Review - Cop Out (2010)

“I was in the moment and the moment said smack ya.”

Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan
Screenplay: Robb Cullen, Mark Cullen

Plot: Jimmy Monroe (Willis) and Paul Hodges (Morgan) are two New York Cops which are considered a joke by most of the department. During a suspension they get caught up in an underworld power play when one of them has an expensive baseball card stolen from him.

Okay people lets all jump aboard the hate train and really rant and rave about this movie. Oh hang on a minute I laughed when I was watching this, I left feeling pretty good, I heard the audience laugh as well. Maybe just maybe this is a funny movie that doesn’t really attempt to be anything else. By the powers of Greyskull we might be on to something.

Now we’ve got that out of the way let me say that in my mind this is the worst movie in Kevin Smith’s catalogue but that doesn’t mean it’s an atrocious film. It has its flaws but I can’t really trash a movie that made me laugh and made me feel chipper on a bad day. There has to be something merit worthy.

Acting wise Bruce Willis does his normal thing acting all tough and sarcastic. This is basically John Mcclaine but on a smaller scale, no terrorists to fight this time. Tracy Morgan is where the movie really hinges. Either you will really like what he does or you’ll be so annoyed that you want to rip your hair out. I as you can tell actually liked him in the role but then again I’m a fan of 30 Rock. Oh and I will say the Juan Carlos Hernandez who plays Raul is so over the top it really annoyed me. Consider that for a minute. In a movie that has Tracy Morgan doing his over the top thing another actor actually in my mind out did Morgan for ham acting.

I have to give one thing to Kevin Smith and that is it looks pretty good and he does move the camera about. If you know Smith movies then you know that any camera movement must be encouraged as he loves the static shot. But there is no real style that stands out and here comes the huge problem I have with this movie. They got Kevin Smiths role arse backwards. I watch a Kevin Smith movie for the script he writes not for his directorial style which is pretty much designed just to get the job down. While it’s great to see Smith stretch himself a little I do miss the dialogue he creates.

The plot has some funny moments but its not continuous laughter and is really something that you watch once and then discard. I would of liked a bit more on Morgan’s character and how the hell he is a cop. There just seems to be a lot missing from the movie, it’s more a gag machine than anything else, and something like that works in sitcoms but doesn’t for a full run movie.

Watch the movie and you may get a few laughs just don’t expect an incredible film. I really hope Smith gets back to his own scripts as that’s what I’m really here for. Don’t believe the negativity of the movie. Sure there are flaws but it could be worse, so much worse.