Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘RoboCop 3’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​Whether we like it or not, at some point our favorite franchises fall into disrepair. This is that ugly moment when the stories are no longer cohesive, casting changes happen involving the most important actors and just like that...we're stuck sitting through a film that leaves us confused and concerned that this may mean the end of a beloved franchise.

When that dark moment does arrive, there's always a myriad of issues to blame as to why everything fell to pieces. The last entry in the saga didn't make enough money, a particular actor no longer wanted to play the role, or sometimes the rights to the story are sold off. Regardless of what issues arise, in the end it's the fans that suffer by watching an inferior product on the silver screen and for the RoboCop franchise, its darkest hour arrived in 1993...with the absolutely awful, RoboCop 3. 

It's a shame too, because the plot of this movie actually had the potential to make this film the finest in the series, since it revolved around Omni Consumer Products finding themselves at a crossroads as they face bankruptcy for one bad deal after another, including their purchase of Detroit, and their failure to transform the Motor City into Delta City. However, one company's downfall is another company's gain and the Kanemitsu Corporation buys controlling shares of OCP and quickly revitalizes a program to remove the people of Detroit from areas of the city that are to be remade into Delta City at a breakneck pace, whether they like it or not. It's a bold move that doesn't sit well with the citizens of this proud city, forcing them to fight back to protect their homes and as this Urban Civil War gets underway...the man/machine known as RoboCop will be forced to take a side and either support the company that gave him life...or fight alongside the people he serves and protects. 

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As I mentioned before, this plot could have helped lay the groundwork for an absolutely stunning film when you consider that it featured some powerfully dystopian themes with the whole notion of a corporation kicking civilians out of their homes to further their own plans and not to mention the whole idea of RoboCop fighting against his own creators gets into all kinds of awesome philosophical territory.

​So with that in mind, what then made this film so jaw dropping-ly awful? The answer to that is simple... the execution of it all by way of poor direction. The production values are slightly sub-par, and one can forgive that. Heck, I can even overlook the change in casting with Peter Weller handing over the Alex Murphy role to Robert Burke. But what I can't stand about this film is the fact that the acting is downright atrocious because everything comes across as camp and comical, and that's definitely the fault of the director and to make matters worse, yes, that's possible, it's filled with silly ideas that do nothing to advance the plot.

Case in point, to this day, I still have no idea why the hell there were robot ninjas in the film. They were just there, and it was damn weird. Also, why on earth did RoboCop actually need a jet pack? Sure, it serves its purpose, but come on, RoboCop flying through the air is just plain ridiculous. So, when you take silly ideas like that, toss in some half assed and piss poor acting and focus on that over a kickass plot, you're left with a terrible tasting stew that no one wanted a second helping of and to this day, it's a tough one to watch. If by chance you haven't seen it, watch it at least once out of respect for 'ol Robo, but just be fully prepared to cringe while you do and if anyone is doubting just how bad this one turned out to be... bear in mind that it completely killed the franchise for decades, before the reboot craze resurrected this awesome character.  ​

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