COP OUT review

One day, Kevin Smith may have sat down on his large sofa and said out loud to himself: “You know, I really want to direct an 80’s buddy cop movie like I used to watch when I was a kid…”
Well, it may have been that some producers heard him and so thus we have the possible Genesis of Cop Out, the latest action comedy to grace the shelves at Network Video.
It is quite the homage to that era’s favourite genre, complete with a score by Harold Faltemeyer, resurrecting some of his Beverly Hills Cop type themes again for the occasion. Most of the genre clichés are present and accounted for right down to the Angry Captain and the Obligatory Plethora of Emergency Vehicles in the Street scene.
The undoubted star of the piece is old Mr Yippeekiay himself, Bruce Willis, again playing a weary cop with personal problems in his renowned style that has made him a household name. There’s even an amusing Die Hard reference during the interrogation scene as a nice garnish to the feast of quotes being spoon fed to us on screen.
Partnering Bruce here is not Danny Glover, but American comedian Tracy Morgan. Now, Bruce is Bruce, but Morgan does become highly irksome after a time. Approximately eleven minutes, I think. Yes, he is quite amusing in his delivery, and he does get some good lines, but he overplays his character to the point of being ridiculous and you find yourself wishing that Eddie Murphy had taken the role instead. Seann William Scott’s supporting character of David the thief is far funnier and provides respite from the incessant blathering of Morgan.
The script is thinner than Willis’s hair and the whole movie is rather predictable and unlikely to be mistaken for Heat. It can get quite crude in parts and won’t appeal to those looking for cerebral stimulation nor will it be found on your mum’s Christmas present wish list.
Cop Out should provide plenty of laughs and action for the Gen Y’s, even though they won’t get all the old movie references. Those of us who enjoyed the era that spawned Lethal Weapon and 48 Hours will nod at this tribute, but feel sadly that its title is certainly an apt one and that Kevin Smith should never get to do another…
1 Star