Among all the gritty action movies of the 1980s that featured big men with big muscles, a new hero emerged in 1987 to take the world by storm. Part man, part machine, and all cop, he was the saving grace of a futuristic Detroit on the brink of social and financial collapse. Showing no mercy to criminals and urging kids to stay out of trouble, his name was Robocop, and he spawned an entire franchise of movies that are hitting free streaming tomorrow, July 1.
Per Tubi, all three Robocop films will be available to watch for free in just a matter of hours, so you can relive all the fun, excitement and violence of the original trilogy, even if Robocop 2 and Robocop 3 paled in comparison to the first movie. As perhaps one of the most quotable films ever made, Robocop went on to be regarded as one of the greatest sci-fi action films in history, and rightfully so, as director Paul Verhoeven blended satire and social commentary to create a bold and surprisingly emotional movie that still holds up nearly 40 years later.
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That being said, perhaps the most shocking thing of all about Robocop is how it was treated by critics when it hit theaters in 1987, as responses to the graphically violent film were overwhelmingly positive. You’d think that a movie of this ilk would be slammed by pundits for being nothing more than a derivative waste of celluloid (as a lot of 80s action films were), but surprisingly enough, they were able to catch on to what Verhoeven was trying to say, and praised Robocop’s dark humor and themes of corporate greed, desensitization, and identity. The late Roger Ebert even went so far as to call the film a “thriller with a difference,” which is high praise coming from him.
‘Robocop 2’ and ‘Robocop 3’ Never Measured Up to the First Movie
Orion Pictures
Earning $53 million at the box office against a budget of around $14 million, the original Robocop wasn’t only a hit in theaters, but it exploded onto the home video market in early 1988, raking in an additional $28 million in VHS sales. Orion Pictures wasn’t about to bring its cash cow to the slaughter, so in 1990, Robocop 2 hit the big screen, but, sadly, Irvin Kershner’s (The Empire Strikes Back) sequel ended up being a confusing mess that focused more on the violence than the sharp social commentary that made the original so good. Though, admittedly, the film does have its fans.
Then there was Robocop 3 in 1993. What can we say about this one that hasn’t already been said? It was just an awful movie that had no chance to succeed thanks to its PG-13 rating and the loss of Peter Weller in the lead. Directed by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad), this one was all over the place in terms of its tone, and featured Robocop using a jetpack and fighting ninja androids. That right there tells you how desperate Orion was to hold onto its dwindling franchise by throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, but it just didn’t work. Afterward, Robocop laid all but dormant save for a few attempts to revive him on TV until the 2014 reboot came along, but we won’t speak of that one here.
Still, despite its flawed sequels, Robocop holds a special place in the hearts of fans around the globe, and is still one of those movies that you can watch over and over again, no matter how many times you’ve seen it. You can check it out once more when the entire trilogy makes its way to Tubi tomorrow, July 1.
Source: Tubi
Release Date
July 17, 1987
Runtime
102 Minutes
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