In the grim dystopia of near-future Detroit, a privatised police force struggles to contain the epidemic of violent crime. When lone good cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) is fatally injured in a shootout, the Omni Consumer Products mega-corporation takes the opportunity to use him as a test subject for their urban pacification project— transforming Murphy into the unstoppable cyborg RoboCop. Following company mandated directives RoboCop starts to clean up Detroit, but visions of his previous life and family begin to resurface along with troubling revelations about his corporate owners. His former partner Lewis (Nancy Allen) tries to help Murphy regain his memories and track down the crime lord responsible for his "death", leading to a trail of corruption that goes all the way to the top.

Paul Verhoeven's "American Jesus" RoboCop is just as electrifying and probably a lot more violent than you remember, with an ungodly amount of squibs and generational effects work by Phil Tippett. Verhoeven's view of a United States torn apart by violent conflict and feasted on from within by venal tech corporations has never been more resonant, but the standout remains Peter Weller's iconic performance: even under bulky prosthetics, he balances humour and pathos to find a deep well of humanity in the cyborg. Gory, funny and occasionally quite moving, this is perfect cyberpunk cinema.