When it comes to the upcoming Robocop remake, there’s three key elements we’re intensely curious about: the titular cybernetic police officer, what might possibly replace Kurtwood Smith’s awesome scenery-chewing performance, and the robots created by megacorporation Omnicorp. The film has yet to enter production so we don’t yet know how the first two will pan out, but thanks to a newly launched viral advertisement, we’ve got a solid look at the films ‘bots.
Appropriately, Omnicorp.com reads like any number of sites created by modern day tech firms. It’s glossy, full of vibrant pictures of the firm’s product line, and makes no mention of the fact that their machines have a tendency to run amok and kill dozens of shareholders (which is probably a smart fiscal move). Unfortunately, it’s apparently in the process of a slow roll-out, so while the front page is functional, most of its links are not. Still, we have been given a look at the reimagined ED-209 (see above), the film’s aerial drones, and a cheery video trailer for the company’s fictional product line.
You can find that clip below or at the site, but while watching you should pay keen attention to two things: first, that the vignette includes several glimpses of technology that will presumably end up as parts of Robocop, and that there is a noticeably intense focus on those aforementioned aerial drones. That’s intentional, as director José Padhila seemingly wants his version of Robocop to be less “Verhoeen-esque Christ metaphor” and more “glimpse of a realistic, corporate-controlled future.”
“Wars in the future are going to be fought with drones. We won’t send a plane with a pilot in, it will be drone. It’s getting that way now and ten years from now that’s how wars are going to be fought,” Padhila told Bleeding Cool. “But what if a drone goes wrong — who is to blame then? Do you blame the drone? How do you fight back against drones when you don’t have drones?”
Apparently the answer to that question is “Robocop,” though it’s intriguing to see that Padhila is at least hoping to offer a message alongside his remake. The original Robocop is such a classic not because it’s a great action movie — though it definitely is that — but because underneath the blood and explosions, the film is a sharp satire of 1980s culture. We don’t know if Padhila has the chops to match Paul Verhoeven’s incisive commentary, but it at least appears that the remake will not simply be a brainless action flick.
