The Terminator is a cyborg (cybernetic organism, cybernetic meaning self-steering), a mixture of machine and living tissue. The Terminator is flesh on the outside (to fool the dogs) but robot inside. Robot skeleton, robot brain. "It does not feel pain, remorse and it absolutely will not stop". The Terminator was designed to seek & destroy, a hero fighter. It chases Sarah Connor relentlessly, stealing, smashing, killing its way, until finally it is stripped of its flesh, revealing its true form, steel bones, demonic eyes. Then it is crushed. The Terminator was manufactured by Skynet, an artificial computer controller of all human life. Self aware, omnipotent, Skynet sets about exterminating humans in death camps.

Robocop is The Terminator reversed, inversed. It too is a cyborg, but with the metal outside and flesh inside (Murphy's brain and spinal column). Human spine, human brain. It is repeatedly hesitant, delayed, stumbling and confused through new-found memories and understanding. It is a cop, a crime fighter. It tries to catch the criminals, but must switch from one to another as events warp around it. Finally it recovers its humanity, it becomes a he again. "Nice shooting son. What's your name?" "Murphy". He stands tall. Robocop was manufactured by Omni Consumer Products (OCP), human controllers of all society's needs. Self-aware, OCP blatantly names itself omnipotent, Omni Consumer Products. It sets about exploiting humans, producing products they don't need, even building a consumer camp, Delta City. OCP, Omni Consumer Products, revels in being omni, all, omnipotent, all powerful. Able to play with human life, it turns human into a robot. Skynet is only talked about, it is unseen. But OCP reveals its heart, the boardroom (and the executive loos).

The same events occur in each film, inverted of course. The Terminator smashes into the police station and walks around, casually shooting all the cops, spraying bullets left and right. He fails to find his prey, Sarah Connor. An extremely violent sequence in concept, (now censored??), much like Assault On Precinct 13 but with the station still active. Robocop smashes into the drugs factory and walks around, carefully shooting all the criminals, targeting efficiently. He locates his goal and makes the arrest.

In film technique, Robocop couldn't help but use some techniques used in Terminator, chiefly the video-view through the character's eyes. Whereas the Terminator has no understanding, Robocop learns as it goes along.

Robocop is easily the best film of the 80's (1987) and clearly builds on the ideas established in The Terminator (1984), particularly in the sci-fi as present day events. Usually in cinema, sci-fi is space-fi, far-futurism, detached from our present consciousness, extrapolating current trends or ideals to a synthetic extreme (Demolition Man, Blade Runner). The Terminator was set in 80's LA, the here and now. Admittedly, it pulls the sci-fi future into the today. Robocop built on this, accepting extreme ideas as normal today.

If you notice any other inversions, please let me know .

Any comments are welcome.