Making a sequel to Paul Verhoeven's exceptional Robocop was always going to be a losing game. But director Irvin Kershner's effort is not all bad, although its reputation suggests otherwise.
While it's not significantly more gory than the original, Robocop 2 turns out to be more cold-blooded and manipulative in its depiction of violence: simply put, Kershner fails to inject the comic edge to such scenes, which Verhoeven seems to manage quite regularly. On the plus side, however, there are some good action sequences & nice effects courtesy of Phil Tippet; and the scene where a dismembered Robocop is suspended in the lab, eyes twitching wildly, almost matches any scene in the first film in terms of poignant intensity.
Almost.
6/10
While it's not significantly more gory than the original, Robocop 2 turns out to be more cold-blooded and manipulative in its depiction of violence: simply put, Kershner fails to inject the comic edge to such scenes, which Verhoeven seems to manage quite regularly. On the plus side, however, there are some good action sequences & nice effects courtesy of Phil Tippet; and the scene where a dismembered Robocop is suspended in the lab, eyes twitching wildly, almost matches any scene in the first film in terms of poignant intensity.
Almost.
6/10