The latest installment in the Robocop series
presented to you on DVD by Columbia Tri-star is the tale of Omni Consumer Products (OCP)
the multi-billion dollar multi-nation conglomerate that designed Robocop, has now
foreclosed on the bankrupt city of Detroit. The company under Japanese ownership is
planning to demolish one of the city's largest and poorest neighborhoods in preparation
for the construction of "New Detroit", the gleaming city of the future. To clear
the area of residents the company has hired group of ruthless mercenaries to
"evict" the tenants, forcefully if necessary. Robocop
who is sworn to protect the innocent finds himself battling the mercenaries and joining a
group of urban rebels fighting to keep their homes. Drivel, absolute drivel is how I would describe this movie, easily the worst
installment to date. This time the metal man is played by Robert John Burke and not the
usual Peter Weller and the bad guys have the services of Otomo, an android Ninja. Watch
out, Robo sleek Otomo's sword can slice through RoboCop like a can opener, Not to worry
though RoboCop gets a special flight jacket that makes it possible for him to leap tall
buildings in a single bound....see I told you absolute drivel. Unless you are a big, big
fan of the Robocop series why you'd otherwise want to sit through 101 long, long
minutes of this below B grade film where Robocop must once again defy his superiors in the
police department (and OCP) in order to restore justice in the city and in the process he
must once again again reconcile his mission with his past memories as a human.
Most of the film borders on the laughable. The gang that
terrorizes the city, dubbed the "splatterpunks," is
eventually recruited by the villainous police commander to battle Detroit citizens and
cops alike, which stretches the bounds of what is truly ludicrous. A word about the
special effects: while most of them are adequate, there are some scenes featuring an
airborne Robocop that are absolutely laughable, it makes Christopher Reeve in the Superman
cloak look realistic!!
So How Does This Transfer Hold Up??
VIDEO
Okay enough bashing of Robocop, has Columbia Tri-star gone all out to present you a great
DVD. Well sort of, the transfer is anamorphic and framed at 1.85:1. It is generally clean
and free of film artifacts. I found the colours however to be drab and flat looking, the
transfer had a kind of a two dimensional feel to it. It has that B grade look and feel ,
which is adequate as it's suits the movie. It is also quite soft looking at times, but hey
when you watch the film I don't think the video quality will worry you, more the film's
content.
AUDIO
Another clue as to budget of the film makers is the fact that the film does not contain a
Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, rather a Pro Logic two channel one. This again is typical
and besides a digital track would have been wasted. That said, it is fairly ordinary, my
subwoofer fell asleep, the surrounds went on holidays and the mains barely got out of bed.
A demo DVD this is not.
EXTRAS
Extras only include a trailer, which is thankful, although a documentary on
how they made this would have been good as I could have done with a good laugh.
Thankfully or hopefully Robocop 3 appears to be the last installment made with none of the
original characters left. If you like the film then get the DVD, if you have not seen it
well half your luck.
| PICTURE QUALITY |
6/10 |
| SOUND QUALITY |
5/10 |
| FEATURES |
2/10 |
Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T43W1 (16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Toshiba 2109 Region Free
Receiver: Yamaha RXV995
Speakers:-
Fronts: Polk Audio RT55
Centre: Polk Audio CS350
Rears: Polk Audio AB705's
Subby: M&K V125
- Reviewed 3rd January 2000
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