RoboCop

A cyborg police officer (Peter Weller) cleans up the streets of a near-future Detroit.

RoboCop is a manic hodge-podge of over-the-top violence, cartoon sci-fi, and biting satire. For most of the film, director Paul Verhoeven juggles these disparate aspects with a magician’s ease, making us laugh and cringe at the very same scene.

Peter Weller does a great job, not only as the cybernetic hero, but also as a human police officer in the film’s opening act. While he doesn’t have much to do for the rest of the film, short of stomp around and execute bad guys, he does define a character that would spawn numerous sequels.

Granted, the third act looses most of its satirical edge as it veers dangerously close to cartoon territory, but thankfully the movie is over before you really notice.