Robert Downey Jr. takes flight to promote Activision’s latest shooter.
Black Ops II launch day is nearly upon us, and to help stoke the furnaces of the hype train, Activision brought in some Hollywood talent for its latest trailer. Officially titled Surprise, the new ad features the likes of Robert Downey Jr., French actor Omar Sy, as well as web celebs iJustine and Kyle Myers (better known by his YouTube handle FPS Russia). The trailer – which was directed by Guy Ritchie, of all people – sees the familiar faces duke it out in an urban battlefield.
The fight takes place in 2025 in Los Angeles, and includes weaponized robots, killer drones, and flying soldiers. Downey Jr. is seen piloting a jet for a brief moment before meeting an untimely demise.
The Call of Duty series is no stranger to live-action ads, and last year’s There’s a Soldier in All of Us trailer featured both Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator Salvation) and Jonah Hill (Superbad, 21 Jump Street). But regardless of how many “hardcore” players you run into online – or if you yourself are one of them – it’s nice to see the game being promoted for what it is: A high-budget, cheesy war game with more explosions than it knows what to do with.
