This has got stuff going for it. It ignores the two sequels, and uses the Verhoeven movie as the basis(it, in fact, appears to be in love with it, and uses it wherever possible, most noticeably in the spoken lines), that proves they had the right idea. The satire is also quite present(albeit it tries too hard, worst in the last credits, where it could not possibly be more obvious that they're talking directly to the audience, not to mention how it often underestimates their smarts, and spells it out, same as in the second flick). Moreover, there are plenty of gunfights, as well as some martial arts and car-chases(not all of these are fantastic, if they tend to stay above the level of passable). Each episode seems to start with a bang(there are those that would call them grabs for attention). On paper, this sounds an awful lot better than it is, which is not at all to say that it is all poor. It has several scattered things wrong with it, that unfortunately add together and make the whole less than excellent. For example, the plot is good, and remains so through the mini, but there are perhaps a subplot or a couple over the amount there should be, and not everything pays off(a shame, considering the concepts they at least begin to cover). The pacing can be uneven. While there among the characters are truly interesting ones, others are caricatures, and they get considerable screen time. I will say that this keeps getting even better and bigger, without losing anything, throughout, I didn't think they'd be able to top themselves, however, they went and did just that. The very ending, though parts formulaic and tough to swallow, had something great and well-thought out, in my opinion. The performances are so-so(I personally got a kick out of getting to see Geraint Wyn Davies again), and this is not devoid of screamy acting. This does hold a number of *really* awesome moments. There is unintentionally silly material herein. This is exciting sometimes, and certainly had me thrilled, although not constantly. Why do people continue to use small arms fire against RoboCop, and when will they realize it is utterly and completely ineffective? They cover up the limitations and constraints reasonably. There are repetitive actions(get used to seeing a certain individual storm out with determination). The effects are well-done, meanwhile, no one is going to be fooled and not be able to figure out what's CGI and what isn't. The music is... well, let me put it this way, either they saw the title role as a bit of a cowboy, or the composer is big on Ennio Morricone(hey, who could blame them?). Obviously I hope it's the former, but it didn't always seem staged or filmed to fit that. There are marvelous developments and situations found in this. The writing is a mixed bag, both dialog and story. There is violence, and it could be called excessive, in tone and volume. This I would say is genuinely disturbing a handful times, whether or not that is positive is up to the viewer. I recommend this series to any fan of the first of the cinema-releases, and/or of the iron-clad law-man... be aware that there are areas of this that are going to underwhelm; if you can stand those, you're in for multiple cool, fun sequences and not half bad science fiction. 5/10
