#37 Strikes Back

Cop Out (2010) Rating: R

Being a huge fan of Kevin Smith, I was curious to see the progression from Zack & Miri Make A Porno to this. With Zack, it was the first film of his that had me saying "wow" that looks like a "real" film. So when I heard he was doing Cop Out, a film he didn't write, I was worried he would take the same route many directors take when they are given a big budget to direct a film that isn't written by them and totally screw it up and lose their style at the same time. Well rest assured, the progression from Zack to Cop Out is great. Although the language is on the "tame" side for a Smith flick, there is still enough f bombs and dick and fart jokes to please the die hard Kevin Smith fan, but not enough to disgust the Bruce Willis fan. A movie following the typical buddy movie, I will admit that it doesn't break any new ground. It was however a great popcorn flick. Willis & Morgan played off each other perfectly and you really believed that they were partners for 9 years (as the story says). One of the funniest bits was when Tracy Morgan is interrogating a guy using homage's (pronounced hom-aj) to various films. One of the films he quotes he says "Yippee Kayee Motherfucker". At that point the camera turns to Bruce Willis who says "I never seen that one". Now...if you've been living under a rock for the past 20 years, that is an obvious "homage" to a certain cop franchise by the name of Die Hard...starring none other than a Mr. Bruce Willis. .

Thia story revolves around a baseball card owned by Willis that he is trying to sell to pay for his daughter's wedding which is stolen by Sean William Scott's character and sold for drugs. (To me his character, although funny, is the weakest link of the cast) . The Willis/Morgan duo spend the rest of the flick trying to find the dealer that has the card. Morgan's over the top comedy along with Willis' straight laced ways makes for the best buddy/cop duo since Gibson & Glover (yeah I said it). Yes I'm sure that is probably a Cop Out comparison (sorry had to do it), but you tell me of a better duo since then.

All through the film there are various references to other movies, included by the writers but obviously enjoyed by Kevin as the director. I don't know for sure but there was one scene where a young boy is caught driving a car and pulled over by our two heroes. Just watch this scene and let me know if you think this is another homage, this time to George Romero's Dawn of the Dead

I also found that the music selected for the film was pretty awesome. Some of you might not think so (there is a lot of rap in it), but it was the type of rap I like (Beastie Boys & Run D.M.C. to name a couple). But don't fear metal heads...it also has Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" in it....ok...I hope I didn't just scare anyone away.

One issue I had with the film was at some points the edits were a bit off. Like most Kevin Smith films there were single camera shots, and the edits between the characters speaking seemed a bit TVish. A bit like watching a Law & Order episode. At times it had that feeling. That being said, it doesn't ruin the movie. It's just a personal thing for me that I'm sure most people won't even notice. But on a whole, this flick gets two dicks way up from me!!!!