Trailer Review: Robocop (2014)

Welcome to the future of law enforcement in this new trailer for the Robocop reboot.

Robocop 2014 is set in 2028 and stars Joel Kinnaman as Alex Murphy, a good cop in a bad town who is mortally wounded when his car explodes. He is saved when a multinational conglomerate called OmniCorp offer to use him in a groundbreaking experiment. OmniCorp are the world leaders in robot technology and they want to turn Murphy into a cyborg. Their intention is to sell robots to the city of Detroit as law enforcement officers and Murphy is to be their prototype. Murphy agrees to undergo the operation as it would allow him to walk again like a regular guy. He is then turned into a supercop and has to try to adjust to the changes in his life and also reconnect with his wife and child. The city is also rife with crime so Murphy becomes a posterboy for OmniCorp and continues to fight crime with his new body.

This is the second trailer for Robocop which is directed by José Padilha, plot details are still scarce right now but the trailer is full of spectacle and action set-pieces. Murphy’s personal life is not shown much but his transformation into a cyborg is shown in detail as is his attempts to fight crime. The trailer is very entertaining and it also contains some nice references to the original Paul Verhoeven film. Murphy utters a few lines from the 1987 movie which will delight fans of the series. It’s a well edited trailer too with plenty of quick cuts and fast paced shootouts. Samuel L. Jackson also gets some more screentime as the trailer begins with his character Patrick “Pat” Novak, hosting an episode of his Novak Element TV show.  Novak is a prominent supporter of mechanized crime control and he is clearly enamored with OmniCorp’s Robocop experiment.

Robocop 2014 also stars Michael Keaton, Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earl Haley and Miguel Ferrer who also starred in the 1987 Robocop. With such a great cast it is reasonable to expect top notch acting in the film.

What is unclear is if the film will be satirical like Verhoeven’s version which poked fun at everything including big, soulless business corporations. The satirical element elevated the film and made it more than just a sci-fi action flick. Padilha’s film would also benefit from some satire or social commentary and time will tell if it has some depth. There is potential here to explore the consequences of using drones and robots in everyday life and combat situations.

Robocop will be out on February 7th, check out the trailer and share your thoughts.