---
title: "RoboCop"
year: 1987
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/robocop"
fi1m_id: "robocop"
imdb_id: "tt0093870"
tmdb_id: 5548
wikidata_id: "Q372514"
fi1m_score: 91
critics_score: 87
critics_reviews: 7
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:47.715103+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# RoboCop (1987)

Directed by Paul Verhoeven · 1h 42m · MPA R · Action, Thriller, Science Fiction

## Identity

RoboCop

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/robocop
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** robocop
- **IMDb ID:** tt0093870
- **TMDB ID:** 5548
- **Wikidata ID:** Q372514
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093870/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/5548, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q372514

**Fi1m score: 91** · Critics 87 from 7 reviews

*In a sentence:* A metal policeman turns out to have more feeling than the people running the place

> Paul Verhoeven’s *RoboCop* is an exceptionally sharp action film, savage about corporate power and unexpectedly affecting. Peter Weller gives the metal policeman a person worth caring about, though the violence warrants a serious warning.

## Synopsis

Officer Alex J. Murphy (Peter Weller) is RoboCop, part man and part machine, carrying out police work in a future shaped by corporate power. His technological capabilities raise questions about the human being inside the armour, and about who gets to decide how he is used. Nancy Allen plays fellow officer Anne Lewis, with Ronny Cox as Dick Jones, Miguel Ferrer as Bob Morton and Kurtwood Smith as Clarence Boddicker. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, this science-fiction action thriller follows a policeman whose work puts questions of identity alongside the business of enforcing the law.

## Review

Paul Verhoeven’s *RoboCop* is a ferocious, funny action film that gives us good reason to care about its armoured policeman. We recommend it strongly, with a serious warning about the violence. Writers Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner put Officer Alex J. Murphy in a future where corporate power reaches into police work and a human being can be treated as equipment. The film is angry about that, and its jokes are specific enough to make the anger count.

Peter Weller does the essential work inside the suit. His mechanical voice could have made Murphy a talking weapon; instead, the restricted delivery makes each suggestion of feeling unusually affecting. We were moved by how little warmth Weller needs to put into that voice. He earns that response without asking the film to stop and admire his predicament, and keeps Murphy sympathetic even when the comedy becomes broad.

The boardroom demonstration is where the corporate satire bites hardest. We laughed, then felt ashamed of how readily we had laughed. Verhoeven makes the confidence of the presentation so grotesquely misplaced that the comedy survives the horror, which is precisely what makes it uncomfortable. The futuristic newscasts broaden the complaint, presenting a society in which violent events are processed with an efficiency the police might envy.

Jost Vacano’s cinematography gives the metal body a convincing weight, so that Murphy remains a physical presence even at the film’s most cartoonish. William Sandell’s production design does useful work in the boardroom, giving the demonstration a respectable business setting. That respectability makes the scene nastier. The corporate surroundings encourage us to regard what happens there as something sanctioned and sensible, and Verhoeven exploits that expectation without needing to explain the joke.

Frank J. Urioste’s editing keeps the action brisk without letting the satirical interruptions feel like a separate programme. At 102 minutes, there is little room for the film to explain a joke twice. Basil Poledouris’s score gives Murphy a sense of purpose that helps us take his police work seriously, even while the film questions who benefits from it. The music’s sincerity matters: a score content merely to wink along with the satire would have made the human story much harder to believe.

The supporting characters receive less care. Nancy Allen gives Officer Anne Lewis a welcome directness, but the writing leaves her with fewer complications than Murphy, and the wider characterisation can be blunt. Neumeier and Miner are better at giving people a function in their satire than allowing them much life beyond it. Allen makes enough of Lewis that we would have welcomed more time with her, particularly in a film so interested in what makes its central character a person.

Among science-fiction action films, this is unusually willing to make its central fantasy troubling. The appeal of a policeman who can withstand almost anything comes with the question of what has been done to the person inside, and Weller keeps that question present. The corporate jokes would be much easier to enjoy if Murphy were only a machine. Choose it when an action film is wanted and nobody is expecting a comfortable evening.

*Fi1m score 91, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are strongly positive, with praise centred on Paul Verhoeven’s combination of violent action, black comedy and corporate satire. Most critics find the excess purposeful: the brutality accompanies pointed observations about privatisation, capitalism and dehumanisation. Several also stress the questions about humanity beneath the machinery. RogerEbert.com singles out Peter Weller’s mechanical voice and his collaboration with Verhoeven in making the cyborg sympathetic, while other reviews praise the film’s technical control and its handling of futuristic spectacle.

The differences concern how fully the writing sustains that achievement. Sight and Sound admires the political intelligence but finds the characterisation disappointing. Time Out suggests the wit sometimes runs out, leaving pace and weaponry to maintain the appalled excitement. The spread is therefore between wholehearted enthusiasm and qualified approval, rather than opposing verdicts: even the more reserved accounts find considerable pleasure in the action and humour.

## Straight answers

**Is RoboCop worth watching?**

*RoboCop* is worth watching for anyone who wants a ferocious, funny action film with real feeling underneath, and we scored it 91. Peter Weller makes the armoured policeman a person worth caring about, and Paul Verhoeven's corporate satire bites. The violence is savage, so it suits those prepared for an uncomfortable evening rather than a cosy one.

**How long is RoboCop, and what is it rated?**

*RoboCop* runs 1h 42m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is an action and thriller film.

**Where can I watch RoboCop in the US?**

*RoboCop* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is RoboCop, and is it suitable for children?**

*RoboCop* is an 18 certificate in the UK and R in the US, and the violence earns it: this is not a film for children or for the squeamish. The satire is often funny, but the violence is savage and the comedy makes some of it more uncomfortable rather than less. Older teenagers with a strong stomach may cope; younger viewers should not be near it.

**How does RoboCop compare to Brazil?**

*RoboCop* is the tighter and more brutal of the two, a 102-minute action film that keeps its satire moving, while [*Brazil*](https://film.one/film/brazil) is a sprawling bureaucratic nightmare that loses shape but rewards patience with its detail. Both play cruelty for laughs until the damage becomes hard to ignore. Choose *RoboCop* for action and directness, *Brazil* for something stranger and more exhausting.

**What should I watch after RoboCop?**

After *RoboCop*, try [*Brazil*](https://film.one/film/brazil) (1985, Fi1m 83): Bureaucratic cruelty played for laughs until the damage becomes impossible to ignore. Then [*Tetsuo: The Iron Man*](https://film.one/film/tetsuo-the-iron-man) (1989, Fi1m 82): Metal consumes another human body, in a much less reassuring urban nightmare; and [*Seconds*](https://film.one/film/seconds) (1966, Fi1m 84): A changed body brings no relief from the business of being human.

### Reviews we read (10)

- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): The film is a thriller with a difference, blending comedy, romance, philosophy and social satire around the question of what constitutes a man. Verhoeven and star Peter Weller create sympathy for the half-human, half-machine protagonist through his mechanical voice and gradual reclamation of identity. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/robocop-1987)
- **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (4/4): The critic praises the film as a broad, rude-tempered satire of 1980s corporate America and Reaganomics that pairs vulgar action with pointed social commentary, highlighting its vivid depiction of a dehumanizing future and Verhoeven’s skilled vulgarity. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/robocop/)
- **Sight and Sound**, Sean French (80/100, inferred): The critic finds RoboCop a shrewdly enjoyable and politically intelligent film of comic-book violence that also parodies it, functioning as a sophisticated anthology of American archetypes with a European twist from Metropolis. It praises the script's intelligence on privatisation and corporate power while noting disappointment in characterisation. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/robocop-review-flamboyant-indictment-american-society)
- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (80/100, inferred): Verhoeven combines a grimly futuristic mood with the ethos of a vintage western in this story of a man who loses and reclaims his identity after being turned into a cyborg cop. The director incorporates human sentiments and high-tech capabilities into a single ingenious figure while playing them off against each other in a thoroughly involving way. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/02/movies/film-view-summer-serves-up-its-sleepers.html)
- **Time Out**, MS (75/100, inferred): The review describes Verhoeven's blend of comic strip and snuff movie as vile, violent, and very funny, with breakneck pace and way-out weaponry that keeps the appalled excitement burning when the wit runs out. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/robocop)
- **Empire**, Clark Collis: The critic praises Verhoeven's satirical take on corporatism and totalitarianism, noting how the director's technical skill and love of mayhem elevate the film above typical sci-fi action. It is described as a sardonic but perfectly realised depiction of a violence-filled near-future. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/robocop-review/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The critic calls Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 sci-fi satire a sophisticated masterpiece and brilliant commentary on Detroit and corporate America. They single out the film’s subversive black comedy, set pieces like the boardroom demo, and its enduring frisson as the key strengths in this director’s-cut re-release. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/18/robocop-review-thrilling-subversive-80s-masterpiece-from-paul-verhoeven)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Duane Byrge: The critic calls the film a well-crafted sci-fi actioner that should perform strongly at the box office, praising its anti-corporate satire, futuristic newscasts, and especially its technical achievements in production design, cinematography, and the Robocop suit. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/robocop-review-1987-movie-1235172345/)
- **Digital Spy**, Mark Langshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the 1987 film a multi-layered masterpiece and the pinnacle of 80s sci-fi action, praising its blend of graphic violence, philosophical depth on identity and humanity, and sharp social satire on capitalism and media. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a517069/robocop-re-viewed-the-pinnacle-of-80s-action-science-fiction/)
- **Den of Geek** (85/100, inferred): The piece hails RoboCop as one of the best films of the 1980s for seamlessly combining corporate satire, violent action, black comedy, sci-fi themes of mortality and technology, and crime story elements, with praise for its philosophical soul and precise focus. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/crime-classic-paul-verhoevens-robocop/)

## Details

- **Director:** Paul Verhoeven
- **Director:** Paul Verhoeven
- **Writer:** Michael Miner, Edward Neumeier
- **Cinematography:** Jost Vacano
- **Editor:** Frank J. Urioste
- **Music:** Basil Poledouris
- **Production design:** William Sandell
- **Costume design:** Erica Edell Phillips
- **Producer:** Arne Schmidt
- **Cast:** Peter Weller as Officer Alex J. Murphy / RoboCop; Nancy Allen as Officer Anne Lewis; Dan O'Herlihy as The Old Man; Ronny Cox as Dick Jones; Kurtwood Smith as Clarence Boddicker; Miguel Ferrer as Bob Morton; Robert DoQui as Sgt. Warren Reed; Ray Wise as Leon Nash
- **Runtime:** 1h 42m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 17 July 1987
- **Genres:** Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
- **Budget:** $13 million
- **Box office:** $53 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqvRDhW-XVA

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- Amazon Prime Video: free
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, TH, TR, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1988: Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Sound (nominated)
- Saturn Awards 1988: Best Science Fiction Film (won)

## If you liked this

- *Brazil* (1985), Fi1m 83: Bureaucratic cruelty played for laughs until the damage becomes impossible to ignore. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/brazil.md)
- *Tetsuo: The Iron Man* (1989), Fi1m 82: Metal consumes another human body, in a much less reassuring urban nightmare. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tetsuo-the-iron-man.md)
- *Dredd* (2012): For the armoured lawman, confined action and forceful sense of physical consequence.
- *Seconds* (1966), Fi1m 84: A changed body brings no relief from the business of being human. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/seconds.md)
- *The Host* (2006): A creature film whose anger at official incompetence gives the mayhem purpose.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/robocop