RoboCop: Prime Directives (2001) User Reviews

Robocop's requiem.

[xamtaro · 5/10 · 9 November 2013]

Three movies, a live action TV series and two cartoons later, ROBOCOP returns with a made-for-TV miniseries "ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES". This miniseries consisted of four movies which attempted to bring back the gritty and darker tone of the first movie, as well as some social satire. For all intents and purposes, what we have is an ambitious project limited by lack of budget and inexperience of the creative team.

Our story begins 10 years after the first movie (ignoring the continuity of the other movies and TV series). Robocop is obsolete and weary of his years trying to bring peace to the crime ridden Delta City. The megacorporation OCP, who runs the city, is experiencing inner turmoil among the management. Due to new policies preventing use of lethal force by the police, a crime wave is sweeping the city. From Kamikaze gangs to a psycho in Halloween armour armed with machine guns and rockets, this town is going to hell. Fortunately, they have a new kick ass police commander JohnCable; a dual pistol wielding ol fashioned cowboy cop. Oh, and Robocop, the supposedly invincible enforcer of law who spends the entire miniseries getting owned.

Every character goes on about how awesome Robocop is, every criminal mentions his name in fear, you never see that. What you get is Robocop being blasted, kicked down, smashed, electrocuted and pummeled in every other combat scene. He only manages to take down people who refuse to take cover in a firefight.

This brings me the portrayal of Robocop himself played by Page Fletcher. Fletcher is a fine actor, able to convey heavy emotions with his voice and mannerism. He is not, however, I anyway suited to the role. For starters, he is short. As in really short. And the bulky oversized armour only makes him look shorter. Everyone including the old female scientist is taller than him. His Robocop is a stumbling dwarf, always marching with his fists balled up. On the flip side, with his helmet off, Robocop looks like an old man and even acts like one. Nothing is done to make him machine-like. He very visibly pants when tired, swallows hard when scared, he even sweats.

So a crappy Robocop headlines 4 made-for-TV movie length episodes of the miniseries. On the bright side, what the 4 episodes do is attempt to remake and redo some very classic elements from Robocop media history. You have a new more advanced Robocop, something Robocop 2 should have been about. You have a advanced Artificial Intelligence meant to automate the entire city, like th pilot episode of the 90s TV series. Lastly, you have a tale of a machine regaining his humanity. Throughout this story is the tale of James Murphy, son of Alex Murphy, who is now a young executive caught up in the turmoil in OCP. James must come to terms with the discovery of his father's identity as Robocop as father slowly reunites with son.

The overall story is good for its drama. The actors are spot on in their portrayals and it is generally well written with many of the themes inherent in the original films. Of particular note is the hammy Kaydick and the absolutely obnoxious Damien. A huge plus is the miniseries return to R-Rated violence rather than the kid friendly style of fighting in the TV series and Robocop 3.

Sadly the execution is less than sub-par. Director Julian Grant brings a lazy hand to the directing and seems to have this obsession with skip-frame slo mo (the kind of jerky slo mo you get when shooting something at half the usual Frames Per Second). The overall low budget look to the production is heightened by dated special effects, unremarkable camera-work and crappy costumes. The New cyber terrorist villains have the fashion sense of the Matrix characters, all tight, black and trench coats. They have cartoony electrical powers and can move at super speed with a basic blur effect. The low budget is most obvious in the Robopcop suits. During action scenes, they come apart at the seams letting you clearly see the black leotard underneath.

With this, Prime Directives sounded the death knell of the classic Robocop franchise. Perhaps in this new century of movies with fast kicking kung fu combat, high tech special effects and tighter narratives, the concept of classic Robocop as a walking tank is in itself obsolete. With this sad closure to a once remarkably original franchise, perhaps the new reboot in 2014 would be a much welcome revival of the concept.

I'd be lying if I claimed I didn't like and enjoy, if not necessarily all, then definitely parts, of this

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 5/10 · 30 November 2008]

This has got stuff going for it. It ignores the two sequels, and uses the Verhoeven movie as the basis(it, in fact, appears to be in love with it, and uses it wherever possible, most noticeably in the spoken lines), that proves they had the right idea. The satire is also quite present(albeit it tries too hard, worst in the last credits, where it could not possibly be more obvious that they're talking directly to the audience, not to mention how it often underestimates their smarts, and spells it out, same as in the second flick). Moreover, there are plenty of gunfights, as well as some martial arts and car-chases(not all of these are fantastic, if they tend to stay above the level of passable). Each episode seems to start with a bang(there are those that would call them grabs for attention). On paper, this sounds an awful lot better than it is, which is not at all to say that it is all poor. It has several scattered things wrong with it, that unfortunately add together and make the whole less than excellent. For example, the plot is good, and remains so through the mini, but there are perhaps a subplot or a couple over the amount there should be, and not everything pays off(a shame, considering the concepts they at least begin to cover). The pacing can be uneven. While there among the characters are truly interesting ones, others are caricatures, and they get considerable screen time. I will say that this keeps getting even better and bigger, without losing anything, throughout, I didn't think they'd be able to top themselves, however, they went and did just that. The very ending, though parts formulaic and tough to swallow, had something great and well-thought out, in my opinion. The performances are so-so(I personally got a kick out of getting to see Geraint Wyn Davies again), and this is not devoid of screamy acting. This does hold a number of *really* awesome moments. There is unintentionally silly material herein. This is exciting sometimes, and certainly had me thrilled, although not constantly. Why do people continue to use small arms fire against RoboCop, and when will they realize it is utterly and completely ineffective? They cover up the limitations and constraints reasonably. There are repetitive actions(get used to seeing a certain individual storm out with determination). The effects are well-done, meanwhile, no one is going to be fooled and not be able to figure out what's CGI and what isn't. The music is... well, let me put it this way, either they saw the title role as a bit of a cowboy, or the composer is big on Ennio Morricone(hey, who could blame them?). Obviously I hope it's the former, but it didn't always seem staged or filmed to fit that. There are marvelous developments and situations found in this. The writing is a mixed bag, both dialog and story. There is violence, and it could be called excessive, in tone and volume. This I would say is genuinely disturbing a handful times, whether or not that is positive is up to the viewer. I recommend this series to any fan of the first of the cinema-releases, and/or of the iron-clad law-man... be aware that there are areas of this that are going to underwhelm; if you can stand those, you're in for multiple cool, fun sequences and not half bad science fiction. 5/10

It's watchable

[adaptor · 4/10 · 17 April 2021]

This is not great, but not terrible: mediocre acting, cheap special effects, poor camera-work, adequate dialog. Also, almost every scene with RoboCop on it, I think: aren't you a little short for a robocop?

However, the story isn't bad for the first two episodes. It goes off the rails on the third episode. If you like sci-fi and RoboCop, you might like this. You might not want to give it all of your attention, though...

A beast from hell

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 1/10 · 14 January 2006]

You've not seen much worse than this! The RoboCop franchise once held so much promise, so much potential. It quickly disintegrated into cheap kiddie garbage.

The first RoboCop movie was awesome and is no doubt a cult classic. Almost immediately this was followed by a crudely animated cartoon show in 1988 and then, RoboCop 2, the under-rated sequel was totally misunderstood on release but by the time RoboCop 3 came out Orion Pictures had long gone out of business and it was unceremoniously dumped into cinemas without any kind of ad campaign or publicity. Quite appropriate too as it's a moronic pile of crap aimed at the kids.

And it got worse after that! An uber-cheap, live-action TV-series came and went within a single season and yet another animated show 1998 (selling RoboCop to the kids is like making Bratz dolls based on House of 1000 Corpses!) and one of the worst video-games ever in 2003. If you think this franchise couldn't get any worse wait until you get a load of Prime Directives. It stomps what's left of Robo right into the maggot-infested mud.

The story is hardly worth mentioning but if you're that interested it involves Robo feeling old and obsolete, Delta City politics (now located in Canada, a poor substitute for the real Detroit) and some crazed employee at OCP (the company went out of business in RoboCop 3!) trying to take over with his ultimate doomsday device. Robo's kid is now a fully-grown exec and his ex-partner (a man with a very, very dodgy moustache) has been killed and made into a new RoboCop. They drag this crap out over 375 minutes and you feel every precious second of it.

I could forgive the cheapness if the makers were enthusiastic or spirited or if the actors weren't so bored they are about to keel over and die. The Robo suits look terrible and could fall apart at any minute. The nobody playing him makes Robert John Burke's performance in RoboCop 3 look Oscar-worthy. Instead of striding with a heaving titanium chest he kind of stumbles and bumbles like an old man without a zimmer-frame and has as much trouble ascending stairs as ED-209 did descending them. It's as if he was mimicking C-3PO.

Say what you want about the declining quality of the films. At least they all had great music. Prime Directives has noise that is painful to the ears and lethal to the soul and mind. Goddamn, I want to erase this horrid mini-series from my memory but I can't. I need a shrink!

This junk should be scrapped and left to rust. Not even the most dedicated and forgiving RoboCop fan should suffer this guff. Wise people such as myself will realise this has as much to do with the TRUE RoboCop as Supergran does with Clark Kent.

Prime Dissatisfactions

[robocop4 · 1/10 · 6 May 2001]

On the first two RoboCop feature films, the producers hired renowned mime artist and choreographer Moni Yakim to help Peter Weller, who played the title role in those pictures, get a handle on the role's intense physicality, and the investment paid off handsomely. On "Prime Directives," however, apparently such expenditures were deemed superfluous and eliminated from the budget. Yet, considering that RoboCop is the miniseries' main character, the character needing to be lavished with the most attention--especially with regard to issues of movement and ambulation, so as to ensure precise execution and verisimilitude--such an oversight on director Julian Grant's part is simply beyond the pale. The sad result: Page Fletcher, who plays RoboCop in "PD," spends most of his time stumbling and bumbling about in the RoboSuit, fists eternally and inexplicably clenched, wildly swinging his arms to and fro in a bizarre echo of Rock'em Sock'em Robots, and walking as if there were a warm, freshly laid dump permanently ensconced in his RoboDrawers.

To add insult to injury, RoboCop's makeup FX in "PD" really leave something to be desired. They are so bad, in fact, that the RoboHelmet-less Fletcher looks like Mandy Patinkin from "Alien Nation," replete with what appears to be a shopworn Tupperware bowl spray-painted a drab gray and hastily slapped onto the back of Fletcher's ridiculously enlarged noggin. What's worse, as the miniseries goes on, Fletcher's RoboSuit seems to fit him less and less snugly. At one point, when RoboCop visits his own gravesite, the suit's chin-guard seems to be floating independently from the rest of the RoboHelmet, careening away from Fletcher's jaw by several maddening inches.

Furthermore, those who are familiar with Julian Grant's decidedly unimpressive B-movie oeuvre (most especially the utterly dreadful direct-to-video "Airborne") know all too well his pronounced limitations as an action filmmaker. Grant fancies himself an ace action director, in the mold of George ("Mad Max") Miller and James ("The Terminator") Cameron. However, unlike those esteemed cinematic kineticists, Grant has absolutely no sense of timing or geography when it comes to arranging action set pieces. To be perfectly candid, his "style," as it were, is actually more in line with that of an unadorned hack like Roger ("Battlefield Earth") Christian. Grant's action scenes go on and on and on, in a way that oscillates between being boringly redundant and spatially confusing. Grant will repeat the same information time and again, such as having a procession of nameless, faceless bad guys meet repetitive, cookie-cutter deaths at the hands (or rather guns) of the good guys, and all the while within settings where it's difficult to tell where the bad guys are positioned at and/or coming from with respect to the good guys.

The verdict: 2 out of 4 stars.

A worthy effort.

[chrisow · 1 July 2002]

It's clear that Julian Grant, Brad Abraham and Joseph O'Brien are fans of Robocop. They have updated the series for the new millenium and spin on a few ideas of their own.

John Cable was an excellent addition to Robocop. Him and Alex Murphy are great to see in action. Cable is similar to Murphy in many ways: family man, law man, takes no nonsense. Full credit to Maurice Dean Wint. His wife, Sara Cable, reminds me of Clarance Boddiker in a few ways as well.

However, some things just don't work: Page Fletcher is physically wrong for Murphy. He's 5 ft 7. Hardly intimidating. Even his son towers over him and his nose is massive, although he does a good job of handling the emotions. The idea to have Robocop constantly shutting down and jumping when shot like an epileptic gets tiring after a while.

Ultimately, a worthy effort.

Robo Hits the Recycle Bin

[JoeB131 · 2/10 · 20 February 2010]

Blame Canada! Essentially, this is 8 hours of recycling. There's really nothing new here we didn't see in the previous three movies. OCP is evil, Robo is somehow decent, or maybe he's just a robot.

Did we really need more of this? Oh, yeah, and then we have all the fun "pun" names. Like Ann R. Key and Lexx Icon. Why not include characters named "Jim Shoo" while you are at it? It seems the bit of dialog and plot are only interludes to hang the shootout scenes on. Lots and lots of shootout scenes, I lost track after a certain point of who was being shot for what, exactly.

The plot is that an aging RoboCop is considered a has-been in OCP's new Delta city, lots of corporate maneuvering by evil executives that could never actually exist outside a parody. There were a few actors who didn't phone it in...

RoboCrap

[skeeziks8888 · 1/10 · 2 March 2006]

I actually worked on this abortion for most of 1999. I can't say there is any aspect of it I am particularly proud of, it was like a bad dream. The only redeeming factor is my cheques didn't bounce!

Has this Epic Masterpiece actually made it onto DVD? Usually the Space Channel or CITY-TV (co-funders) play it in the wee hours of the morning. I may look around for it in the remainder bins or second-hand stores and re-gift it next Christmas to a company person I especially despise.

My condolences go out to the beleaguered editing team (Chuck Kahn, I love you buddy!) and those poor underpaid folks at the post-house Stargate Studios (no relation to the SF series)in Toronto who had to put up with the director (anyone with really long hair who wears a full length black leather jacket and white running shoes has a fashion problem, ya know?)fuming at them and making endless changes for no $... eh...you get the picture, typical bottom-feeder stuff.

The music score is mariachi music. It's ridiculous and rings completely false, like John Cable's moustache which looks like it might fall off and be inhaled at any moment.

Oh yes, about the SPOILER: it could be called Brokeback Robo in a way, the two RoboClutzes shamble off into the good night. We all should do the same and avoid, AVOID, A-V-O-I-D this bland uninspired dreck.

"Brought to you by fans of the original" indeed. Meh.

Worse than the reboot

[krycek19 · 1/10 · 5 October 2015]

Bad acting: check Dull way too long dramatic scenes: check Awfuldialogue: check Dull way too long action scenes: check Awful sound effects: check Awful music: check Actor playing Robocop too short: check Actor playing Robocop, not moving like Robocop: check Robocop has a mechanical voice every time he has his helmet on: check Robocop acting more like a machine and less like a human: check Low budget: check Complete and utter crap and insult to the real Robocop (1987): check

IMDb goes on about their 10 lines even though I have nothing else to say.

Smashing entertainment, just don't expect film quality.

[BrickNash · 7/10 · 30 October 2016]

Hmmm, this series doesn't seem to be very popular but on closer inspection the criticism seems to be from the "watched the first 10 minutes then turned off" crew.

I'm unsure how you can fully judge something without watching it but that's the level of mentality here.

Anyway, I think Prime Directives is a great slice of binge entertainment. Nearly 6 hours of action and story set in the Robocop universe and the stories are very interesting too. The usual Robocop themes of family and greed are here but they throw in some plot points about obsoletion as well which I found very cool.

This is a TV production so don't expect any great special effects here but the cinematography is top notch and very moody and it's all absorbing enough to hook you in.

Now it has some bad points and most of that comes from the acting. It's pretty bad right across the board with maybe only one or two standouts but yep, it's really corny. Page Fletcher looks like a poor man's Dennis Hopper and far too short to be Robocop in the first place. He's "ok" as Alex Murphy but honestly he bungles about in the Robo suit looking constipated and his shoulders are so hunched up it loos like he could explode. The rest of the cast fare better but honestly, not by much.

It's surprising because the script, while not the snappiest is really quite good and fuses well with the extended stories and even throws in a some memorable lines here and there.

The best thing about it is that this is the extended runtime. Here we have FOUR feature length episodes all connected to the same skeleton story and it's great fun immersing yourself in the Robocop universe for that amount of time. The 6 hour running time means that the story and plots can really breathe and be fleshed out quite a bit so this adds tremendously to the connection between audience and program.

I honestly think that some people watch this and expect the same quality as the films and that just isn't going to happen.

Regardless aside from some bad acting and Robo himself being somewhat miscast this is a great pieces of quality entertainment that lasts a good while and there is PLENTY to enjoy here believe me so give it all of it) a shot and if you keep in mind it's production you shouldn't be disappointed.

Terrific for tearing into on a binge after the first three films.

Worst Robocop Outing I have ever seen.

[sgtdraino · 1/10 · 9 August 2004]

I'm a big Robocop fan. The only Robocop thing I HAVEN'T seen, was the cartoon, so I can't compare it to that one.

But in comparison to the 3 movies and, yes, even the TV series, this is the saddest Robocop has ever been.

Robocop is, of course, the ultimate superhero movie.

Robocop 2 was almost as good. It's biggest shortcoming was the lack of the classic Robocop theme music. If Basil's music could somehow be edited into this movie, I think people would be amazed at the improvement.

Robocop 3 was almost as good as Robocop 2 (seeing a trend here?). The music is back, most of the characters from the previous movies are present. Robert Burke is no Peter Weller, but he does his best, and his best is just barely good enough. Robocop 3 is a bit cheesier than the previous entries, and Robocop SHOULD NEVER FLY. However, the movie does have some moving moments, and on the whole did feel like "Robocop."

Robocop: The Series was geared towards a younger audience. The violence was toned WAY down, and some of the acting was about as cheesy as what was found in Robocop 3. Unfortunately, none of the villains measured up to any of those found in any of the movies. All were too cheesy. HOWEVER, Richard Eden did an excellent job as Robocop. Better than Robert Burke in Robocop 3. The supporting cast of good guys were also quite good on the whole, with the possible exception of the popularly despised "moppet." The creators did a pretty good job of maintaining the visual style of the movies, with the same cars, uniforms, gear, etc. I could tell they cared about what they were making. Yes, it was juvenile, but it had heart and it still felt like "Robocop." The show's opening music theme was particularly good, an expansion on Basil's original theme.

Robocop: Prime Directives was very, very sad for me. I'd been anticipating this quite a bit, and was prepared to give it a lot of slack. I'd kept up with production on their website, and had heard that the folks involved were big Robocop fans.

I was VERY disappointed.

As many have mentioned before, Page Fletcher was totally miscast. I'm sure he did his best, but he was just way too short, and did not know how to move or act as Robocop. The worst portrayal of Robocop in existence. The plot of the miniseries I found to be dull, cheesy, and clichéd. The effects were not even up to the level of what was found in the TV show. Because this story takes place so many years in the future, there are no familiar images to tie in with what has transpired before. It's almost like Robocop was dropped into some other town, where nothing is like it was. He is the only familiar image, and a sad miscast image at that. There is no sense of history. The fact that Prime Directives pretends that Robocop 2, Robocop 3, and Robocop: The Series all never happened is an insult and a cop-out (a Robocop-out?). Sure those movies and the TV series had their faults, but ALL of them were superior to Prime Directives. A sequel should only ignore what has come before under the most dire, DIRE circumstances. Say... Alien 3. And if that sequel does ignore what came before, it had better be good enough to merit that. What came before Prime Directives was not that bad, and Prime Directives was not NEARLY good enough. F-

Not as bad as some people think.

[Ironman-7 · 8/10 · 14 January 2004]

I found this in a clearance bin at a video store. I bought it and gave it a watch. While its not nearly as good as the Original, it has its merits. It actually has a plausable plot, not anything like Robo 2 and 3. It has its violent moments, and many flashbacks. It changes a little of the history, but its close enough for my tastes. I eagerly await the next installment, which will hopefully come soon!!!

Okay Mini-series

[Rautus · 7/10 · 18 October 2008]

"RoboCop: Prime Directives" (2000)

Directed by: Julian Grant

Screenplay by: Joseph O'Brien & Brad Abraham

Based on Characters created by: Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner

Review:

With RoboCop 3 the franchise went into a more family friendly direction, this style was followed with RoboCop: The Series which was a short lived TV show made in 1994. As with RoboCop 3 the violence was toned down to be more family friendly and the character was aimed to appeal with children.

In 2000 Fireworks Entertainment wanted to make good use of the rights to RoboCop before they would expire so they decided to make RoboCop: Prime Directives and return the franchise to it's roots by making it dark, violent and satirical like the original 1987 Sci-fi classic.

The 4 part mini-series is a mixed bag, it's got it's good points and bad points. One of the good points is that the RoboCop franchise is back to it's old roots again meaning that the violence and satire isn't toned down.

Another thing I liked about RoboCop: Prime Directives was RoboCable, I thought the character was great. It was interesting to see RoboCop meeting his match.

The action was pretty good, it was violent and gritty like RoboCop and RoboCop 2.

The acting was okay, it's what you'd expect with a made for TV movie.

The music was okay but at times it didn't fit in with RoboCop, the overture theme is definitely catchy and I do like it but it feels like it belongs in a Western and not a Sci-fi.

One of the main problems with RoboCop: Prime Directives is the low budget, because of it the RoboCop suit does look like kind of rubbery. The visual effects also suffer because of the lack of money, it doesn't bother me too much since RoboCop: Prime Directives was a made for TV movie so you're going to expect effects like that.

Another flaw with RoboCop: Prime Directives is that at times it doesn't feel like RoboCop. The whole computer virus plot doesn't feel like it's part of RoboCop.

A minor flaw is that the actor playing RoboCop, Page Flecther is a little short for the role.

Plot:

Dark Justice:

It's been ten years after RoboCop's creation and now Delta City has became the safest place on Earth. RoboCop now considered unnecessary is feeling tired, obsolete and quasi-suicidal. His son James now an adult is working for OCP, the mega corporation that's on the verge of bankruptcy. One night RoboCop is called in to deal with a hostage situation, there he meets John T. Cable. His old partner in Metro South before he was transferred. Whilst dealing with the incident a mysterious masked vigilante called the Bone Machine shows up, damaging RoboCop and killing the leader he escapes before the police can get him. Once repaired RoboCop discovers that the Bone Machine is working for OCP, enlisting the help of Cable they try to find out the secret behind the Bone Machine which costs Cable his life.

Meltdown:

Cable is resurrected as the latest crime prevention unit, RoboCop now a fugitive is hunted down by RoboCable and a band of Robohunters.Taking shelter in old Detroit RoboCop meets a young girl who's Mother and friends are tech thieves. RoboCable eventually meets up with RoboCop and the battle of the machines rages again as RoboCop tries to make RoboCable remember who he really is. Meanwhile in OCP company executive Damian Lowe kills the entire board of directors taking over the company where he plans to use his new computer program SAINT to take control of the city's systems.

Resurrection:

After changing sides RoboCable and RoboCop are both fugitives, badly damaged after the encounter with the Robohunters RoboCop is found by the tech thieves who decide to repair him. Meanwhile RoboCable sweeps the streets eliminating the Robohunters, while being overwhelmed by a surprise attack RoboCable is saved by another tech thief named Dr. David Kaydick. Taking him to his hideout he repairs RoboCable as well as implanting a chip in his head forcing him to do what he says otherwise he'll activate it. RoboCop now repaired wants to find Cable, following a signal RoboCable finds the hideout and attacks them. The battle is interrupted by the Robohunters now lead by RoboCop's son, Kaydick kidnaps the girl who happens to be his daughter. Using her he plans to activate a powerful virus called LEGION to destroy all technology and life in the entire planet.

Crash & Burn

RoboCop, his son and the last remaining tech thief go to Delta City in an attempt to stop Kaydick from unleashing his super virus by transferring it into SANIT. Once there the ultimate battle begins as RoboCop and RoboCable fight for the final time.

Overall:

RoboCop: Prime Directives has it's flaws but it's still an alright mini-series. Check this out, it's worth a look.

Interesting premise that crumbles under the weight of it's promises

[Takeshi666 · 3/10 · 24 November 2018]

After the abysmal critical and popular performance of Robocop 3 and the watered down TV series, it seemed like poor old Robo was out of breath which is probably why a Canadian production company was able to get the rights and made big promises to return the character to it's serious, satirical, blood-soaked roots.

On paper, this should've been good; it's now been over ten years since the original film and Robocop is aging, both in his organic and mechanical components. Not only that, but Alex Murphy's son, Jimmy, is now a junior executive on OCP. Delta City is no longer just a dream, but OCP has committed serious managerial errors, imposing a non-lethal crimefighting policy, just in time for a new, very much lethal supervillain named Bone Machine to make his appearance, all while a sinister cabal named Trust is formed within the ranks of the OCP.

Problem is that the production falls flat straight out of the gate as Page Fletcher is far too small of stature to fill the Robocop shoes. Or the rest of his costume, because he looks like the suit was made for someone far bigger than himself. The new, second Robocop's costume fits slightly better on the person wearing it, but still doesn't look quite right, thanks to his lips practically bursting through the prosthetics. The production values in general are so poor that the earlier TV series looked like a Hollywood production in comparison.

While they technically succeeded in delivering on their promise, it certainly feels like the use of the adult elements is somewhat misguided. Graphic violence, the little there is, doesn't really serve much in the way of purpose the way it did in the original. Somebody gets shot, a squib goes off. It's nowhere as over the top as the first two films. The trademark satire feels somewhat toothless, largely thanks to the extremely cheap look of the in-universe TV broadcasts, which never convince you for a second these were produced by a multi-million dollar megacorporation.

And then there's the story. There's nowhere near enough of it to pad out the six hour runtime, and it feels like there was a huge change in production staff midway through because the sudden change in direction comes almost out of nowhere. Suddenly there's a new villain with a new plan, the cabal within the OCP is almost completely sidelined, and the only plot thread carried through all four mini-movies to the end to any kind of a satisfying conclusion is the James Murphy subplot.

I never saw this series on it's broadcast, largely because I don't think it was ever actually broadcast here. It also never really seems to come up when discussing the character; at most people mention the third movie or the TV series saying "oh yeah that was bad", but this never seems to crop up. I bought the DVD many years ago and despite having watched it then, I realized I remembered almost nothing about it on my re-watch, but I can now see why that was the case; the story is such a mess and the production values so bad, that to be quite honest, if I had to recommend anybody either this or the earlier TV series, I'd probably go with the latter. Bloodless as it may be, it's positives far outweigh the negatives compared to Prime Directives.

Gotta Love It.

[Nick Zbu · 21 July 2001]

Well, being a Robocop fan is tough: after the first movie you have to deal with the insanity and cruelity of 2 and the silliness and goofiness of 3, then the various cartoons (?) and TV series. Frankly, I had given up on the series in any respect until I saw this.

I admit, I had little faith in it. I expected it to be ripe cheese and my only expectation was that it was better then "Black Scorpion." And it was.

And unlike every sequel before it, it was GOOD.

It takes a while but Page Fletcher does a good Robocop despite being a bit short for the role and having some bad makeup, but with the mask on he plays the part to the hilt. The inclusion of Bone Machine (first part only) is quite a good one: it's comic-bookish but more in the dark "Punisher" way and actually comes off as quite threatening. And the character of John Cable? Superb. Where was this guy (both incarnations) in the first three movies? Truly steals the show.

The plot of this miniseries is truly written by fans of the first movie. They must have read my mind because finally the high officials of OCP get their just desserts, only to be run by a true maniac that reminds one of a very very lite Kurtwood Smith. And speaking of which, it is a good feeling to see that the only good idea from Number 3 (OTOMO) was given a good cameo. He deserves it. ;)

Plus, the ending is a true and fitting one, one that has been repeated elsewhere but not as much effect as it has here. That final scene with Robocop heading out 'into the sunset' made me wish that this whole miniseries had been made earlier. If it had, the whole Robocop series would have been GREAT instead of what it has become.

But it doesn't matter. Despite some flaws (the constant repeating of famous lines, over and over again), this ranks up there with one of the best miniseries of all time. This is a must to watch, to tape, and buy when it IS released on DVD.

Come on, release it on DVD!! Please?? :)

Robocop is officially ruined

[smartbomb · 1/10 · 5 October 2000]

Oh my goodness, this is awful stuff. Robocop does not appear to survive the translation to TV. Nor does it survive the crappy writing or an apparently shoestring budget. This is a Bad Idea.

From Robocop I expect:

1) gruesome TV-unfriendly violence; 2) expensive effects; 3) smart, entertaining, subversive writing; 4) plausible near-future technology.

Sadly this show had none of that. What's REALLY disappointing, is how the technology in the old 1987 movie looks MORE futuristic than the stuff in this show made in 2000. I mean, come ON.. even with a TV budget. And that idiotic laughing villain with the $.99 Halloween mask?

I'll think of it like Star Trek 5: "it never happened".

*/5

Congrats on The Worst Movie I have ever seen. Ever. Seriously, what the hell.

[adctd2gtr · 1/10 · 26 August 2006]

When my friends and I rented this movie, we were hoping for a badly-made heckle fest. The kind that's so horribly bad that it just makes it funnier to watch, whether it was meant for comedy or not. This movie was even worse than that. It was basically unwatchable, except for the train wreck effect, as people call it. You know, when there's something so bleeding awful that you can't seem to turn your sight away, yet it only gets worse as you watch. This was that on a DVD for all to lose self respect from. In any case, we stuck it out till the end in hopes it would redeem itself at *some point*. We would have saved a few Kleenex from confusion/anger-induced nosebleeds, had that been the case.

It was as though nothing had anything to do with anything else. The movie begins to go into some detail establishing one plot device or another, and then you don't hear ANYTHING about it again. One minute there's this little girl talking to Robocop - the next, she runs AT LIGHT-SPEED, super-powers-style, down an alley - for no reason whatsoever, much less any explanation or relevance to anything in the rest of the movie. There were countless moments of visual miscarriage in this movie but the so-called climax may have been one of the worst, where for approximately 15 minutes straight, you have a bunch of SWAT team members or something fighting against Robocop (for no reason at all, it seemed), while this little girl is screaming, and Robocop kneeling over her to protect her. For 15 minutes. With NO CHANGE. What the hell.

I was going to rant about a couple more of the asinine moments in the "movie" (or as I call it, 'What the devil's autistic little brother, Steve-o might subject you to if you're a sinner when you die') but I'm pretty much starting to get annoyed all over again about the 90 minutes that movie will never let me have back. I hate you budget Robocop. Please die again.

Worst ripoff ever!

[terkel-2 · 1/10 · 20 April 2007]

This is apparently made as a series of movies. It does NOT work at all! Wrong Robo, for one thing. Page Fletcher acts nice as Murphy, but as Robo he'll be laughed at by street-dancers, me and the ORIGINAL Robo, Peter Weller. He moves as a 9-year-old, trying to act as a robot. As you may have guessed, I'm NOT impressed. I'm NOT a gore-violence-kill-freak, but this were some 90 minutes of my life, I'd like to get back. So boring, and long-winded - but there's apparently 3 more after this. I'm not watching!

Robo 1 & 2 with Peter Weller were fantastic. First time I saw Robocop,I was shocked! Really! I'd never seen a more violent, graphic disgusting movie. And I've seen a lot of horror flicks *LOL* Years later, I found out it was meant to be sarcastic - and 1 & 2 were.

Avoid this sh*t if you can.

Roblow Cop

[hotreels10 · 1/10 · 8 February 2014]

To say this one blows is being nice. This was painful to watch. I caught it on a late night showing on Encore. If you think Robocop 3 was bad, wait till ya get of load of this one. It's full of bad acting, with a poorly written script. There a lot of bad slow motion action scenes used for "effect" really cheese up the movie even more. He stumbles around like a drunk trying to walk on stilts. A lot of the fight scenes consist of him being thrown through or falling into glass, which some how seems to injure and slow him down. I could go on and on about how bad it is.... Let's just hope the 2014 Robocop reboot is much better.

If you've seen the TV series.....

[tylerism1 · 2/10 · 11 April 2006]

If you've seen the TV series and thought it was garbage, then you can avoid this and not regret wasting four hours of your life. This version took elements from the first movie and the TV series and tried to make something out of it. Alas, you just can't go any higher than the first movie. I watched the TV series only because it was Robocop and he's one of my all-time favorite heroes. It's a shame that people in Old Detroit make so many bad decisions that they end up looking like middle school dropouts who were given positions in power. If they had made the series out of the short-lived comic book then it would have been a gigantic hit among Robo fans. But, back to this movie. The actors did their jobs well, but the scripting was disastrous and unrealistic. If you want Robocop then I suggest you see Robocop or even Robocop 2. Watching this will only tarnish fond memories of the originals.

Not half bad!

[gothamite27 · 7/10 · 7 December 2004]

I recently bought this miniseries in its entirety at a very cheap price. Although it was well worth the money and I did enjoy it, there were numerous things that didn't appeal to me.

First of all, the special effects were horrendous. Some parts of the films looked as though you were watching a video game. Also, the music was nothing like the classic RoboCop theme (I still get shivers up my spine when I hear that tune...). The theme tune in these films is campy and sounds more like something out of a western. Lastly, Page Fletcher looks nothing like RoboCop. He is short and has an annoyingly shaped mouth and chin (seeing as that's the only part of Robo's skin that you see, you'd think they'd find an actor with a 'handsome' chin). He also speaks more like Microsoft Sam then RoboCop. His performance would not have been so bad if the storyline did not keep throwing 'Murphy Memories' at us. Page Fletcher looks more like an average cop then the cool, sophisticated but compassionate Murphy that Peter Weller delivered to us all those years ago. He is also several years too old, seeing as though the memories are set before Murphy transferred to Metro South.

Fletcher's costume does not help the problem either. It looks acceptable when he's wearing the Robo helmet (it actually looks pretty cool since it is so battle-damaged). But when the helmet is removed, you can tell that it is a man in a costume. Unlike the 1987 original, or even the later TV series, this suit had no complex wires and circuitry attached to Murphy's face. Murphy's face looks exactly the same as it did before he was shot down. Also, you can easily spot the seams at the chin that lead down into Fletcher's neck.

Anyway, now that I'm finished ranting about the series' problems, I can tell you the good things about it.

First of all, this series 'pretends' like the events of the second two movies (and the TV series for that matter) didn't happen. That means, no RoboCop 2s, no Detroit revolutions, no jet packs etc. This was a good move.

Second of all was the unique comic-book plot the four movies delivered.

**SPOILERS** In the first movie, Robo has to deal with the villainous Bone Machine (who looks a bit campy but anyway). He partners up with his old partner John Cable (who is unaware that he is his old partner.) By the end of the film, OCP adds a fourth 'Prime Directive' into Murphy's system, forcing him to kill John Cable. I enjoyed 'Dark Justice' because it didn't throw us right into the main story as of yet. For now, it was focusing more on the characters and where they've been for the last ten years. However there were parts I did not enjoy. But I think I've said enough about the abysmal special effects and Page Fletcher's casting.

In the second movie, wouldn't you know it, Cable is now RoboCop 2 (or RoboCable). He basically looks exactly the same as RoboCop 1, except he is a shiny black and his visor is silver. Evil OCP executives use RoboCable to frame RoboCop and then use Cable to destroy RoboCop. However, Murphy recognizes his friend and frantically tries to make him remember his past. 'Meltdown' was good because we finally got to see a RoboCop 2 that didn't look an obnoxious tank or C-3PO's mother-in law. Also, we get to see Murphy's old partner go through the same confusion and pain that Murphy himself went through all those years ago. On a more negative note however, a lot of focus is put on the 'Cable' character, leading me to believe that the series on a whole has got more to do with him than to do with RoboCop.

'Resurrection' was easily my favourite of the four TV movies. Crappy special effects and laughable acting is kept to a minimum.

**MAJOR SPOILER WARNING** The best thing about 'Resurrection' was that we see Murphy's friends activate the part of brain that was never re-activated when he was turned into RoboCop. This part theoretically contains all of his memories as Murphy. We see him relive everything. We even see that famous Clarence Boddicker mutilation shot (which has appeared in every live-action RoboCop series or movie ever made). It is in this segment that the story of this miniseries truly unfolds. In this episode we meet evil scientist David Kaydick who is trying to upload a virus onto an OCP project called S.A.I.N.T. (a computer that is to control everything in Delta City). There was only one part of this segment I really did not like. There is a VERY cheesy bullet-time sequence where RoboCop's bullets ricochet off Cable's. This is another RoboCop 3-style attempt at making something stupid look like something cool.

The last episode of the series was something of a disappointment. Although it was easily better than the first two episodes, it was not as good as 'Resurrection'. Where 'Resurrection combined action, classic RoboCop drama, a reasonably solid plot, and startling revelations, 'Crash and Burn' only delivered the action. It was still more or less enjoyable however, what with RoboCop's grown up son James Murphy now one of the good guys. It is enjoyable listening to him call RoboCop 'Dad'. In this film, Kaydick is trying to upload 'The Legion Virus' into the S.A.I.N.T. mainframe (residing in OCP control tower) and Murphy, James and their friend from the abandoned Old Detroit Ann R. Key (stupid, I know). Before long, the building is locked down by Kaydick and the gang are trapped inside, having to deal with both the defences and Kaydick.

Overall, 'Crash and Burn' ended things on a satisfactory note, but not on an excellent note. The only thing I really hated about it was that they ended it in such a way that a sequel would only be ludicrous. But then again, it ended RoboCop period. It showed us how things ended with Murphy, and they ended on a happy note, which is good.

'RoboCop: Prime Directives' is a must for fans of Murphy's plight. Although Page Fletcher was not an inspired choice, the story and atmosphere make up for both his performance and the RoboRubbish we've had to put up with since RoboCop 2 was released. My only advice to anyone that hasn't seen it is to buy the series in its entirety like I did. The series is made so that one episode is no good unless you see the rest of the series. I give this series 7/10.

If you saw this movie you may already be disabled

[gdicommand · 1/10 · 30 January 2006]

Or at least partially paralyzed from having to lobotomize the part of your brain that wants to be entertained. Having ventured the first 10 minutes into this movie I was well aware of the true terribleness of it all. Thank God that Page Fletcher wasn't the original Robocop otherwise we might not even of had the next two (the only ones worth watching). This movie is Horribly Horrific for 2 reasons. 1) the acting is terrible, at first I thought this was just the bad guys, but eventually it turned out that all the actors were terrible 2) the script was awful, it was like someone took a dump, Called it a Robocop sequel and then filmed said excrement.

Long story short, terrible movie, don't watch it, save you brain and your money, if you can destroy a few copies so that they cannot plague this earth anymore with its terrible filth

Robo outdated and feels his rust.

[Robocopm4 · 9/10 · 23 August 2001]

This is probably the 2nd best RoboCop franchise motion picture. It totally ignores Robo 2+3 and the series. Prime Directives is 10 years after RoboCop(1987). The story line is around RoboCop AKA Alex Murphy and his old friend John Cable. OCP is almost bankrupt from govering Delta City (the safest place on earth). There answer is S.A.I.N.T. a neo-brain that can control the whole city. And they can sale it at a huge price. Everything looks good although a secret orgainzation called "The Trust" hates the idea. They want OCP a dominate force. So they try to get rid of Robo. This is a great mini-series and should be continued some how. This is a must see. Its dark, violent, and fun!

Stick with it, it comes alive in E3: Resurrection

[Jay_Rusty · 7/10 · 23 September 2023]

Yes it's a bit corny and dated but honestly it's not as bad as you might think! You can even watch this series with little to no pre-requisite previous knowledge of RoboCop lore.

The acting is hit & miss, but in my opinion: More hit than miss. The set designs and production values are adequate, even if limited and most probably hampered by a limited budget. The writing is typical for a 2001 sci-fi series, even if slightly corny at times, especially when coupled with some hammy deliveries!

In summary: I do recommend watching this series. In the UK the 1st 2 episodes are free to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Episodes 3 & 4 are available via an Amazon Prime subscription.

Absolutely Dreadful

[the_great_riggo_44 · 1/10 · 25 December 2001]

A cheap, plodding, artless piece of garbage. I can't recall seeing something as tediously long and thoroughly dull as ROBOCOP: PRIME DIRECTIVES in...

Actually, now that I reflect on it, I can't recall ever seeing something this bad. Whoever greenlighted and bankrolled this monstrosity should be ashamed of themselves.

Avoid like the Plague.