Syndicated Incorporated: Robocop- Dark Justice

This is going to be a unique entry in my fairly-new update series: a four-part one.  You see, in the year 2000, those wacky Canadians made a mini-series called Robocop: Prime Directives.  Over in the states, this was released on DVD as four separate movies.  Wait- there's four of them and four segments.  I wonder...

This first part introduces us to the situation we are in.  10 years have gone by since the last movie and Detroit was enjoying a bit of peace.  Unfortunately, crime has made a big comeback, mostly in part to a man/machine known as Bone Machine.  Our hero is still about, although his technology has not been improved in quite a while.  This is due to the company that made him being a weapons manufacturer that prefers to have its own bought-out police force.  That can't be good, can it?

A lot of the film is built around setting up the intertwined relationships of the cast.  See if you can follow this...

*John Cable is the ex-partner of Alex Murphy (aka Robocop) and the ex-husband of...
*Sara Cable, a CEO at the company and new 'friend' of....
*Jason Murphy, the son of Alex Murphy and newest executive of the company.

What are the odds of any of this ever happening?  About 1,000,000 to one, but...whatever. 

The actual story is decent- although it is plagued by a litany of flashbacks setting up the Murphy/Cable relationship- and moves at a steady pace.  Given the budget, the thing is built around two big action sequences: one at the beginning and one at the end.  There is a minor mystery with the reveal of who Bone Machine is, but that is a secondary element to it all.  Ultimately, the whole thing ends with a major character being killed, but with a teaser of thing coming back as a second Robocop.  Color me curious.

Overall, a decent effort to bring a sci-fi action film to a syndicated television environment.  If you can get past the fact that our lead is clearly not Peter Weller in all of the flashbacks, you can have a good time.  Does it top the original two films?  No.  Does it top the last film?  By far.

Part 2 is coming down the pipe soon enough.  All I can tell you is this: Meltdown.  Stay tuned...