Revealing 20 Little-Known Facts On The Robocop Movies
From Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop (1987) starring Peter Weller and penned by Edward Neumeier, the 1990 sequel Robocop 2 helmed by The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner and co-starring Tom Noonan, to the financially disappointing 1993 film Robocop 3 and the CGI-heavy 2014 reboot, the Robocop film series has been wowing audiences for over 35 years. Although technically only the first three movies are part of a series, it would be short-sighted of us not to include the more recent reboot, the biggest budgeted Robocop film of all.
Below we discover some interesting cinematic landmarks all four films in the Robocop series have been involved in.
Below we discover some interesting cinematic landmarks all four films in the Robocop series have been involved in.
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Robocop Film Series 1: Robocop (1987)
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Directed by Paul Verhoeven.
The first instalment in the Robocop film series sees Frankenstein’s monster given a badge and a gun in a bombastic futuristic action drama satire where brutal justice sweeps across the streets of a crime-riddled dystopian Detroit. The 1980s proved to be a golden age for big action science fiction movies, with many films of the era such as Blade Runner (1982), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), Aliens (1986), Predator (1987) and of course Robocop’s spiritual partner, The Terminator (1984), still garnering critical acclaim to this day. Although somewhat aesthetically dated, there is much for a new audience to still enjoy thematically, with questions regarding machine intrusion into our lives being more relevant than ever.
Despite how different our ideas of tech have progressed since the release of Robocop, the look of the bulky Robocop costume and Peter Weller’s slow, staccato movements still effectively telegraph a pleasingly believable robotic character, even if it isn’t one we would expect to see in any future from our current day perspective. While the themes of poverty, murderous Yuppies and the American military industrial complex may not now be as en vogue with films as they were with the sci-fi of the 80s, they are sadly still highly reflective of current affairs, perhaps even more pertinently so than ever. As a result, this first Robocop movie should really resonate with an audience experiencing extreme right wing politics, financial hardships, and issues of authoritarianism and technology, even if they don’t much care for the over-the-top gun violence and cheesy 80s notions of street criminals. |
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5 Fast Film Facts About Robocop (1987)
5. With a nod to Star Wars’ C3PO and Metropolis’ Maria robot, Robocop suit designer Rob Bottin used urethane, fibreglass and spandex to create the impressive futuristic apparel which initially took the actor up to 10 hours to don. Although visually stunning, the outfit wasn’t always practical, one issue being that the fully costumed performer could not fit in the black spray-painted Ford Taurus being used as Robocop’s car. In order to get shots of the cyborg driving, the bottom half of the costume would have to be omitted – so whenever you see scenes of Robocop’s car being driven in the film the actor isn’t wearing any pants!
4. Robocop actor Peter Weller spent 7 months conceiving a quick dance-like serpentine movement for his character. When he finally got on set and wore the cumbersome costume for the first time however, he found he would be lucky to be able to move at all. Production had to be briefly halted while he developed a new, slower, staccato movement for the character.
3. The Robocop movies aren’t shy of big, explosive action scenes. Actors Kurtwood Smith (Clarence Boddicker) and Ray Wise (Leon Nash) found themselves in receipt of bonus pay for unintentional stunt work after some pyrotechnics ignited much closer to them than they would have liked.
2. Combining pumped-up action and plenty of horror gore, the original Robocop is certainly not for children or those sensitive to onscreen violence. So gruesome were some scenes that the film had to be submitted to the MPAA (Motion Picture Association) TWELVE times before enough violence had been cut out to warrant an R rating for distribution.
1. Part of a minor publicity event in the 80s, a photo of former President Richard Nixon meeting Robocop would circulate the internet years later with its origins shrouded in mystery. Eventually, in 2013 some curious journalists would unearth the roots of the photo – In order to promote the VHS video release of the original Robocop film Tricky Dicky Nixon was paid $25,000 to ‘meet’ the eponymous cyborg (it was not Peter Weller in the suit) at a charity event for the Boys and Girls Club. He then donated his salary to the charity.
4. Robocop actor Peter Weller spent 7 months conceiving a quick dance-like serpentine movement for his character. When he finally got on set and wore the cumbersome costume for the first time however, he found he would be lucky to be able to move at all. Production had to be briefly halted while he developed a new, slower, staccato movement for the character.
3. The Robocop movies aren’t shy of big, explosive action scenes. Actors Kurtwood Smith (Clarence Boddicker) and Ray Wise (Leon Nash) found themselves in receipt of bonus pay for unintentional stunt work after some pyrotechnics ignited much closer to them than they would have liked.
2. Combining pumped-up action and plenty of horror gore, the original Robocop is certainly not for children or those sensitive to onscreen violence. So gruesome were some scenes that the film had to be submitted to the MPAA (Motion Picture Association) TWELVE times before enough violence had been cut out to warrant an R rating for distribution.
1. Part of a minor publicity event in the 80s, a photo of former President Richard Nixon meeting Robocop would circulate the internet years later with its origins shrouded in mystery. Eventually, in 2013 some curious journalists would unearth the roots of the photo – In order to promote the VHS video release of the original Robocop film Tricky Dicky Nixon was paid $25,000 to ‘meet’ the eponymous cyborg (it was not Peter Weller in the suit) at a charity event for the Boys and Girls Club. He then donated his salary to the charity.
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Robocop Film Series: Robocop 2 (1990)
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Directed by Irvin Kershner.
Cyborg copper Alex Murphy contends with an impish child, the spread of a drug called ‘Nuke’ and a murderous junkie’s brain in a robot suit in the second of the Robocop movies. Due to a striking police force he is the only officer in Detroit that’s on duty, so must resolve it all on his own. The law of sequels prevails for Robocop 2 – Make it like the first film but BIGGER. A larger budget, a lot more bullets firing, the protagonist is stronger, the villain more powerful, explosions everywhere. Hell, even the satire is broader! Of course most film fans will know that adding steroids to a movie does not necessarily make it better.
Getting left by the wayside in all this ‘upgrading’ however, is the character of Robocop himself, or rather his human element, Alex Murphy. The original Robocop movie expertly laid out his journey from man to machine and back again, but Robocop 2 finds no way to further this, so after a few nods to his humanity, largely ignores it, leaving us with an protagonist who just seems to be doing his job as a law enforcement officer and little else. Fortunately, there is still plenty to be entertained by in Robocop 2, chiefly action spectacles flavoured by beautiful stop motion animation, and a tone of satire that complements its grotesque schoolboy humour. For a 21st century audience the themes of union strikes and an epidemic societal drug problem make the writing of Robocop 2 seem almost portent. |
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5 Fast Film Facts About Robocop 2 (1990)
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5. The song ‘The Kid Goes Wild’ by glam metal band Babylon AD features on the soundtrack to Robocop 2. Traditionally, music videos of the era would simply feature clips from the movie, but this promo for the second of the Robocop movies took a slightly different approach. As well as using footage from the film, the music video features specially filmed unique shots of Robocop, plus new material with cast member Gabriel Damon (Hob).
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4. Although he would live for another 20 years and direct the pilot episode of Steven Spielberg’s TV series Seaquest DSV, the movie Robocop 2 would be director Irvin Kershner’s final film. His previous big budget action projects included Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and the ‘unofficial’ James Bond film which saw Sean Connery’s final outing as the famous spy, Never Say Never Again (1983).
3. Story writer Frank Miller makes a cameo in the movie as the chemist developing the ‘Nuke’ drug. So radically different is the final cut of the film from his original proposal that in 2003 he worked with Avatar Press to release a 9 part Frank Miller version of Robocop 2 comic series.
2. Although undisclosed, some estimate Robocop 2 to have had the largest budget of the 3 original Robocop movies. While the bigger spend helped the film achieve almost $46 million at the box office, the number is somewhat disappointing when considering it was short $5 million of what its less expensive predecessor managed.
1. A major plot point of the film Robocop 2 is the city of Detroit filing for bankruptcy. Considered a fantastical and somewhat absurd idea when the movie was released in 1990, the film re-entered public attention in July 2013 when the city of Detroit really did declare itself bankrupt. According to the New York Times it was ‘the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history’.
3. Story writer Frank Miller makes a cameo in the movie as the chemist developing the ‘Nuke’ drug. So radically different is the final cut of the film from his original proposal that in 2003 he worked with Avatar Press to release a 9 part Frank Miller version of Robocop 2 comic series.
2. Although undisclosed, some estimate Robocop 2 to have had the largest budget of the 3 original Robocop movies. While the bigger spend helped the film achieve almost $46 million at the box office, the number is somewhat disappointing when considering it was short $5 million of what its less expensive predecessor managed.
1. A major plot point of the film Robocop 2 is the city of Detroit filing for bankruptcy. Considered a fantastical and somewhat absurd idea when the movie was released in 1990, the film re-entered public attention in July 2013 when the city of Detroit really did declare itself bankrupt. According to the New York Times it was ‘the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history’.
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Robocop Film Series: Robocop 3 (1993)
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Directed by Fred Dekker.
Robocop interferes in the gentrification of Detroit into Delta city, part of Omni Consumer Products plans to monopolise all their markets. Ninja androids try to stop the cyborg, who now has a jet pack. It isn’t that Robocop 3 is wanting for imagination; there are plenty of ideas and new action elements (robo-ninjas, flying cyborgs) to deliver plenty more of the same but different Robocop adventures to an eager audience. The problem is that it has made a tonal shift towards a younger demographic, and one that feels contrived by focus group at that – ‘My kid loves Robocop, why does it have to be R rated?’, ‘You know what would be great for the toy line is if we gave Robocop a jet pack!’, ‘Those fighting turtles are popular with children, why don’t we add some ninjas?’ etc.
While much of the first two original Robocop movies can be described as cartoon-like due to their over-the-top violence, villainy and even at times humour, Robocop 3 amps it up to eleven. Gone are dark cyberpunk action scenes where limbs and genitals get blown away, and in are the prat-falling child-friendly oafish criminals and moustache twirling bad guys. To its merit, and paradoxically its detriment, the film does raise some interesting issues regarding poverty and gentrification, but never really explores them. As the protagonist decides to turn against his bosses to help the needy (mostly impoverished families) Robocop the character, and Robocop the film, are seen to have heart - something which obliterates all remaining ‘edge’ it may have had left. Robocop 3 is a film that pulls its punches, teasing the audience without ever delivering on promises. |
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​​5 Fast Film Facts About Robocop 3 (1993)
5. Ultimately bringing in only $10.6 million at the box office, tragically the film Robocop 3 failed to make back even half of its $22 million budget. A new family-friendly approach to the franchise along with a change of star and a delayed release are all likely contributing factors to the poor financial performance.
4. Unhappy with the previous film, original Robocop actor Peter Weller declined to reprise his role for Robocop 3. Instead, the third Robocop movie would feature Robert John Burke as the law-enforcing cyborg. In the Robocop TV series that would follow soon after, the character would be portrayed by Richard Eden.
3. Production of Robocop 3 was completed in time for a summer 1992 release, but the film would be shelved for a year while Orion Pictures dealt with bankruptcy. Although seen by a Japanese audience in April 1993, an American distribution wouldn’t happen until November of that year. It would be June 1994 before Robocop 3 was available in the UK, a full 2 years after it was completed.
2. Director Fred Dekker had helmed cult classic The Monster Squad (1987) before turning his hand to one of the Robocop movies. He would continue to work in the film industry as a writer and producer, but save for the comedy short Dent (2020) based on the play by Don O. Knowlton, Dekker would not direct another major motion picture after Robocop 3. He would later go on to develop a story for the Predator franchise with fellow director Shane Black.
1. In Portugal the film was released as Robocop 3: Outlaw.
4. Unhappy with the previous film, original Robocop actor Peter Weller declined to reprise his role for Robocop 3. Instead, the third Robocop movie would feature Robert John Burke as the law-enforcing cyborg. In the Robocop TV series that would follow soon after, the character would be portrayed by Richard Eden.
3. Production of Robocop 3 was completed in time for a summer 1992 release, but the film would be shelved for a year while Orion Pictures dealt with bankruptcy. Although seen by a Japanese audience in April 1993, an American distribution wouldn’t happen until November of that year. It would be June 1994 before Robocop 3 was available in the UK, a full 2 years after it was completed.
2. Director Fred Dekker had helmed cult classic The Monster Squad (1987) before turning his hand to one of the Robocop movies. He would continue to work in the film industry as a writer and producer, but save for the comedy short Dent (2020) based on the play by Don O. Knowlton, Dekker would not direct another major motion picture after Robocop 3. He would later go on to develop a story for the Predator franchise with fellow director Shane Black.
1. In Portugal the film was released as Robocop 3: Outlaw.
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Robocop Film Series 4: Robocop (Remake 2014)
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Directed by Jose Padila.
A cop suffers an existential crisis after he becomes a cyborg and finds himself the pawn of a greedy corporation determined to open a market for military hardware on American soil. In some ways the Robocop remake ticks all the boxes fans want from a rebooting of the original Robocop – a dialogue on man vs machine, political satire and big action sequences. In other ways, it fails – the film seems afraid of veering too far away from the humanity of its protagonist to be able to have a serious exploration of the matter, the political social commentary is muddy, and the action scenes lack any of the humour or charm which make them memorable in the original Robocop.
The satirical TV ads of the original Robocop (perhaps difficult to recreate for impact in an age rife with memes) have cleverly been replaced with the occasional interjection of Samuel L. Jackson’s Tucker Carlson style news commentator character, aggressively using the media to plant ideas in the heads of his viewers under the guise of questions. While it may be an interesting updated version of the concept, it seems to take much longer to say anything than was managed in the swift wit of the ads of the original. It might not be as trashy or dumb as some other action flicks, but the Robocop remake takes itself too seriously in trying to deliver an unclear message, which paired with its lack of a sense of fun makes it much harder for an audience to forgive such failings. |
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5 Fast Film Facts About Robocop (Remake 2014)
5. While bearing a close resemblance to mega-corporation OCP from the original film, the logo design of OmniCorp, the titular character’s manufacturer in the Robocop remake, is virtually identical to that of Carolco Pictures, an American film production company that went out of business in 1996. Oddly enough, they did not make the original Robocop movies.
4. Including uncredited parts and excluding TV work, Robocop (2014) marks actor Michael Keaton’s 40th film role. It is his 27th movie since wearing the Bat suit for Batman Returns (1992) and 19th picture since appearing with Robocop remake co-star Samuel L. Jackson in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown (1997).
3. Drawing in almost $243 million at the box office means that the Robocop remake is the most lucrative of all the Robocop movies. The achievement is somewhat tarnished by the fact the estimated budget was in the area of $120 million, and that domestically it grossed less than half that large cost back.
2. Due to the escalating budget, which jumped from an initial $60 million to an estimated $120, the studio insisted that director Jose Padilha make the film suitable for under 13s – opening it up to a broader audience was perceived as the best method for recouping its costs. As a result, the ‘family-friendly’ violence of the Robocop remake is in stark contrast with the extreme and gross action that added to the charm of the original Robocop (1987).
1. In Lithuania the film was titled The Robot Cop.
4. Including uncredited parts and excluding TV work, Robocop (2014) marks actor Michael Keaton’s 40th film role. It is his 27th movie since wearing the Bat suit for Batman Returns (1992) and 19th picture since appearing with Robocop remake co-star Samuel L. Jackson in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown (1997).
3. Drawing in almost $243 million at the box office means that the Robocop remake is the most lucrative of all the Robocop movies. The achievement is somewhat tarnished by the fact the estimated budget was in the area of $120 million, and that domestically it grossed less than half that large cost back.
2. Due to the escalating budget, which jumped from an initial $60 million to an estimated $120, the studio insisted that director Jose Padilha make the film suitable for under 13s – opening it up to a broader audience was perceived as the best method for recouping its costs. As a result, the ‘family-friendly’ violence of the Robocop remake is in stark contrast with the extreme and gross action that added to the charm of the original Robocop (1987).
1. In Lithuania the film was titled The Robot Cop.
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Quick-Fire FAQs About The Robocop Film Series
How many Robocop films are there?
There are 4 movies in the Robocop film series, three of which are part of a continuation, and one Robocop remake. The original Robocop movies ran from 1987 to 1993. The Robocop remake was released in 2014.
Was Arnold Schwarzenegger supposed to be Robocop?
Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the role of Robocop, as were several other actors during development of the original Robocop movies. Schwarzenegger did not take the part however, fearing that he would be typecast into playing cyborgs. The role eventually went to Peter Weller.
Is Robocop a hero or a villain?
Police officer Alex Murphy is a typical ‘hero-type’ cop in the Detroit Police Department before he is cybernetically-enhanced and given the name Robocop. Although the prime directives of Robocop are to ‘serve the public trust’, ‘protect the innocent’ and ‘uphold the law’, his questionable methods for enforcing law, and the fact that these beliefs were programed into him rather than being part of his own free will mean his hero-status is a little murky.
Is Robocop 2014 a remake?
The Robocop remake made in 2014 directed by Jose Padilha is a reboot of the 1987 Robocop movie directed by Paul Verhoeven, and is not a direct continuation of the original Robocop movies that were produced in the late 80s and early 90s. It is the fourth film in the Robocop franchise, but not, narratively speaking, the fourth film in the series.
What year is Robocop set in?
The original Robocop film series begins in the year 2043, while the Robocop remake takes place in the year 2028.
What does OCP stand for in Robocop?
In the Robocop film series OCP is short for Omni Consumer Products, a corporation so large that it produces virtually all types of goods possibly needed by American consumers, and has plans to develop an entire city.
Is there a Robocop 4?
Although there are 4 Robocop movies, there is currently no ‘Robocop 4’ as the fourth film made is a remake rather than a continuing narrative of the first three films. A fifth Robocop movie is currently in development (titled Robocop Returns), and although it is supposed to be a sequel to the original Robocop, it is not yet clear if it will be Robocop 4, or if it will usurp Robocop 2 and Robocop 3 in the series timeline.
Is Robocop a part of Marvel?
The Robocop franchise is not part of Marvel, although they were licensed to produce some Robocop comics in the 90s. If you are looking for 80s Marvel fun, then we suggest you check out this film.
Before You Go...
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Another great science fiction film series that had an impact in the 1980s is The Thing, and we explore all the movies in our next article:
Exploring 'The Thing' Film Series
Also Worth Checking Out
Want more dystopian futures? Revisiting Fahrenheit 451
Want to explore a dystopian alternative timeline... with superheroes? Watchmen: Human Bean Juice
Want to see cowboys and aliens slugging it out? Cowboys & Aliens
