Cop Out

Is not a good movie. It is a bad movie. The worst of Kevin Smith's career. It looks better than a lot of his earlier stuff, he's become a better visualist, but that doesn't mean much when everything else is so substandard. The story is a non-starter. I can't quite recall what all happened, actually. There were buddy cops, a wedding, a rare baseball card, and it all flowed together not at all. It's like someone once saw a buddy cop movie and thought it was neat so they tried their hand at writing one. It didn't turn out so good.

And maybe the original script was good. This film makes it impossible to tell. Maybe Smith was trying to test himself, stretch himself, expand his horizons because it seems like half the dialogue in this film is improvised. I don't know if Tracy Morgan is capable of remembering lines. Or he is so good at seeming spontaneous that he's got me fooled. And maybe a lot of his improv was funny, but I couldn't understand most of it. I like Tracy Morgan. He's great in 30 Rock and I've enjoyed some of his other roles but I don't know if he's cut out to be a leading man.

Especially if the other lead is as lackadaisical as Bruce Willis. You'd think he would have hit this role out of the park as both WIllis and the part he plays in this film are mainly just interested in getting paid. His near catatonic performance cancels out Morgan's spittle fuelled anarchy.

This film just... it's just bad.

The action isn't horrible, but there is nothing memorable about it. I surprised myself by laughing maybe twice, but I felt dirty afterwards. The only thing of note about this film, other than how bad it is, is the soundtrack. It sounds like an 80's buddy cop movie, all cheesy synths and such. I enjoyed it, but it didn't seem to fit the film at all.

Which is the main problem of this film, there are a lot of great things about this film in theory. Tracy Morgan's whirligig of crazy off the cuff comedy. Bruce WIllis' gun and quip slinging chops. The crazy synth soundtrack. Kevin Smith's love of words and characters and how characters use words. These are all good things, these are all things I like. And they are all in this movie, but none of them seem to be in the same movie. This film is like oil and water and vinegar and baking soda. A big messy explosive misfire.