Behave yourselves!!!-- The Old Man

In my book of enjoyable toffee, "Robocop 2" is a kickass nasty sequel to Paul “Master of Disaster” Verhoeven’s multi-layered original. Directed by Irvin Kershner (of "Empire Strikes Back" fame) and written by "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" scribe Frank Miller (although it is said that his script got mucho re-written), this punk was shamefully overlooked when it came out in theatres and has gone under-appreciated ever since. Watching it again today, I had forgotten just how solid it was and had quite the bumpy rodeo ride with it all.

One element I really got off on was the lean and mean nihilistic streak that this flick proudly wore on its armor. "Robocop 2" embraced human “ugliness” and I hugged it for it! Its depiction of the wide spreading disease that is crime was unapologetically brutal, while its display of drug addicts (shite, even the evil robot was a junkie…yeah, bitch!) was unrepentant. By rule of toe, I usually relish celluloid treats with big “German Shepherd” testies between their legs, films that are not afraid to push the envelope of political correctness and "Robocop 2" is one of those lollipops. The flick proved its “F. U.” attitude some more via its excessive and delicious showcases of violence. There was no messing around here when it came to plasma-filled mayhem and that scored big points with this jack-off! Damn, there was even the inclusion of a cussing 12-year old brat who liked to mow down peeps with an automatic weapon! Was it out of line? Hell yeah! And I loved every second of it! Take that to your PTA meetings and shove that up your Jack Valenti loving ass!

Now, although the balance between the laughs and the pow-wow was a tad harsh when compared to the original’s seamless and sly wit, I still chuckled hard throughout. The extreme, out of line, satirical TV commercials (all about that dude losing that account…lol!) owned me and the instance where Robocop was reprogrammed to act like a “boy scout” also had me in stitches. What an unorthodox narrative twist, especially for a big budget sequel! NICE! As for the insane action, well, it crashed into my living room like a freight train and entertained the shite out of me. We get all kinds of shootouts, car chases, explosions and folks being messily riddled with bullets. Lastly, the hooker on top of this one’s face was the presence of villain Robocop 2. If it wasn’t his slick design rubbing me the right way, it was his slew of gnarly weapons, his goofy craving for drugs or his penchant for carnage galore stroking my spine. The uber koolness of Robo 2 often compensated for the, at times, “so-so” stop motion effects.

On the blank side of the bullet, the story here didn’t unravel gracefully and felt a tad choppy in places. I was also bummed to see the gripping scene in which Robocop meets his widowed wife cut so darn short. The subplot should’ve been constant throughout the movie since it was the only true humanity left within it. Furthermore, the script had one major plot hole that kept bashing me over the head-- who the heck would be stupid enough to put the brain of a drug addicted criminal into a “Police Droid” and expect positive results? I didn’t buy it! In addition, a couple of characters got on my nerves with the spastic Mayor (Pugh) being the crowning king in that department. Although he made me laugh a few times. I mostly wanted to run over him with my tractor (yes, I own a tractor…don’t ask).

Distributor: MGM
Release Date: June 8, 2004

IMAGE: We get an anamorphic 1.85.1 widescreen image.

SOUND: We get a Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with optional subtitles (English, French and Spanish).

EXTRAS: All we get is the Theatrical Trailer.

Frank Miller’s “Robocop 2” script was adapted as a comic. To see the man’s real vision for what was supposed to be Robocop 2, get it!

Robocop 2 screenwriter Frank Miller has a cameo role as a nuke scientist.

Robocop's suit was blue in this sequel as opposed to metallic colored like in the original.