RoboCop

The other day, Candace and I were in Target, and I decided to look at their DVDs, as they tend to sell them for cheaper than almost anyone else. Sure enough, they had a lot of great deals: after eliminating a few other options, I decided to get the original RoboCop and new Superman movies, each for a little over $5 (which is roughly what I would have paid just to rent them!).

So, I watched RoboCop yesterday, and although it was one of my favorite action movies from my childhood, it still held up pretty well. Unbeknownst to me when I was in fourth grade, the movie is actually a satire of American excesses like commercialism, desensitization to violence, and even Reagan-Era economics, adding a certain layer of sophistication to the film. Sure, it's just an action movie and as such is nowhere near as good as Terminator 2, but it's WAY better than the average action flick, both in terms of its message and the actual action itself. Speaking of which, I had the choice of watching either the original release or the unrated director's cut (which presumably has more over-the-top violence than the ratings board allowed at the time), and obviously I went with the latter, as it better reflected director Paul Verhoeven's vision of America's cabaret-like insensitivity to violence.

Add to all this that the director is Dutch, and you've got a pretty pleasant stroll down memory lane for only $5. Way to go, Target!

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