DIY VIRAL
The author Robert Scucci
| Published
If you need a gentle reminder that the best satirical sci-fi action thriller of all time is currently streaming on Max, I'm here to spread the good word to the underappreciated (as God and Paul Verhoeven intended) Robocop the director's cut can be viewed from the safety of your living room. Now you might be asking yourself, “How long does a director have Robocop compared to the theatrical cut, and why should I care? The answer may surprise you, as this extended version is only about a minute longer than its widely released counterpart.
You'll have to trust me, though, because this is a very revelatory minute you won't want to miss.
What can I say about Robocop it hasn't been said in decades, and why is the director's cut the superior option? The shortest lift I can give you is a promise of violence. The Robocop the director's cut doesn't add any side stories or character development, but adds appropriately spaced seconds runtime that elevates its satire to ludicrous proportions.
Or, in some cases, we get some pretty graphic close-ups instead of wide shots that will make your stomach turn.
We're talking a level of comically placed, “load him with lead” violence that you just have to see to believe. The kind of violence I'm talking about can't even be added to the images in this article, as the censors will find out where I live and try to eradicate me like Alex Murphy's (Peter Weller) cybernetic-infused RoboCop body keeps crime out of the average Detroit street.
RoboCop's satire just gets better with age
If you've never seen RoboCop, or if you're like me and haven't watched it since you were six when it scarred you for life, you owe it to yourself to watch the director's cut.
And if you're worried that satire isn't going to age well, you're sorely mistaken. From overly insensitive and smiley news personalities spouting death tolls in perfect non-regional diction, to Omni Consumer Products unleashing its ED-209 killbot during a board meeting, Robocop are dripping with tongue-in-cheek commentary on urban crime, corporations taking over public services, and what it means to be a hero in a dystopian hellscape slowly being overtaken by a corrupt militarized police force.
A powerful view of technology and humanity
In its heart, RoboCop is the story of a man who becomes a machine and loses himself in a crusade against crime. His memory was erased after he was brutally shot by Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) and his goon – which is much more brutal in the director's cut, by the way – Alex Murphy becomes a killing machine, but it's mistaken for RoboCop.
However, Murphy has moments of clarity as he struggles with his programming as he vaguely remembers his life before becoming RoboCop, and suddenly we have a story that is not only insanely violent for the sake of violence, but also to show how this man has been reprogrammed and stripped of humanity for the sake of “progress”.
Streaming the director's cut
If you don't believe that little bit of extra runtime adds up RoboCop for about 1000 percent, then you need to put your money where your mouth is and immediately stream the director's cut. Forget the theatrical cut (also streaming below Max), and forget about sequels. The only version Robocop the director's cut on Max is worth watching.
Source link
DIY VIRAL
