RoboCop 3 (1993) Review:

After watching the first RoboCop, I was really looking forward to the sequel. And once I saw the sequel, I could not believe how derivatively messy it had become. When it came to this film, I wasn't sure what to expect. Peter Weller had moved on and Robert Burke had taken over as the ironclad police officer. According to the majority of viewers, RoboCop 3 was garbage. Turns out though, I liked it. Maybe not as much as the first for various reasons but at least this movie carried forward with the story of Alex Murphy. Unlike the first sequel that drove us in circles.

Robert Burke replaces Peter Weller & his acting really
isn't that bad at all

RoboCop is back one more time to save the city of old Detroit. But this time, it is on a much bigger scale. It is not mentioned to how the "old man" of OCP disappeared, but it's assumed that he finally died. Now in charge of OCP is the CEO, played by actor Rip Torn, and it's up to him to make sure a place called Cadillac Heights is ready for deconstruction within a certain date. So to remove the people from this area requires a group of officers called "The Rehabs". But as the audience will discover early in the intro, that these officials aren't very helpful nor do they care.

The head of the rehabs is Paul McDaggett, played by John Castle. John Castle is good as a selfless official but that's all he is. He's not a Boddicker and not a Cain. Burke as RoboCop isn't a bad fit either. Yes, it would have been better to still have Weller in the suit but hey, you do with what you have. And yes, Burke makes Robo sound funny but it's really not that annoying. As long as the voice isn't high or super low pitched, it shouldn't be that big a deal. Even when Robo's helmet is off, the make-up department did a swell job having him look like he did in the last 2 films.

Co-starring Burke are some of the last remaining characters from the cast of the first film. Felton Perry is still playing Johnson, only this time, he seems like he's having a hard time picking sides. He's been apart of OCP for a long time but soon realizes how corrupt the company has become along with its massive dept. Of course I don't understand how he didn't see that with half his fellow co-workers biting bullets and attempting to fly out windows. Nancy Allen is still around as Anne Lewis, Murphy's first and only partner. Even sergeant Reed (Robert DoQui from the last 2 films) is still there. He too realizes the corruption of OCP and decides to take a stand. It's nice to see OCP finally lose its foundation.

Paul McDaggett (John Castle) wasn't a bad choice.....
just not a great one

One thing in particular I did not find enjoyable is the lack of bloodshed during this film. The director of this sequel is Fred Dekker and it surprised me that he allowed this film to be rated PG-13. Why Dekker? You made Night of the Creeps (1986) and that was rated R? I mean at least you still could have had the screenplay release some four-letter words to get it an R rating. And it's not productive to make a sequel and have its rating changed from all the others that came before it. I understand that the reason is to have a broader audience of ages but how does it help when the kids don't even know who RoboCop is or what his background was? It's a plan of failure and Dekker should have seen that.

Not to mention that RoboCop has a machine gun that he can now attach to his body. God that would have been cool to see if this film was rated R!  Plus, he can fly now too. Yeah big deal to some of you skeptics but it really is a nice addition. Basil Poledouris is back as well, to do the his noted music again for this franchise. So that's a plus. And the best part is by the end of this film, Alex Murphy at least finds a group of people who don't treat him like an investment but more like a human. Isn't that what we wanted from the past two films? I did.

Having the last installment being rated PG-13 was a wrong move but it can be seen that Dekker's team tried hard to bring back the other elements that made the first film a hit. And for most, it should please its fans for at least making that attempt.

Points Earned --> 8:10