How The RoboCop Movies Changed 

Just wanted to say thanks for the continued support, especially with content thin on the ground lately. I moved house and then have been very sick for a couple of weeks. I'll be getting back on things now. Cheers.

The first Robocop is a goddamn piece of art, and it still holds up to analysis

9:40 (Nitpick: shooting Robocop in the jaw wouldn't affect him unless it's with a high caliber, because his skull is pure metal. The face is grafted on top of it and is purely cosmetic. Until he regains his memory of Alex Murphy, he makes no special effort to protect his face. Afterwards, he can be seen raising his arm to his mouth to protect it during the shootout at OCP.)

Why do they keep giving these prototype cop robots live ammunition during the demonstrations for executives?

RC1 - Masterpiece RC2 - Damn Great Film RC3 - That Jet Pack was cool... RCR - Human hand WTF?!

The original works on so many different levels: as a thrilling neo-western, as a smart satire on corporatism/media, as a thoughtful Sci-fi story on the nature of humanity and the soul. And Peter Weller's performance is so underrated. He adds so much subtle nuance to the character that really makes him feel human even as a cyborg.

Even the name "Murphy" sounds like it's straight from a western

Robocop 2 is probably the only numbered sequel that uses its title in the movie. Not only that, but as a major plot point.

As a Detroiter, I can attest that we do in fact have a mega conglomerate running our police department. Also personally, my little league team was arrested by a cyborg.

Short answer: They got worse Long answer: I regret to inform whoever reading this comment that the movie series known as RoboCop has become gradually less enjoyable overall in each installment

You could NOT have this kind of satire at ANY other time than the '80's. Absolutely perfect!

RoboCop 2 and Predator 2 are among my favorite movies, despite being terrible. Their vision of the future is just so fantastically dark. The Jamaican voodoo street gang in Predator 2 is one of the greatest/stupidest ideas ever put to film.

Robocop is too unrealistic for me to enjoy. I just can't imagine Detroit being such a nice place as portrait in the movie.

Robocop (1987) is one of those classic movies that is near perfect. Also, it's a near documentary on 2018 Detroit.

First one was a masterpiece, second one was pretty good, rest were trash, that's how they changed...

The scene that thugs shoot Murphy into pieces still haunts me! My parents were so stupid that they allowed me watch the original robocop movie at the age of 7!

Even the look of Robocop 2014 didn't look right. It looked like a human in a Nanosuit from Crysis, not a half human half machine cyborg.

Of course Sony was behind the Robocop remake, of course they were.

the original is a true classic. I remember watching it when i was 9 and being blown away by the basic story and violence (damn that toxic waste scene is seared into my brain, as is the stop motion ed-209). But each time a re-watched when i was older I appreciated more the black humour and social commentary. Terrific film.

Robocop one is still the best. I still watch and enjoy it today. The others were a waste of film.

I will defend the first Robocop movie all the way to my grave, as being one of the greatest sci-fi / action hero movies of all time. You’re move, creep!

robocop 1987: its got the greatest/nastiest bad guy ever seen in a film ( clarence) , murphy has the most shocking death scene in ANY movie still to this day , even though it was trimmed down a bit (they blow his entire arm off too).that was a whole new level of violence to me as a 9yo and i was well used to watching horror movies. as soon as the movie was over i was so scarred by it that i had to instantly watch it again. its a true action masterpiece every bit as good as terminator 1 and 2 , probably better actually.

13:47 A great example of Verhoeven irony: "Nice shooting, son. What's your name?" "Murphy." A triumph of the character's humanity, immediately stomped on by the ROBOCOP title.

The first movie has such a great assemblage of villainy - Kurtwood Smith, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Ray Wise, Miguel Ferrer. Another great video, thanks!

I never thought the jaw of Robocop was vulnerable. They keep the human look to help interact with the public. But especially the original, Peter Wellers face looks stretched. The scenes of Alex Murphy shows a very this, angular face and jawline. Robocops face is obviously larger. I always assumed OCP skinned Murphys face and stretched it over a titanium skull. Remember when Bob Morton argued against saving the left arm in the original? "I thought we agreed on total body prosthesis, now loose the arm."

"They'll fix you..they fix everything.." love that quote.

You have always demonstrated a broad knowledge of various subjects. In this video, you took that a step higher by truly understanding what makes a good police officer, "Nuance and humanity." 95% of policing is talking to people. The RoboCop program would never work for day to day policing, but he'd be great for being the first officer to go through the door on a warrant or dealing with a barricaded gunman. Very nice to see that there are people who understand the true nature of police work, cheers!

This is the format I subbed for.

I think and feel that Robocop 2 is the series saying "What have I become?" There was a Robocop Saturday Morning cartoon around the same time as this movie. And when Robocop electrocuted himself to reset himself, the series was saying "I am going to be an Adult R rated movie again."

It's funny. The scripts and stories that Paul Verhoeven initially throw away, but then pick up again, end up being the best of his films. It happened with Robocop. And it happened with Starship troopers. The films he stayed committed to from the start, were usually pretty bland and mediocre. Paul Verhoeven should go with the scripts and books that disgust him initially.

It's one of my favorite films and never thought of Robocop as a Western, until you pointed it out. Well done.

The new Robocop was a waste of Gary Oldman.

this movie was filmed in Dallas tx. i thought it was funny when i first watched this movie set in futuristic Detroit and see the skyline of the city a few miles away from me.

People say Robocop is fascist... Because it has a positive authority figure. Is that all it takes to be fascism now? a good guy who's got a government job? Edit: I don't know why so many people are suddenly responding here a year later, or why a bunch seem to lack reading comprehension, but: I am not saying this movie is fascist. Literally the exact opposite. I am quoting this very video (11:15) when I mention that people claim this movie is fascist. To anyone who responds to this comment with further instances of "You're stupid, that thing you think is true!" I will just tell you to learn to fucking read.

God damn, I need to rewatch 1 and 2. They're perfect movies. Also, I haven't stopped calling the movies "Rob O'cop: An Irish Policeman" after John Stewart made that joke interviewing Joel Kinnaman in '13.

Paul Verhoeven was a master of satirical “schlock”. I loved Robocop as a kid purely on its surface level, but as an adult it’s clear that there’s more going on, it works perfectly on a few levels. He’s made some duds, but I think Paul Verhoeven is finally getting some of the recognition he deserves. Also, Peter Weller is a super underrated actor. He’s pretty versatile and should have been a bigger star, in my opinion. I’ve heard he’s a university professor now...

The 90's were very much a time when kids watched R movies. I grew up in the 90's and I still have my Robocop action figure.

Three films and a remake? George, what are you talking about? There are two films, _and only two films._

Basil Poledouris' music for Conan is Legendary. It matters so much to the movie that it wouldn't have become what it was without it. Period.

DUDES THEY JUST MADE HIM A DLC CHARACTER IN MORTAL KOMBAT 11!🤘 GO! ROBO!

Can you fly Bobby?

Robocop 2014 should have been called "Drone"

There were also the magnificently awful live-action TV shows - a weekly series made around '94, followed by the "Prime Directives" miniseries in 2000. If I recall correctly both were Canadian productions, so as a Canadian, I wholeheartedly apologize on behalf of my country.

you have to admit though, it is a bit creepy how many nails this film hit right on the head way back in the 80s, i mean a shit load of little seemingly meaningless details in the movie that became literal reality not that that long ago. from the city going bankrupt, to crime taking over to the point of a corporation taking power over the mayor, to the talks of hiring private contractors as the peace keepers of the city.

Rewatching Robocop in college, that "stay out of trouble" line made us laugh so hard.

I think one of the biggest slap to the face with the remake was the line "I wouldn't buy that for a dollar". It only makes sense in the context of the older films, which means the character must have seen the older films, yet it doesn't take place in a universe where those films existed. It was just a hamfisted way of referencing the original film in one of those ways the major studios do nowadays, so that people will make youtube videos going over the "easter eggs". It's not an easter egg, it's a copout trying to capitalize on the nostalgia of the original in the worst kind of way. An easter egg would have been to have every product visible in a store with the price tag "$1". But even with all of that, I kinda like the new RoboCop (oh yes, one of the big differences that sets the titles apart... a capital C). It has its issues, so many of them, but it's still a fun flick to watch. It is the senseless violence of the first film without any of its thoughtprovoking elements.

6:40 you don't think Pouledaris' score mattered in Conan the Barbarian?? Wat? That score is as much an embodiment of Conan as the Robocop score is of Robocop.

Robocop was too far fetched. Not only were there store fronts unboarded but they were opened after dark. Cyborgs i can believe but sometimes movie makers take it too far.

OCP is DARPA. Original Robocop is a eulogy to transhumanism. It would be interesting to see the scores swapped for Robocop and Starship toopers, to see how the aesthetics are affected. Or put 'Cop in a western haha.

The "boot up sequence" is one of my favorite movie or tv moments of all time.

This seems like a recurring matter: a movie makes a somewhat big success and then big studio executives come and turn it into a franchise with sequels and merchandise and the following films lose the spirit from the original one. And it's been happening with a lot of movies released in the 80's.

The "remake" gives me the same off-putting feeling that Jurassic World did, a sense that this movie was made for corporations instead of human beings. I think it was attempting some kind of pro-robot subtext, didn't work though, too desperate. It also wants to be The Dark Knight, I swear in a few decades people are going to be baffled by this trend of movies that are the cinematic equivalent of an idiot trying to seem intelligent by feigning an English accent.

Funny enough it (the original) is set in Detroit but shot almost completely in Dallas, Texas (Reunion tower at 2:15)

Ive only really thought of the first film, it ends perfectly with Murphy remembering who he is and continuing to fight crime. Doesnt need a sequel.

I grew up with Robocop, Saw the film as a kid, I remember renting it on VHS in the early '90s, Loving the film for the action and being scared the violence, but overall as years went by saw the movie for what it is was. Robocop 2 come along and again loved it but it lacked something the original had but it was still a fun movie, they increased the violence but it still had the same elements as the first. Now, this is where I got disappointed. Robocop 3 was released, I remember watching this and thinking why as Robocop got a stupid multi-weapon attachment, silly names like splatter punks, the script was crap and the tone down in the violence and satire and rehashing the story was cheap cash in on the name. I do give Robert John Burke credit for manage to perform in the suit, other than Peter Weller (which the suit was made for) he actually managed to get the robocop movements even though the suit didn't fit him. Robocop was never meant to be made for TV but they tried in 1994 and wow how bad was that, I saw the pilot and thought oh yeah it's written by the original movie writers so maybe the story might be it's saving grace, Being this was the mid 90's this was going to be rubbish and wow was I right, the actor they got to play murphy was awful, the voice didn't fit. But I watched the pilot and how bad did they ruined the character, yet again a cheap cash-in for the name. Now the next attempt at a TV mini-series which was extremely low budget was Robocop prime directives in 2001. They got an actor who was a midget, He didn't in fit the suit, at times you saw the chin guard didn't even fit him and he walked like Frankenstein! oh yeah, they made Robocable, They switched the tone to be more violent but again miss the point of the first movie. The 2014 movie, I gave high hopes for but I felt let down by it, the film came across like a typical Hollywood superhero movie, the suit looked like a generic superhero costume, the fact he knew who he was, in the original movie he lost his family and they moved on with there lives and that fueled his need for revenge. But in this one, the family was present but felt misplaced. I get they wanted to go in a different direction to the first one but the essences of Robocop was about regaining who he was, the scene where he was shown he was just a hand, lung and head would have been too much for anyone to deal with and actually Robocop 2 dealt with that when they tried to build cyborgs who couldn't cope and they went berserk. .

Peter Weller said that they developed RoboCop's classic walking and movements because he is to be a golem. I don't think it's supposed to be literal but the sort of mindset for the actor.

I read somewhere that Verhoeven's wife is what convinced him to give the script another look.

I miss the days where a movie making a profit of $60 million is considered a success. And in this era of endless safe reboots, is it really a shock that robocop turned out bad? People are always quick to blame the director or screenwriter, but I tend to default to thinking its the studio. Your video basically pointed out that's what happened here. And we've seen countless other movies from known risk takers that have come out dry, predictable and boring. We later learn its because producers and studio executives were choking them with so many notes, they never had the ability to do anything creative. From The Hobbit to Star Wars to Jurassic World. And I get it. These people are shelling out $100 million to make a movie. So they want to cut as much risk as possible. But here's an idea. Reduce the budget and take some risks. You know...like the first Robocop did. Here's a good start. Don't hire huge expensive actors that take up 50% of the budget.

I saw the original robocop when I was far too young to see it, but it's my favorite robocop film.

An element I think that was REALLY missed in 2014 was that Robocop was also an allegory about the human spirit Especially with all the Jesus imagery Murphy's humanity overcomes robocop's program, overcomes OCP's corruption, it even overcomes death. Robocop isn't a sad depressing film, it's about how you can literally torture a man. Mutilate him beyond recognition. But you cannot kill his innate sense of humanity. And that spirit will triumph over everything.

I've always felt the second movie feels like a tv series condensed into a movie with all it's different plot threads that are given short shrift which really needed an episode each to develop. I actually think the third movie has a lot of potential had it not been toned down and had it ditched the kiddie sidekick. The remake however is utterly pointless and souless.

The original trailers for Robocop used the Terminator theme. Robocop's face/jaw are not "exposed." It's not Murphy's face you see but a synthetic likeness of it. According to the OG movies and their novelisations, OCP use very little of Murphy to make Robocop. I remember being hugely disappointed by Robocop 3 as a child. Even back then, the greenscreen was Superman IV bad and flying Robocop would have always looked silly even with better greenscreen/CGI. Robocop is a great example of a franchise that fell prey to Muppetisation.

"Dead or alive, you're coming with me" - Alex Murphy/RoboCop. That line is more than enough to scare criminals shitless!.

RoboCop is one of my favorite movies. It is so savage and fearless. The humor is dark and cynical. The action is ruthless. The theme song is incredible - it really adds a depth and atmosphere to the movie. I enjoy it more today than when I was young. And damn, the RoboCop suit was friggin SICK!

"Miscast and underused." Like the Woody Allen line, "The restaurant's food was terrible. And, in such small portions."

I suddenly feel a great concern for The Predator. Also, Robocop 2014's design looks like every wannabe concept artist's sleek-but-blurry photoshop-sketch portfolio, these days. Iconic designs have gone the way of iconic films.

Serve the public trust, Protect the innocent, Uphold the law.

Welp, they are making a new RoboCop movie, but the good news is that they chose Neill Blomkamp to direct, and he's confirmed it will be rated R, which gives me hopes for it

The last two of the four films for me are unwatchable for a second time - but I DID like this miniseries from the late 90's : 'Robocop: Prime Directives'. There's a fan edit of this miniseries on youtube. If you liked the first two - it's worth a look.

Robocop 1 and Terminator 2 will always be the greatest cyborg sci-fi robot movies ever made. They set a standard inspiration for every other movie to follow.

I always refer to the 2014 remake as "Alexcop." Aside from Samuel L. Jackson's character, I don't recall anyone calling the protagonist "Robocop" even once.

It's hard to ignore the massive Judge Dredd influence on the Robocop character, lines etc.

The most ironic is how Robocop 2 changed for Robocop 3... on the second he fights against control, to be himself, to not conform for "the man"... on the 3rd, he is a kid friendly movie... total letdown :(

The original Robocop was definitely one of my all time favourites. This added to my appreciation of it with a good critical reading and very good commentary. Bing! Subscribed. More!

I love the whole 80s technology going on forever look (Robocop, Aliens) is such a look that's timeless and dated at the same time. Big monitors and big computers from the future

I want another new video now from George, you have 10 seconds to comply. My friends call me 'Dave Dogge' ......... you call me 'Sir'.

One of the things I found distractingly bad about the RoboCop remake was how it seemed like they would introduce the central theme of the movie and then immediately resolve it. At least half a dozen times I thought "Oh, that is what they are going to make this movie about; no wait, they just tied that up" The net result is that it ended up being a poorly made stupid action movie that wasn't very entertaining. If it at least says something it could have been enjoyable, but it didn't.

I love how he's self aware of the damn lava lamp, putting it in the intro >.

That isn't exposed flesh around Robocop's mouth. I had a book shortly after the release of Robocop, the Behind Robocop book which showed some of the storyboards and original designs for both Robocop and E.D. 209, in that book the only thing human about Robocop is his brain, what looks like flesh, is a facsimile of Murphy's face, which he even explains in Robocop 2 when he's talking to his former wife, that was made to honor Murphy.

Sir, I don't mean to argue with you, but the Resident Evil corporation is Umbrella Pharmaceuticals. I'll see myself out.

These videos, about how a given film franchise changed over time, are my favorites of your videos. Just a suggestion, but you might consider expanding these to other franchises. On this video in particular, though, I think you ignored (and to be fair, I think most analyses of the Robocop franchise ignores this) the change in the way OCP and its chairman are portrayed from the first film to the second. In the first, OCP as a whole is not clearly evil; Dick Jones is evil, and he's largely running things, but he's still just one man. There is nothing to suggest, for instance, that the Old Man knew about Jones' dealings with Boddicker. And remember, at the end of the first film, the Old Man talks to Murphy as a person: "Nice shootin', son. What's your name?" You don't call a machine son and ask him his name. This is a very different character from the man who says at the end of the second film, "They'll have relatives. They always do." The change to that character changes the movies a lot.

Always love your smartass humor in these

I always thought robocop was originally a toy, that ended up adapted into animated series and movie(s). I only found the movie by accident when going through my dad's ripped VHS collection an even then it didn't click that such gory movie was probably not an adaptation for a toy but the actual source material... My brain just kind of accepted that movie as "the 80's / early 90's" :-D

they change from R rated action hero to a telletubbies market audience

I actually liked the remake and it was interesting to see how the story would be different in an age of terrorism, the war on terror and early cybernetics and i enjoyed the action scenes.

I think that KRS One is a pretty good choice. :D

I think the first movie posses another question of "are we turning into androids and are we being programed by corporation"? That is the whole point of the advertisements and the questionable news on the military(are they using news to program us towards more war).

Robocop was a movie, but everything after that was just taking advantage of the fact that the robot cop looked so damn cool. Subbtext schmubtext, brap brap! You have 15 seconds to comply! Dead or alive you coming with me. etc

the first one was sooooo good; even with the dated effects it still holds up INCREDIBLY well

Every time I see the Otomo a robot, I giggle because my brain immediately associates it with South Park's Awesome-O 4000. lol

Great video. The first robocop is an all time classic, definitely in my top 10 movies ever.

Rumour is that with Robocop 2014 they screwed up with the costume and gun. When they got them back from the manufacturers the idiots didn't make the gun's trigger area large enough so the actor could fire it while wearing the suit's glove. So they just made up the bollocks about his hand surviving the explosion so he could use the gun.

I agree 100%! Your analysis is great, keep up the good work! For me Robocop 2014 indeed was the worst. It was unrealistic CGI nonsense jumping around without regard to physics, combined with awful storyline/scripting, and fancy HUD's used so much, is more of a video game. It breaks any and all immersion I have when watching it. There is literally no depth of character to anyone, no intense moments, no hard decisions to make, no forks in the road. It was the most irrelevant, forgettable, unoriginal piece of shit I've ever watched. There were absolutely no new ideas introduced, just the same recycled crap. Cool, he can search footage up in a database faster than any supercomputer... boring. Cool, he can simulate his jump trajectory...uninspired. Hes a dam machine, we get it. The suit looks like the same crap they pulled in Power Rangers, or any of the other modern remakes. They try too hard to be "modern" or something. The original suit was much more memorable. Even the impact it made was much more believable. Stop motions in the originals were way more convincing, scary, and actually conveyed power through their motion. The new CGI ED's are mediocre at best, and when Robocop is battling them, I just disconnect completely. I could go on, but I think we all agree, it sucked!!

I really enjoyed your thoughts on this movie. Can you see the 2 sides of the coil in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon? Verhoeren did a great job on Starship Trooper too as u said .

People really need to stop believing that shooting RoboCop in the exposed area of his face would do anything. First of all, getting shot in the face doesn't kill you. Getting shot in the mouth doesn't kill you, either. It's the bullet going through the brain that kills, and Murphy's brain is encased in a titanium skull, which is protected by his helmet. If anything, Robo would just spit the bullet back out, and say, "don't do that." But, Terminator already stole that gag.

I agree that the first film is really the only one that matters, I honestly couldn't remember anything about the next 2 until your summary here, and never even bothered with the predictably shit remake. One thing I remember about seeing the original in 1987 was that it was supposed to be notable that future Detroit cops all had to wear body armor on patrol. This was supposed to be a kind of joke about how crappy the future would get. And now here we are with most American cops wearing some kind of armor and every small town and rural county has a SWAT team and a ridiculous arsenal of military weapons and equipment, which they justify by kicking in doors to serve warrants for even minor crimes.

Id love to see you talk about Starship Troopers and its political and social commentary at some point.

Always felt Robocop took a lot from Judge Dredd. Even some of the lines & the half-helm. It's certainly a lot more Dredd than that 'Dredd Stallone' nonsense.

I laughed when you said “At the end of Robocop 3, he says this” and the Ad immediately plays and it was Raid Shadow Legends

R.C.3 DOES feel like a "simplified rip-off." When I first saw it, I was under the presumption that Cinemax had bought the franchise (from an Orion, facing bankruptcy), and produced the third film as a direct to video, and cable, presentation. I made this assesmrent based on the casting, dialogue, and production value alone...