The first of 7 insanely inferior follow-ups to a certifiable classic still fighting to be rebooted yet again lays down the law on streaming

Judging the franchise on nothing but the ratio of quantity versus quality to have emerged since the barnstorming original rightfully secured a status in the pantheon of all-time greats for both the action and sci-fi genres, it might be fair to say that RoboCop would have been much better off as a standalone movie.

Obviously, that’s not how Hollywood brains tend to operate when anything lands strong reviews and turns a tidy profit, but not once has the ever-expanding universe come close to recapturing the lightning in a bottle that’s ensured Paul Verhoeven’s all-time great a place among the classics.

Having been followed by two feature-length sequels, a pair of animated shows, a duo of live-action small screen efforts, and an entirely unnecessary reboot that brought absolutely nothing new of note to the table across its many iterations, RoboCop has yet to re-enter the same stratosphere of greatness that defined the original.

And yet, with Amazon now controlling the rights following its purchase of MGM and the associated back catalogue, another reboot is currently in the works. However, this is a different reboot from the two reboots that were previously in development, with legacy sequel RoboCop Returns and a prequel series focusing on OCP chief Dick Jones seemingly cast into the depths of nothingness.

RoboCop 2 does have its merits – and it’s a damn sight better than the threequel, that’s for sure – but it was an altogether underwhelming and toothless successor to its illustrious forebear. Regardless, it’s the second chapter to find itself laying down the law on streaming this week, with FlixPatrol outing the mundane shoot ’em up as one of the top-viewed titles on Paramount Plus.