RoboCop 2 Movie Review

More cynical, even more violent – is that possible? – sequel to the 1987 pic. ‘Nuke,’ a new addictive drug, has made streets of future Detroit worse than ever. RoboCop's corporate owners, dissatisfied with his performance and vulnerabilities during a police strike, eventually replace him with a stronger cyborg powered by the brain of a psycho pusher/addict/cult leader (after a series of other unwilling donors gruesomely self-destruct). RoboCop 2 goes berserk, natch, and the metal beings fight an epic battle, in between enough subplots for three movies. Comic-book elements predominate in a script concocted by graphic novelist Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) and directed kinetically by Irvin Kerschner (The Empire Strikes Back), emphasizing bitter sarcasm and graphic savagery at the expense of the original's muted but vital emotion quotient. Definitely worth a look from fans.

1990 (R) 117m/C Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Belinda Bauer, Dan O'Herlihy, Tom Noonan, Gabriel Damon, Galyn Gorg, Felton Perry, Patricia Charbonneau; D: Irvin Kershner; W: Walon Green. VHS, Beta, LV ORI