The first Robocop is a really fun movie. It slows down a little now and then, but it’s delightfully satirical, violent, and it has some real thought put into it. Paul Verhoven wanted to put more time into developing the sequel, but Orion wanted to rush right into it. The result is that there’s a story that could have been good, and still hits a few interesting notes, but it misses a lot of things that the story really needed. Robocop doesn’t have an arc. He has one thing that he has to overcome, he does it, then he fights the bad guy. In fact, none of the characters seem to have arcs. Maybe Hob does, but that’s a little hard to tell.
An effort is made to retain some of the surreal commercial elements that sprinkle the original movie, but the ones that appear here seem to be mostly irrelevant. They appear as bumpers, but they don’t provide any useful information - or even useful cultural information. (To be fair, the opening with the car alarm system is pretty fun, and it does establish tone, but the other one(s) are just padding.)
There are a few improvements. Most of the effects shots are a bit more interesting, and they do a decent job of using them. There’s a bigger cast.
The bad stuff… Detroit is portrayed as such a hellhole, it seems like there’s no purpose in attempting to police it. There’s no one worth protecting. This idea is pushed so hard that it’s hard to feel like there was any point. When there’s only crime, and no innocent civilians… there doesn’t seem to be a use for Robocop. The story is enjoyable, but it doesn’t leave much space for character development. The primary villain, Cain, is supposed to be an interesting villain, but he doesn’t get a chance to do much to define himself, except take drugs, and occasionally deliver some pseudo-philosophy about drugs and mankind.
The body count is much higher in this movie. And yet, it’s meaningless. The especially violent sequences in Robocop were effective because of the context. Here, they seem like they’re just being included for the sake of trying to up the action.
But I didn’t leave this feeling like it was a terrible movie. It’s flawed, and seriously so, but it’s still enjoyable enough for a single viewing.
One little thing that I’m not sure about. I know that the costume for Robocop was made of lighter material, and he was able to move around better. But it was strange. It had a blueish tint, and it seemed bulkier, especially around the torso. Sometimes, his movements looked weird or comical. I think I preferred the thinner, more chrome look of the first movie.
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