DVDs in Review

Cop Out (Kevin Smith, 2010)

Title: Cop Out (Kevin Smith, 2010)

Release date: September 20 2010

Certificate: 15

Format: DVD, Blu-ray

RRP: £22.99 (Blu-ray)

Rating: 2.5/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

‘Cop Out’ unfortunately lives up to the pun in its title – it seems to just settle for convention and masquerade as a better film. The reason why it could possibly succeed is thanks to the magnetic performance of the ever-charismatic Bruce Willis, and not due to the usually solid behind the camera duties of Kevin Smith (‘Clerks’, ‘Dogma’).

The story isn’t anywhere near as scattershot or localised as his other works. In fact it’s almost painfully formulaic. Uncharacteristically, Smith hasn’t written the screenplay; he’s only directing. That distance from the material is immediately evident. It feels as if Smith has lost that ballsy confidence that allows him to mould immature humour with witty confidence to create guilty pleasures that remain pleasurable after the credits have rolled.

Willis is a cop (straying not too far from his ‘Die Hard’ persona) who is short of cash. His daughter’s wedding is coming up and he needs a break.  He’s got a lead about a rare baseball card worth a fortune that’s gone missing. If he finds it, his worries are over.  Of course he can’t do this alone so he buddies up with a zany partner (Tracey Morgan) whose specialist subject is memorabilia and acting like a fool.

From there on, it’s a tirade of tired clichés and uneasy chemistry between the pair. Willis holds his own, but the gags are dependent upon a certain ‘back and forth’ that here feels fractured. Kevin Pollack crops up with his trademark brand of dark drollness that gave ‘The Usual Suspects’ some sass to distract from the suspense.

The trouble with ‘Cop Out’ is that is doesn’t have a balance. It’s always turned on to comedy, but when the jokes fail, there’s no escape. The thriller aspect is non-existent, the action has been done before, the wild goose chase doesn’t draw you in and the mystery behind the case isn’t engaging.

‘Cop Out’ just doesn’t gel and comes off as an idiotic and misguided tribute to 1980s buddy/cop classics like ‘Running Scared’ and ‘Lethal Weapon’, always taking the lowbrow road rather than trying to soar with something unique.