RoboCop 3 (1993) Orion/Sci-Fi-Action RT: 104 minutes Rated PG-13 (language, violence, child in peril, frightening moments) Director: Fred Dekker Screenplay: Frank Miller and Fred Dekker Music: Basil Poledouris Cinematography: Gary B. Kibbe Release date: November 5, 1993 (US) Cast: Robert John Burke, Nancy Allen, Rip Torn, John Castle, Jill Hennessy, Mako, C.C.H. Pounder, Remy Ryan, Mako, Daniel von Bargen, Stephen Root, Robert DoQui, Felton Perry, Bradley Whitford, Jodi Long, John Posey. Box Office: $10.6M (US)/$47M (World)
Rating: ** ½
In this case, the third time is more harm than charm.
There are three things indicating all is not right with RoboCop 3. First, the three-quel carries a PG-13 rating instead of an R like its predecessors. The producers decided to tone down the trademark graphic violence and make a more kid-friendly RoboCop movie by having him bond with an orphaned child, 8YO Nikko (Ryan, Monkey Trouble). I guess it’s supposed to tug at the heart strings or something. Whatever, it’s totally out of character for the metallic wonder.
Second, Peter Weller does not reprise his role as the title character. He was busy on another project and couldn’t do it. He’s replaced by Robert John Burke who bears more than a passing resemblance to Weller. I noticed it the first saw I laid eyes on him in the independent film The Unbelievable Truth, his film debut. He doesn’t do a terrible job; it’s just not the same without the OG.
Third, RoboCop 3 was supposed to come out in summer ’92, but got pulled from the schedule due to financial problems at Orion. It went unreleased for 18 months before seeing the inside of movie theaters. Such was the fate of several Orion projects that sat in limbo after the studio declared bankruptcy in late ’91. The studio eventually got itself squared away and started releasing delayed titles like Love Field, Blue Sky, Clifford and RoboCop 3.
Directed by Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad), RoboCop 3 is the weakest entry in the series, but it’s surprisingly watchable nonetheless. It has a few good action scenes and the plot isn’t too bad. However, it’s missing one of the key components of the RoboCop movies, social satire. No bogus commercials, no commentary on the media, NOTHING. What’s left is a somewhat standard sci-fi-actioner.
Since we last visited futuristic Detroit, OCP has been taken over by a Japanese corporation whose CEO Kanemitsu (Mako, Conan the Barbarian) wants to go forward with the Delta City project. It would require the involuntary removal (they call it “relocation”) of the residents of Cadillac Heights. The police aren’t on board with this plan of action so the company sends their own private security force, the “Rehabs”, to handle the operation. Led by the fascist McDaggett (Castle, The Lion in Winter), they’re more like a Nazi army.
Among the citizens that get relocated are little Nikko’s parents. They get taken away right in front of the girl leaving her alone to fend for herself. Luckily, she’s taken in by Bertha (Pounder, End of Days), the leader of the resistance against OCP.
One night, RoboCop and his partner Anne Lewis (Allen, Blow Out) find themselves on the wrong side of the law when they try to defend civilians in a church from McDaggett and his goon squad. Lewis is shot and killed. RoboCop can’t do anything because of that pesky fourth directive, the one that doesn’t allow him to arrest or harm any OCP executive. Consequently, he joins the resistance fighters after he’s fixed up by former OCP scientist Dr. Lazarus (Hennessy, Law & Order).
RoboCop certainly has his work cut out for him this time. It’s a shame that the screenwriters didn’t provide a better script. What’s even more disappointing is the studio once again rejected most of co-writer Frank Miller’s ideas, just like they did with RoboCop 2. He subsequently gave up on Hollywood and focused his efforts on comics until he returned to do Sin City in 2005.
RoboCop 3 comes the closest to being an all-out exploitation flick. It has some cool OTT ideas like the robot ninjas, the “Otomo”, sent by Kanemitsu to deal with RoboCop. Yeah, like that’s going to work. There’s also a gang of “splatter punks” terrorizing the good citizens of Detroit. They look like extras from The Road Warrior (1981). Additionally, RoboCop is given an upgrade of sorts, a jet-pack that enables him to fly around like the Rocketeer. It’s silly, but do you really expect realism from a movie like RoboCop 3? I certainly hope not. Besides, the makers had to find something to fill the void left by the removal of graphic bloody violence.
All things considered, I suppose RoboCop 3 isn’t all that bad of a movie. Some of it is fun in a dopey sort of way. There’s still plenty of action, violence and mayhem on display. The climax is a huge street battle between the Rehabs and the resistance joined by Detroit PD. It’s cool, but it doesn’t make up for the loss of the original’s satirical edge. The acting is about what you’d expect. Burke is okay, but he’s not Weller. Allen leaves the party too early. Rip Torn (The Beastmaster) hams it up as the ineffectual new CEO of OCP. Castle sneers and intimidates as the Rehab commander.
Let’s talk about Remy Ryan for a moment. She’s not a bad little actress. Her character is a smart, feisty type who’s a genius with computers. She can reprogram an ED-209 to be as loyal as a puppy with just a few keystrokes. I like this kid, but her character isn’t a good fit in a RoboCop movie. The whole girl and her RoboCop storyline doesn’t work. Fans don’t want to see a softer RoboCop. They want to see him mow down scores of punks, fascist bad guys and robot ninjas. RoboCop 3 plays more like a dumb kid’s movie because of it.
The studio probably thought they’d make more money with a PG-13 RoboCop. They were dead wrong. RoboCop 3 is the lowest grossing entry in the series. Me, I kind of/sort of like it, but it isn’t even in the same zip code as the 1987 original or the 1990 sequel.
