RoboCop 2

Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Belinda Bauer, John Glover, Leeza Gibbons
Directed by: Irvin Kershner
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: RoboCop (Peter Weller) continues his battle against crime, this this time against a drug kingpin and the head of a corrupt corporation.

Review:

Tim: Director Paul Verhoeven steps out, and the quality drops. RoboCop 2 isn't nearly as good as the original. I do believe there was a very strong script by Frank Miller, but rewrites and adjustments to the script decreased the overall effectiveness of the film. The first movie could be watched either at the surface level (action thriller) or as a deeper social commentary (corporate America, greed, violence, the media). RoboCop 2 feels the deeper aspects dried up, leaving us with mostly just surface level meaning. That's a shame.

The story is actually pretty forgettable. We watch as RoboCop fights criminals, battles against corporations who are willing to do anything to maximize profits, and we also have a story about drug dealers. These all weave and intersect together, and I suppose it makes sense, but the various aspects of the story all jumble together in a big of a mess. I have a hard time remembering the different villains and why I should have cared why they were different from the other villains. It all felt like an excuse to have RoboCop do his thing.

I was disappointed to see how various storylines were either forgotten or ignored. At the beginning of the film, we have RoboCop remembering his past life. There's a scene with Alex Murphy's wife, but the movie never gets back to that storyline, leaving us instead wondering why we watched those scenes and what they all meant. The movie feels like it forgets about the quieter, character-driven aspects as it moves toward more action and special effects as the film goes on.

I didn't hate this movie. There's still enough of Frank Miller's original script to keep the audience interested. RoboCop 2 continues some of the themes of the original movie. While this doesn't happen nearly as effectively, we still think about some themes deeper than shooting and violence on occasion, which is appreciated. The movie also features some impressive special effects.

RoboCop 2 isn't a bad movie- it's simply missing something critical to its overall success. Without the direction of Paul Verhoeven, the movie feels shallower and less powerful. The first movie was memorable- we cared about the characters, to a certain degree at least. This movie feels disposable. The story is forgettable and redundant. I wanted more from this film. In conclusion, this movie suffers the typical symptoms of a sequel- not quite as good as the original, marking a clear drop in quality.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: RoboCop, RoboCop 3