--- title: "RoboCop: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/robocop/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/robocop" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 7 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): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 7 reviews: 7 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 17 July 1987. 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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/robocop-1987) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Rating 4/4. 20 August 2007. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/robocop/) ## Sight and Sound — Sean French Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 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 the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/robocop-review-flamboyant-indictment-american-society) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 2 August 1987. 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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/02/movies/film-view-summer-serves-up-its-sleepers.html) ## Time Out — MS Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 25 September 2014. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/robocop) ## Empire — Clark Collis 1 January 2000. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/robocop-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 18 May 2022. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/18/robocop-review-thrilling-subversive-80s-masterpiece-from-paul-verhoeven) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge 8 July 1987. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/robocop-review-1987-movie-1235172345/) ## Digital Spy — Mark Langshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 2013. 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 the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a517069/robocop-re-viewed-the-pinnacle-of-80s-action-science-fiction/) ## Den of Geek Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 2014. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/crime-classic-paul-verhoevens-robocop/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/robocop.md