RoboCop 2

Director - Irvin Kershner (Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Amazing Stories)
Starring - Peter Weller (Dexter, Naked Lunch), Belinda Bauer (Necronomicon: Book of Dead, Flashdance), and John Glover (Brimstone, In the Mouth of Madness)
Release Date - 1990
Genre - Action/Sci-Fi/Crime
Tagline - "Even in the future of law enforcement there is room for improvement"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     RobocCop 2 is one of those film I like but I never watch it.  I've seen hundreds of films over my lifetime that I watch regularly but for some unknown reason Robocop 2 is a movie I enjoy but I'm never in the mood to watch it.  The first film is among one of my favorite films that I try to watch when I don't have a back catalogue of films to review.  Not long ago my friends over at Scream Factory released the film on blu.  I was excited but was a little disappointed that we didn't get the first film from them as well.  I never look into who owns the rights to what film so I know it was a legal situation as to why they didn't release the first film but the release gave me the perfect reason to watch the first film and revisit this one after all these years.  Thank you Scream Factory for sending it my way!

     The film once again follows Officer Murphy, aka RoboCop, who is trying his best to clean up Old Detroit.  A new drug is taking over the streets known as Nuke and is being made and distributed by crime kingpin Kane (Tom Noonan).  His creators, OCP, are working on a new and improved RoboCop and when Murphy brings down Kane they are able to get their hands on his brain which is still addicted to Nuke.  He does OCP's dirty work but when he is presented with an opportunity for Nuke he turns on his creators forcing the original RoboCop to stop him.

     I watched Robocop 2 several times over the years but never really liked it like I should.  Now, where I'm a lot older I actually appreciate it as a sequel a lot more than I did.  The film is not as good as the original but it should not be ignored.  The acting in this one is great.  Once again Peter Weller delivers a great performance as RoboCop.  He does a great job at seeming emotionless and calculated which is what really makes Robocop so much fun.  I really enjoy watching his inner turmoil as he learns what it means to be a human again.  I really enjoyed Tom Noonan's performance.  Most horror fans known him as Frankenstein's Monster in The Monster Squad.  He is an amazing actor and sadly, that film does not showcase his on camera abilities.  RoboCop 2 does just that and shows how talented Noonan really is.  On a side note, if you want to be really disgusted and terrified look for Noonan in the Law and Order: Special Victim's Unit episode Confession.  One of his best performances yet.   The supporting cast is great as well which really helps sale a story we pretty much got in the first film.  The story is more or less the same as what we got in the first film except the bad robot at the end has a backstory.  It is a lot more real and down to Earth than the first film especially after adding the drug angle.  It makes it a little more real and a lot easier to follow.  Some of the characters are poorly written or don't need to be there at all but the overall film is written very well.  Finally, this one has a few on screen kills but no where near the gore the first film has.  The effects are great.  We get a lot of practical effects and few computer generated but these were few and far in between.  The biggest disappointment is the lack of blood and imagination when it comes to the kills.  Overall, RoboCop 2 is a very worth sequel to one of my favorite 80s films.  It may not be horror but horror fans can greatly appreciate the film for what it is.  Check it out if you haven't.