RoboCop (1987)

Seeing this film as a child was my first exposure to satire in an action film. The commercials in the film trivialize real threats, while at the same time televised entertainment successfully distracts the working-class from the horrors right outside their doors. Private enterprise pulling the strings of government institutions in order to exert control over people’s lives for the sake of profit? My 9 year-old mind was BLOWN! Sci-fi films exploring such themes were a dime a dozen back then (it was the 80’s after all, and Greed was good) but few films of the decade were able to make those ideas so damn entertaining! With over-the-top violence, a triumphant score, and tons of blood and gore, you hardly notice the subversive message. But In the end, the real reason I dig this film is because Robocop is simply a great hero. Not just because he upholds the law and protects the innocent, but because he does so with a really cool gun. I dare you to watch it and not have fun.