The Movie
The "buddy movie" inevitably evolved into the "buddy cop movie," and this sub-genre yielded some truly memorable entertainment. (48 Hrs. remains a favorite.) Then it went away, and Cop Out was supposed to bring it back, or harken back, or... you know what? It doesn't really matter, because this movie doesn't work on any level.
It's ostensibly a comedy, but it isn't funny. The characters are not content to merely quote other, invariably better movies (ooo, look how charmingly self-aware they are!), so they feel the need to actually say the titles of the movies in question, to remove all doubt (and all chance of a laugh). There's an almost-funny bit that references Die Hard, but instead it's sad because the presence of punchline delivery guy Bruce Willis reminds us of how far the once-mighty have fallen. What little amusement there is to be found here comes from the performances of certain actors, who manage to rise above the script.
Willis and Tracy Morgan are a couple of police detectives so utterly unprofessional, Internal Affairs would hang them out to dry inside a week. But in this story, they pursue a nasty drug dealer (how fresh!), and then a stolen baseball card, and then the drug dealer's car. Yeah, there are enough blatant lapses in logic to elicit an audible "WTF...?" The action is of the seen-it-before variety, not bad but somewhat tired.
Also read Joe Lozito's review of Cop Out.
The Picture
The 2.40:1 image promptly suffers from noisy shadows, noisy textures, noisy backgrounds. Detail, as on faces in close-up, is good but could be better. Blacks offer adequate nuance, I've certainly seen worse. This is probably director Kevin Smith's most technically accomplished film in terms of the cinematography and editing, but the video quality is in no way a Stand Out.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is surprisingly front-heavy, with ample whizzing/ricocheting bullets in the rears during all the shootouts, but not really anywhere else. Bass is potent in the many songs added to the film, but is stingy elsewhere, although a handgun can display the requisite cinematic boom. I also had occasional trouble understanding the dialogue.
The Extras
Warner Bros. nudges their "Maximum Movie Mode" in a different direction with their first-ever "Maximum Comedy Mode," and the results are astounding. It's a return to the elaborate director-hosted (Smith is also joined by co-star Seann William Scott) Bonus View multimedia extravaganzas that began with the Watchmen Blu-ray a year ago. The Cop Out movie-watching experience expands by over an hour with Smith's frequent pauses, full of deleted scenes and raw "dailies" footage, in addition to his running insights. He's smart, engaging, and the content is enlightening, too: This might just be the best of the "Maximum Mode" bunch so far.
[editor's note: why is it that the worst movies get the best extras?]
There are nine breakaway "Focus Points" vignettes on key topics too, about 21 minutes total. "Wisdom from the Shit Bandit" collects ten pearls from the mouth of Scott, four minutes total. Both of these features are in high definition. The Blu-ray is also BD-Live-enabled. Disc Two is a DVD-ROM of the movie in standard definition plus a Digital Copy for iTunes and Windows Media.
Final Thoughts
In one scene, Bruce Willis' character accuses two fellow officers of playing cops and robbers, and that's exactly what Kevin Smith is doing, making a movie born solely of other movies, and ultimately there's nothing to it. Audio and video quality are forgettable too, but the dynamic Blu-ray-exclusive enhancements offered by the director help to acquit him.
Product Details
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