PopHorror Let's Get Scared
One time when I was in middle school my younger cousin and I were sick and stayed home from school. He was obsessed with seeing RoboCop, so my mom rented it for us to watch while we were trying to get over the colds that we had. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite what either one of us expected and we were a little disappointed by it (I’m not exactly sure what either one of us was expecting, but we were both underwhelmed by it).
Fast forward a couple of years later and RoboCop 2 was released. I ended up going to see it with some friends one night, but I went into it not expecting a lot since I wasn’t that into the first movie. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was however and ended up really enjoying it a lot. I watched it again recently and hoped that it held up and was as good as I remembered it being.
So, did I end up enjoying it now as much as I did then or did it end up being one of those movies that you love as a kid but then don’t care for when you’re older? Keep reading to find out…
Synopsis
As Robocop stays busy protecting the citizens of Old Detroit from the usual crimes and bad guys plaguing the city he finds himself up against a new and dangerous threat in the form of Robocop 2, a terrifying robot powered by the brain of a deranged drug addicted criminal named Cain.
Peter Weller (Naked Lunch) returns in the title role. The film was directed by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back).
While some people won’t agree with me, I think that RoboCop 2 is far superior to the original film. There is a lot going on in this sequel, and I had a blast watching it again. It held up extremely well, and I think that I might have even dug it more now than I did when I first saw it back in the day. It’s fun, violent, full of awesome action, has some wonderful dark humor, and features a fantastic villain that will terrify anyone who is scared of robots like I am (Brr…robots).
The plot is interesting and a lot of fun. Picking up years after the original film RoboCop is still on duty doing his best to make his city the best city it can be. Unknow to him though, some of the folks at OCP have decided that they wanted a newer and better version of RoboCop patrolling the streets. After several failed attempts they decide to put the brain of a psychotic drug lord who is hooked on the drug NUKE into the new model, and things turn out as about as well as you would expect when you put the mind of a crazed killer into the body of a big scary robot. Of course, it’s up to RoboCop to step in and save the day by taking down this horrifying monster once and for all.
This movie is just an awesome sci-fi/action flick that is guaranteed to satisfy any fans of both genres. It’s exciting, bloody, and legit scary at times and I had a blast watching it again. I love the plot and think that it works for several reasons, with one of those reasons being that Robocop has a dangerous antagonist that is just as powerful (or even more powerful) as he is that could potentially tear him to shreds.
One of the main reasons I wasn’t into the first film was because I felt like it lacked a powerful adversary for RoboCop to battle, but this is definitely remedied in this film as RoboCop 2 proves to be a tough villain that can give our hero a run for his money. Sure, the human villains in the first film work to an extent, and ED-209 is terrifying and gave him a rough time in their battle, but RoboCop 2 would wipe the floor with all of them easily as he is that dangerous.
In addition to a great plot, this movie also has a fantastic cast. Weller is awesome as RoboCop, and I think he just does a better job in the role this time around in general. Nancy Allen (Dressed to Kill, Against the Law) also does an equally great job as RoboCop’s partner and sort of love interest, and the two have a wonderful chemistry that just works and makes their relationship believable.
Tom Noonan (The Monster Squad, The House of the Devil) is awesome as usual here as the Cain and arguably steals the show with his performance. My favorite character though, is without a doubt the Old Man, who is played perfectly by the always cool Dan O’Herlihy (Halloween III: Season of the Witch, The Last Starfighter) as he owns every scene he is in and is just a character you can’t help but like even though he is a bad guy. O’Herlihy chews up the scenery like nobody’s business here and it is obvious that he had a blast playing the part. I think that everyone in the cast did an extraordinary job, and helped make this movie as enjoyable as it is.
As you can probably tell, I dig RoboCop 2 a lot. I think that it is just a fun movie with some likable characters (even if some of them are bad guys), some excellent action scenes, and a truly terrifying villain that I consider to be pure nightmare fuel since I am scared to death of robots. I also love the dark humor (the scene where they showed the failed Robocop 2 prototypes is hilarious and the Old Man’s reaction to the last one is priceless) and think that it works and doesn’t feel forced. If you are in the mood for an awesome sci-fi/action flick with some horror and comedy thrown in for good measure, then you are sure to love this film as much as I do. In my humble opinion, it is the perfect example of a sequel being superior to the original film.
