Robocop: Watch the flashy new trailer for the remake

last updated 8 January 2015

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The first trailer for the Robocop remake wasn't exactly warmly received by most fans of the original, who were turned off by the glossy blandness of the material. This second trailer has a bit more bite to it — but will it be enough to convince anyone that this remake was really necessary?

The new trailer for the Robocop remake opens with its own version of the satirical political commentary that defined the original. "What if I told you that even the worst neighborhood in America could be made completely safe?" says Samuel L. Jackson at the beginning of the trailer, standing in front of a waving American flag. "How do I know this? Because it's happening, right now, in every country in the world but this one. It is great to see American machines helping to promote peace abroad. So then tell me, why can't we use these machines here at home? Why is America so robo-phobic?" Trenchant!

Unfortunately, the beginning of the trailer is also the best part of the trailer. Michael Keaton answers Jackson's called by pitching "something that knows what it feels like to be human." That turns out to be Robocop: A human/robot hybrid played by Joel Kinnaman, who undergoes an extensive R&D process on his way to becoming the future of law enforcement. From there, the trailer devolves into a dizzying blur of CGI-heavy action scenes — but scenes that aren't too violent, because that would threaten the remake's PG-13 rating. Add that to the rumblings of creative trouble behind the scenes, and fans have plenty of reason to be skeptical about this seemingly unnecessary remake — but we'll hope the Robocop can surprise us all again when it hits theaters next year.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.

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