''R.O.T.O.R.'' (also known as ''Blue Steel'' and ''R.O.T.O.R.: Police Force'') is a 1987 American
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
starring Richard Gesswein, Jayne Smith and Margaret Trigg. The film has been described as a low-budget copy of ''
The Terminator
''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
'' and ''
RoboCop
''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Daniel O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, and Miguel Ferre ...
'' with some elements taken from ''
Judge Dredd
Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...
''.
The film is well known in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
as the origin of the name of the Argentinian rock band
Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado
Él Mató a un Policía Motorizado, also known as EMAUPM or Él Mató, is an Argentine indie rock band from La Plata established in 2003. It is formed by Santiago "Motorizado" (bass and vocals), Willy "Doctora Muerte" (drums), Manuel "Pantro Puto ...
(''He killed a motorcycle cop'').
Plot
Scientist and police captain Dr. Barrett C. Coldyron develops a prototype police robot he dubs R.O.T.O.R. (for "Robotic Officer Tactical Operations Research/Reserve") as part of his vision for preserving peace in a chaotic future. He is pressured by his superior, the corrupt Division Commander Earl Buglar, to rush R.O.T.O.R.'s development so Senator Donald Douglas, the project's financial sponsor, can use it to campaign for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. Coldyron refuses Buglar's demands to have R.O.T.O.R. ready in sixty days and resigns rather than be fired, leaving control of the project in the hands of his incompetent assistants, Dr. Houghtaling and his robot Willard.
Following Coldyron's departure, a lab accident results in R.O.T.O.R. activating and going out on duty. While on patrol, it stops a motorist for
speeding
Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expres ...
and, not yet having higher brain functions in its programming, executes him. His fiancée, Sonya, becomes R.O.T.O.R.'s target as it views her as her boyfriend's accomplice, and the robot begins a relentless pursuit of her. Coldyron learns of the murder and discovers R.O.T.O.R.'s activation, finding that it is operating under its prime directive, "to judge and execute". He saves Sonya from R.O.T.O.R. at a gas station and helps her escape, informing her that the robot will continue to pursue her and thus she must keep moving. Devising a plan to stop R.O.T.O.R.'s rampage, Coldyron contacts Dr. Corrine Steele, who developed the robot's combat chassis from a unique, self-teaching
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...
, for assistance. They realize that as long as R.O.T.O.R. remains pursuing Sonya, it will not kill anyone else who does not get in its way.
On Coldyron's instruction, Sonya leads R.O.T.O.R. to a fishing camp. Coldyron and Steele arrive soon after, and Steele sacrifices herself to rip open R.O.T.O.R.'s chest, exposing its power core. Coldyron manages to
lasso
A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...
R.O.T.O.R.'s limbs with
Primacord
Primacord is a brand of detonating cord used in blasting. The registered trademark Primacord was originally owned by the Ensign-Bickford Company; Ensign-Bickford sold the trademark to Dyno Nobel in 2003, who manufacture it in their Graham, Kentuc ...
ropes to restrain it, and R.O.T.O.R.'s electrical discharge detonates the explosives, finally destroying the robot for good.
Coldyron files a final report on the incident and leaves the police building. However, he is ambushed outside by Buglar, who murders him to cover up the corruption and embezzlement involved in funding the project. His nephew, Brett Coldyron, subsequently inherits his research and money. Brett, deciding to continue and perfect his uncle's work, creates a new R.O.T.O.R. model, upgraded to include the higher brain functions that will make it capable of
mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...
and modeled in Dr. Steele's physical image.
Cast
* Richard Gesswein as Captain Barrett C. Coldyron, a scientist who runs the police robotics lab and also manages a ranch. Coldyron's dream of a force of robotic officers is shattered by Earl G. Buglar.
* Jayne Smith as Dr. Corrine R. Steele, the designer of R.O.T.O.R.'s robotic chassis.
** Smith also portrays R.O.T.O.R. II, an upgraded R.O.T.O.R. modeled after Steele that appears in the final scene.
* Carroll Brandon Baker as R.O.T.O.R., the killer robot that is accidentally activated. It is a dangerous machine that is adept at everything from
t'ai chi
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...
to full field combat, and can visualize past events in an area by removing its sunglasses. It is built of a new alloy capable of self-teaching, but has one known weakness: loud noises immobilize it.
* Michael Hunter as Earl G. Buglar, Coldyron's commander in the police department. Buglar has been embezzling money from the R.O.T.O.R. project and has promised a corrupt senator, Donald D. Douglas, that the robot will be ready in time for the next election.
* Margaret Trigg as Sonya R. "Sony" Garren, an innocent woman who is stalked by R.O.T.O.R. after it kills her fiancé for speeding. Sonya spends much of the movie fleeing from R.O.T.O.R. in her blue
1986 Impulse while Coldyron and Steele work to develop a plan for defeating R.O.T.O.R.
* Shawn Brown as Mokie Killion, a hard-bitten sarcastic cop. Mokie does not like cleaning up the messes left behind when Coldyron stops group of armed shoplifters.
* Clark Moore as Dr. Houghtaling, Coldyron's laboratory assistant. He is placed in charge of the R.O.T.O.R. project by Buglar following Coldyron's resignation, and his incompetence soon leads to the cyborg's rampage.
* Willard the Robot as Willard, Dr. Houghtaling's robotic aide. Despite being far less advanced than R.O.T.O.R., Willard has a fully formed personality and behaves in human-like ways, such as reading magazines and asking Houghtaling to share his
French fries
French fries (North American English), chips (British English), finger chips ( Indian English), french-fried potatoes, or simply fries, are '' batonnet'' or ''allumette''-cut deep-fried potatoes of disputed origin from Belgium and France. Th ...
. Willard often serves as a voice of reason to the humans around him, providing sarcastic comments on their actions.
* Nanette Kuczek as Penny Gayle, Coldyron's girlfriend.
* Quintin Hardtner as Brett Coldyron, Coldyron's nephew.
The film features extensive
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...
, with Loren Bivens voicing Coldyron, Georganna Barry voicing Steele, and additional voices provided by Rocky Patterson, Mike Collins, Patrick Montes, Jo Brewer and Lawrence Morgan.
Home media
''R.O.T.O.R.'' was released on home video in the United Kingdom by RCA/Columbia in June 1988.
Mill Creek Entertainment included ''R.O.T.O.R.'' in their "Sci-Fi Invasion 50 Movie" DVD boxed set in 2011.
In October 2014,
RiffTrax
RiffTrax is an American company that produces scripted humorous commentary tracks which are synced to mostly public domain feature films, education shorts, and television episodes. With the talents of former ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''M ...
released ''R.O.T.O.R.'' as a video-on-demand title with humorous commentary.
In February 2016, the film was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
by
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
in a double feature with ''
Millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
''.
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
External links
*
*
*
Review of ''R.O.T.O.R.''RiffTrax treatment on official YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:R.O.T.O.R.
1980s science fiction action films
1987 films
American independent films
American science fiction action films
Android (robot) films
1980s English-language films
Films set in Texas
Films shot in Texas
1980s rediscovered films
Rediscovered American films
1980s American films