I just don't get it.
This has become the biggest Canadian film ever? This won numerous Genie Awards? This got green-lit in the first place???
"Bon Cop Bad Cop" may have sounded like a good idea on paper, with a somewhat witty premise: a murder on the Quebec-Ontario border results in cross-cultural hilarity and non-stop action. Could be a good time, and potentially have some stinging social commentary. Instead we get a brainless American style action movie with ridiculous 'Canadian content' tacked on. Every mention to hockey, Quebecois swears, uptight Torontonians and whatever Canadian stereotype you can think of feels like it was purposely added in to make it relevant. It just doesn't work. Most of the jokes are beyond groan-worthy, and the action scenes feel as genuine as an episode of Miami Vice.
Writer 1: "How do we make this scene more exciting?"
Writer 2: "I know! The Quebecois cop drives through a crowd of pedestrians rather than slow down behind a tractor trailer!!!"
Writer 1: "OMG! Brilliant!"
Writer 2: "And it's mocking stereotypes, because Quebecois drivers are CRAAAAAZY!!! LOL!!!"
Writer 1: "We are SO gonna win a Genie for this."
And this is supposed to be thrilling action humour? Both cops are two-dimensional characters that embody every lame stereotype of their respective provinces. It's not witty, and it's not smart. The film itself looks like a gritter version of CSI, with incessant cocked camera angles (to make it look more artsy, duh!), constantly changing focus and a strange digital grading of colours. It's a noble attempt at being creative, but it smells just like American television. The story is half-assed and nowhere near as exciting as it could have been, and the villain is a complete joke. For some reason, the actor decided to force a menacing tone onto his speech, and it comes off as hokey. Son of Ontarian cop comes off as what some producer thinks modern teenagers act like, sister is pathetically hipster, and the wife and daughter of the Quebec cop are just boring.
I understand that subtlety is not what action films usually go for, but come on... this? It's such a pathetic production that I couldn't even check my brain out at the door. Why? Because it tries to come off as a satire. But when the creators seem so genuine with their motivations in making an American-style action movie, the satire fails. And horribly so.
This has become the biggest Canadian film ever? This won numerous Genie Awards? This got green-lit in the first place???
"Bon Cop Bad Cop" may have sounded like a good idea on paper, with a somewhat witty premise: a murder on the Quebec-Ontario border results in cross-cultural hilarity and non-stop action. Could be a good time, and potentially have some stinging social commentary. Instead we get a brainless American style action movie with ridiculous 'Canadian content' tacked on. Every mention to hockey, Quebecois swears, uptight Torontonians and whatever Canadian stereotype you can think of feels like it was purposely added in to make it relevant. It just doesn't work. Most of the jokes are beyond groan-worthy, and the action scenes feel as genuine as an episode of Miami Vice.
Writer 1: "How do we make this scene more exciting?"
Writer 2: "I know! The Quebecois cop drives through a crowd of pedestrians rather than slow down behind a tractor trailer!!!"
Writer 1: "OMG! Brilliant!"
Writer 2: "And it's mocking stereotypes, because Quebecois drivers are CRAAAAAZY!!! LOL!!!"
Writer 1: "We are SO gonna win a Genie for this."
And this is supposed to be thrilling action humour? Both cops are two-dimensional characters that embody every lame stereotype of their respective provinces. It's not witty, and it's not smart. The film itself looks like a gritter version of CSI, with incessant cocked camera angles (to make it look more artsy, duh!), constantly changing focus and a strange digital grading of colours. It's a noble attempt at being creative, but it smells just like American television. The story is half-assed and nowhere near as exciting as it could have been, and the villain is a complete joke. For some reason, the actor decided to force a menacing tone onto his speech, and it comes off as hokey. Son of Ontarian cop comes off as what some producer thinks modern teenagers act like, sister is pathetically hipster, and the wife and daughter of the Quebec cop are just boring.
I understand that subtlety is not what action films usually go for, but come on... this? It's such a pathetic production that I couldn't even check my brain out at the door. Why? Because it tries to come off as a satire. But when the creators seem so genuine with their motivations in making an American-style action movie, the satire fails. And horribly so.