Developing the movie Robocop - Essay Example

Developing the movie Robocop (1987) The an unassailable intriguing and shocking film, Robocop, produced in 1897 by director Paul Verhoeven has been and is still a subject of discussion. Verhoeven’s perception of the world and the culture of the future Detroit wished-for in the film are belligerent. Through analysis of cinematic elements and styles one vividly realizes that Verhoeven, though through satirizing, envisioned an ill-mannered society where corporations are more concerned with profits at the expense of human life and welfare. Apparently, Verhoeven presents an excessively commercialized future where the Detroit authorities are overwhelmed with crime in the city and decide to outsource it to a megacorporation, Omni Consumer Products (OCP). However, the megacorporation considers it more realistic to replace the settlement in old Detroit with a modern settlement which OCP refers to as Delta City (David, N.p). Due to the unfathomable number of crimes in the city and the regular killing of the understaffed law enforcers, OCP decides to take an initiative to end the crimes before starting construction of the new city, Delta City. However, the filming of the futuristic Detroit could be amended. It should have been filmed in downtown Dallas as the city had futuristic buildings even during the 1980s when the movie was being filmed (Chapman & Nicholas, 128). While Verhoeven’s movie was produced in the 20th century, it visualized the 21st century as evident when the director contrasts the successes of the inventions of Dick Jones and Bob Morton. During a meeting meant to strategize on the best way of curbing insecurity in the city, Dick Jones brings the idea of an ED-209, a law enforcement droid. Sadly, Verhoeven deliberately demonstrates the antiquity of the idea by allowing demonstration of the ED-209 to go awry through the deliberate killing of an executive (David, N.p). The ED-209, a horrible and awkward machine has been programmed to warn a criminal to let go his firearm and then shoot if he fails to conform. During the demonstration, the ED-209 machine warns the executive to drop his gun to which he proximately complies. However, the machine repeats the warning, counts 1 to 5, and shoots the executive, a factor that makes the machine to be rejected. The scene is somewhat funny as it forces the audience to apply logic in an extraneous situation as the film which was expected to be a serious thriller becomes so hard to predict its end. This is one of the movie’s characteristic that holds the viewers’ attention. Bob Morton, on the other hand, brought the idea of a RoboCop cyborg made from the remains of Alex Murphy, a police officer who was previously disguised as dead (David, N.p). Robocop proves effective in fighting crime in the city, a clear indication that Verhoeven wanted technology to prevail over traditionally purely robotic systems of countering crimes. The Morton’s team act of transferring Alex’s blanked brain further illustrates the power of science. The action implied that using Alex’s brain in a robot would ensure that he has little or no memory of his assassination when he is reborn as RoboCop. However, through incorporation of various long shot images the audience realizes that Robocop has some remembrances of his previous life as Alex. For instance, he twirls his handgun before holstering it, an expertise that he used to excite his son during his life as Alex Murphy. While Verhoeven’s sense of style is audacious, it may not necessarily be impressing for some people. According to Nusair David, “Hes never been known for his restraint...” (N.p). This is predominantly spot-on in this film. He attacks so much rather than directing, a factor that makes him expose the audience to things that they never expected to see (David, N.p). For instance, he brings low-angle shots of Alex’s exploding hand, making the action look more repulsive than necessary. Given a chance, I would dilute possibly prickly scenes with sensibility that will make the viewers to giggle rather than cower. For instance, I would remove the overly animatronic images that shadows the screen when Boddicker executes Murphy, but allow Murphy’s suffering to go on a little longer while a sad song such as Metallica’s 1984 ‘Fade to Black’ plays in the background. However, in some instances where comedy is not pertinent, I will use brutal imagery to pass the message (Corrigan & Patricia, 92). For instance, Verhoeven’s use of vicious imagery during the execution of Alex makes the viewers develop sympathy towards Alex as well as detestation towards the murderers (Corrigan & Patricia, 72). This helps in ensuring that although the viewers might afford to laugh during the show, the movie does not turn into a comedy that hardly communicates the intended message of the consequences of mercilessness. What’s more, Verhoeven succeeds in expressing RoboCop’s personality through the mechanical monotone voice. For many years, robots and machines have been portrayed to speak this way in movies. It is not surprising that life has started copying them as evident in the uninflected monotone used in trains and aircrafts to give passengers directions or warnings. In the movie, RoboCop’s voice must have been documented in a usual human speech. However, Verhoeven uses the robotic audio style as a way of making the directives appear as though they originated from an authority that was pre-programmed and no one could appeal to. He believed that using that kind of voice would make the Robocop more effective as criminals will easily obey its commands. However, the confused being behind that voice remains hidden to the end. As an improvement to the movie, I would have revealed the character behind the voice before ending the movie. This would clearly indicate the person behind the movie’s twist. Despite being in a robotic design, that contains senseless cracks and flashy costume, for most parts of the movie, “Weller does an impressive job of creating sympathy for his character” (Roger, N.p). He is able to successfully act as Robocop and Alex Murphy. While he is able to separate the two characters, he leaves some traces of Alex in Robocop allowing his humanity to be portrayed. Noteworthy, Peter Weller is more human when acting as Robocop than when acting as Alex Murphy, a normal human being. Through the incorporation of shades with contrasts between dark and light, the director indicates Weller’s plight (Roger, N.p). Similarly, the dark passageways in the movie and gruesome actions are overly presented with little lighting to make the feeling of horror real. As the movie ends and Robocop identifies himself as “Murphy”, the director indicates the character’s pureness and uprightness by directing more light into the stage leading to the disappearance of persistent shadows (Corrigan & Patricia, 83). At this stage, as Robocop wants to finish every person, the film starts dragging compared to the decent pace that had been maintained throughout. While the movie is not exactly open for development, some extensions can still be considered. Instead of ending the movie after Robocop identifies himself as Murphy, the director should have left Robocop to destroy all the directors of OCP before uniting with his lover, Nancy Allen. This would help the viewers to realize that crime is harmful to the society and those championing for the destruction of humanity will instead be destroyed. The shooting of this scene would have been done in a stage well-lit with magenta light and disgusting walls to indicate that the pain that the OCP executives inflicted on Alex Murphy is being replicated and the very technology that they developed is coming back and finishing them (Chapman & Nicholas, 92). Moreover, I will allow Murphy to visit his grave to make the audience experience the feeling that engulfs one after realizing that they were buried when they are still alive. These extensions, although might not be acceptable in the presently fairly just society, will help in making clear the overall thematic connotations of the film. Works Cited Chapman, James, and Nicholas J. Cull. Projecting Tomorrow: Science Fiction and Popular Cinema. London [England: I.B. Tauris, 2013. Print. Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. Film Experience: An Introduction. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2009. Print. David Nusair. "Robocop (1987)" Reel Film Reviews. N.p., 2004. Web. 15 July 2015. . Roger Ebert. "RoboCop Movie Review & Film Summary (1987)." Movie Reviews and Ratings by Film Critic Roger Ebert | Roger Ebert. N.p., 17 July 1987. Web. 15 July 2015. . Read More