no shortage of action and
explosions but since this is PG-13, no one ever gets shot and even if they do,
there’s no blood or it all happens off-screen. In fact, I don’t think RoboCop
even killed anyone in this film! In order to sell action figures, he has quite
a few accessories now, including a removable arm gun and a jet-pack. I got a
big laugh watching him zoom across the screen saving the oppressed citizens
while Basil Poledouris’ heroic theme plays in the background. The special
effects are primitive compared to the previous films and he looks like a
cardboard cutout. It’s hard to take “RoboCop 3” seriously and the only way to
enjoy the film is to treat it as an unintentional comedy.
Peter
Weller was filming “Naked Lunch” with David Cronenberg at the time so he passed
on reprising his role, though it’s not hard to assume that even he felt that
there wasn’t much left to explore with RoboCop. Replacing him is Robert John
Burke, who resembles Weller but fails to capture the nuances of his
performance. He’s stuck with this permanent grimace during the entire film.
Nancy Allen’s appearance feels like she was fulfilling a contractual obligation
and her death scene feels forced. John Castle’s Commander Paul McDaggett is
nothing more than a cartoon villain. The only thing missing is the evil
mustache. The rest of the cast are forgettable but Jill Hennessy (from NBC’s
“Crossing Jordan”) provides some nice eye candy.
“RoboCop
3” looks the best out of the trilogy box set on Blu-Ray with a cleaner image
but color is subdued and lacks vibrancy, most likely due to the limited
production budget. Like “RoboCop 2,” certain scenes appear fuzzy. Audio is
somewhat of a step down though it’s still good, if workmanlike. Once more, the
only extras included are the theatrical trailer.
Although
initially set for a summer 1992 release, “RoboCop 3” languished on the shelf
for a full year due to Orion Pictures going bankrupt. The film was finally
released on November 5, 1993 to highly negative reviews and holds a 4% on
Rotten Tomatoes. It failed to recoup its estimated $24 million production
budget, earning $11 million at the domestic box office. RoboCop has always been
an inherently silly character but even in my twenties, I still get a kick out
of watching him. While “RoboCop 3” is terrible, I don’t feel it’s the
abomination most fans make it out to be but that’s not exactly saying much, is
it?
Final
Rating: 2 out of 5
"My
friends call me Murphy, you call me...RoboCop!"
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