User blog:ARTaylor/30 Years of RoboCop

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the premiere of RoboCop. The film follows a Detroit street cop who is killed in the line of duty, resurrected into a cyborg by a greedy megacorporation, and seeks out his murderers when his memories resurface. It was originally going to be an adaptation of the comic book anti-hero Judge Dredd and eventually evolved, becoming influenced by the Marvel Comics hero Rom who makes a small appearance during the convenience store robbery. Because of its relatively modest budget, the film was a massive box office success and hit with critics. It won numerous awards including a special Academy Award for sound editing and is now considered one of the greatest action and science fiction films of all time. It brought director Paul Verhoeven to the attention of the American public before making numerous hits. The film launched a major franchise that included comic books with the original series made by Marvel, a crossover with The Terminator, video games, two live-action television series, two animated shows including one made by Marvel Productions, a theme park ride, a remake, and even a serious proposal for a real life statue in the actual city of Detroit.

The film features the talents of the late Miguel Ferrer as the ill-fated creator of RoboCop Bob Morton. Arnold Schwarzenegger was originally up for the title role, but it was decided that his bulky frame would be too much for the suit so he was cast in Verhoeven's next film Total Recall.