Robocop ~ Reboot, Remake and Rehash Official Trailer

To be honest, I am not sure what I think about this new remake/reboot/rehash of the Robocop franchise This new reboot did what many others have done in recent past and make the main character darker, more serious and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Replacing Peter Weller s Alex Murphy the Robocop in this new version is Swedish-American actor Joel Kinnaman. Americans will probably best know Kinnaman from AMC's "The Killing."  He plays Stephen Holder opposite of Mireille Enos's character Sarah Linden, based on the Danish series, "Forbrydelsen" ("The Crime"). 

Abbie Cornish ("Limitless") plays Clara Murphy, Alex's wife. I am assuming that the story revolves more around Alex's personal issues after he is car-bombed outside his house.

There are some changes to the basic infrastructure updates to the story. The story still takes place in Detroit, and the writers give the bankrupt city another 14 years. The name of the corporation that the city contracts out its police protection to is now called OmniCorp, rather than Omni Consumer Products (OCP) in the 1987 original. 

The head of OmniCorp is a man by the name of Raymond Sellars who is played by Michael Keaton. Ronnie Cox played Dick Jones the CEO, however, even he had Dan O'Herlihy's character known only as The Old Man to answer to. I am not sure of the corporate hierarchy in this new OmniCorp. I don't remember the doctor too much from the original, however, in the new version, Gary Oldman ("The Fifth Element") plays Dr. Dennett Norton, the guy who created Robocop. I like Gary Oldman. Somehow in this new version, OminCorp's  head of marketing (Jay Baruchel) plays an important part. Perhaps he takes on Miguel Ferrer's character Bob Morton. Who knows...

The Anne Lewis (Nancy Allen) will not return, but Murphy does have a former partner by the name of Officer Jack Lewis played by Michael Kenneth Williams. Confusing, isn't it.

Samuel L. Jackson ("Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith") plays a charismatic media mogul, who I am sure is up to no-good.

Based on the trailer above, it seems like more of a "Bionic Man/Darth Vader" like character. This Alex Murphy seems to maintain some of his humanity, whereas, Peter Weller's original seemed more dead than alive, and throughout the film regained his personality and his humanity. I will take a wait and see attitude towards this new version of an 1980's classic.

Here is the official Sony Entertainment synopsis:

"In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years - and it's meant billions for OmniCorp's bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. 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. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice."

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Year: 2014
Staring: Joel Kinnaman, Michael Keaton, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson
Director: José Padilha
Producer(s): Marc Abraham, Eric Newman
Writer: Michael Miner, Edward Neumeier, Nick Schenk, David Self, James Vanderbilt, Joshua Zetumer
Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 117 minutes

Release Date: 2/17/2014