History Film / ROTOR

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Despite being featured in several early scenes, Coldyron's girlfriend vanishes from the film at the halfway point and is never mentioned again. Likewise, Sonya isn't mentioned again after R.O.T.O.R. is defeated.

* StockSoundEffects: Statum is playing ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}'' on work time, but the sound effects coming from the monitor is from the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 version of ''Videogame/PacMan''.

''R.O.T.O.R.'' was written, produced, and directed by Cullen Blaine Houghtaling, who had previously worked mainly as a storyboard artist for Saturday morning cartoons. It was released in 1987, quick on the heels of ''[[Film/RoboCop1987 RoboCop]]''. It started getting a reputation as classic trash, making the rounds of bad movie sites such as [[http://www.jabootu.com/rotor.htm Jabootu,]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20130713074953/http://bleedingskull.com/r-o-t-o-r-1988/ Bleeding Skull]] and [[http://www.monstershack.net/sp/index.php/r-o-t-o-r-1988/ Monster Shack.]] In 2013, it was featured in an episode of ''WebVideo/BestOfTheWorst'', where its cheesy charms were revealed to a new generation of B-movie enthusiasts. In 2014, the film became the subject of a comedic commentary by Podcast/RiffTrax, with some of the best quotes documented here. After languishing in obscurity for a quarter of a century, ''R.O.T.O.R.'' continues to languish, but not in quite as much obscurity as before.

!!''Tropes'':

--> '''Mike:''' It's like if Lex Luthor had Superman cornered with a kryptonite gun, then decided to trade it for beans.

--> '''Kevin:''' He's in casual attack mode.

** A small one in the beginning, but the police officers tell Coldyron sitting in the back seat to "buckle up". Firstly, there doesn't seem to be any seat belts in the rear seat, but more importantly, Coldyron is ''handcuffed''. How was he going to buckle himself up?

* EstablishingShot: TheMovie! Especially during the “Thursday morning” section, where the film dawdles over the picturesque minutiae of Coldyron's ranch house, his mildly zany morning routine, and his commute to work.

** The line "Justice delivered, C.O.D." is mentioned twice in the film to highlight R.O.T.O.R.'s indiscriminate rampage of PoliceBrutality [[spoiler:and by Bugler as a BondOneLiner IronicEcho after executing Coldyron.]] Nobody explains what the heck "C.O.D." is supposed to mean in this instance ("[[PoliceBrutality certification of death]]", maybe?), making it sound even more dumb than the writers probably were aiming for. Rifftrax had a field day with this line by applying the most regular use of the acronym, "cash on delivery".

* AcronymConfusion:
** Exactly what R.O.T.O.R. stands for actually changes during the film (the second R is alternately "Research" or "Reserve").
** The line "Justice delivered, C.O.D." is mentioned twice in the film. Nobody explains what the heck "C.O.D." is supposed to mean in this instance ("[[PoliceBrutality certification of death]]", maybe?), making it sound even more dumb than the writers probably were aiming for. Rifftrax had a field day with this line by applying the most regular use of the term, "cash on delivery".

* MeaninglessMeaningfulWords: "We're all prognosticators of the future. And since our particular purpose of vision belongs to the creed of law enforcement, we open inroads into tomorrow, in ways and means of those who would serve and protect justice and order."

** The line "Justice delivered, C.O.D." is mentioned twice in the film. Nobody explains what the heck "C.O.D." is supposed to mean in this instance ("[[PoliceBrutality certification of death]]", maybe?), making it sound even more dumb than the writers probably were aiming for.

* AcronymConfusion: Exactly what R.O.T.O.R. stands for actually changes during the film (the second R is alternately "Research" or "Reserve").

* AllCrimesAreEqual: Due to faulty programing, R.O.T.O.R tries to execute anyone who breaks any law whatsoever. In one scene, he kills a guy for speeding, and, somewhat oddly, tries to kill his passenger for what it considers resisting arrest.

* TerminatorImpersonator: R.O.T.O.R. is a Terminator wanna-be with his killing spree justified as a [[PoliceBrutality zero-tolerance crime prevention protocol]] going haywire. It also makes some of the design choices baffling (why the mustache?)