The new Robo Cop: Meet the New Model of Police Officer

Sony has premiered a second trailer for RoboCop online, after having released a preview clip for the new theatrical preview earlier this week. Indeed, the marketing campaign for acclaimed Brazillian filmmaker José Padilha’s Hollywood debut – a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 cult sci-fi classic – has begun to heat up in general of late, to coincide with Thor: The Dark World hitting theaters; and thus, get the film’s geek target audience to take notice (or so the plan goes).

Here is a shortened version of the official RoboCop synopsis:

In RoboCop, multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer.

The new RoboCop trailer forgoes the human drama – the emphasis in the first theatrical preview – in favor of more nonstop action and sociopolitical commentary. That includes more footage of Samuel L. Jackson hamming it up as a caricature of a modern news commentator, as taken from a longer sequence that was shown at Comic-Con 2013. In addition, we get a better glimpse at the various OmniCorp robotic products in motion, be it Robo himself or a higher-tech version of the iconic ED-209 mech.

It’s a fitting strategy too, given that Verhoeven’s original film has long been acclaimed for being an ingenious mixture of satire and exploitative violence – on the SRU podcast our Kofi Outlaw observed that RoboCop (1987) is the closest thing yet to a live-action version of Frank Miller’s landmark The Dark Knight Returns comic book, in that respect. Hence, drawing attention to those aspects of the remake may help to win over skeptical longtime RoboCop fans, while still drawing in newcomers who are less familiar with the history of the sci-fi property.

The 2014 model of RoboCop features updated references to modern warfare and strife in both the Middle-East and here at home in the States, even though the film takes place in the (sorta) distant future of 2028. Problem is, the script – credited to relative newcomer Joshua Zetumer – just seems too on-the-nose with its commentary and philosophical dialogue. Meanwhile, the more pop-action entertainment aspects (see: the ultra-slick action sequences) seem to lack the grisly and pulpy edge that makes Verhoeven’s film so effective.

On the other hand, the RoboCop remake seems to share a good deal in common with the best installments in the franchise, as far as the elements in play are concerned. Similarly, the cast is quite exceptional, with a lineup that includes Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel and Jennifer Ehle. Maybe that will be enough to rescue this movie from being an ambitious, yet ultimately generic action romp?

RoboCop opens in regular and IMAX theaters in the U.S. on February 12th, 2014.