By Geno McGahee
On September 29th, the highly anticipated COP CAR will arrive on DVD and Blu-Ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Written and Directed by Jon Watts, COP CAR features Kevin Bacon (FOOTLOOSE, MYSTIC RIVER) as a corrupt sheriff with plenty of skeletons in his closet. Two ten-year-old kids stumble upon his cop car and take it for a joy ride and all hell breaks loose in this intense thrill ride. It’s fair to say that COP CAR lives up to the hype.
Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and his best friend, Harrison (Hays Wellford), are running away from home. The two young boys walk along using profanity for amusement. They walk for miles and see a police car in the distance. They realize that nobody is in it and jump in, pretending to drive it and having fun. As they jump around, the keys fall into their lap and they’re off. They are speeding around the town and just being boys. When the sheriff comes back to retrieve his vehicle, he realizes that there is big trouble. With one body buried and one in the trunk of the missing cop car, Sheriff Kretzer (Bacon), is in full panic mode and is trying to keep it together.
Travis and Harrison drive around and are not keeping a low profile. They bring the cop car on the main streets and speed, nearly hitting a passing motorist, who makes a report. Now the heat is really on Kretzer to get the car back, but he has another problem. The dead man in the trunk isn’t dead and the boys let him out. It becomes two young kids against two bad adults and the tension keeps rising with every minute that the film plays out.
COP CAR is a great film with great performances. It’s really easy to like both Freedson-Jackson and Wellford in their roles. The writing is believable for the age and it’s easy to be in their corner. Bacon is without question a bad guy in this film, but he also has some likable traits. He does a great job playing the hero sheriff and the villain killer in this. Bacon never fails to impress and this is another example of his great abilities as an actor.
I highly recommend COP CAR. From the moment the boys find the car, the film becomes very intense and most can relate to their behavior. It brought me back to my stupid days and you feel the excitement and anxiety that they feel. From start to finish, the film really satisfies. Bacon and the filmmakers told the story without saying a lot at times. Despite the fact that the sheriff’s backstory wasn’t put out there in great detail, it’s very easy for the viewer to connect the dots and, at times, his behavior is understood. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment releases this on the 29th of the month and it is worth the purchase.
From a visual standpoint, the film is absolutely beautiful and shot incredibly well. They did everything right. The great look of the Blu-Ray and bonus features were icing on the cake.
Rating: 8/10
BLU-RAY™ AND DVD BONUS FEATURE
- Their First and Last Ride: The Making of Cop Car
Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Wigham, Camryn Manheim
Directed By: Jon Watts
Written By: Jon Watts, Christopher D. Ford
Produced By: Sam Bisbee, Andrew Kortschak, Cody Ryder, Alicia Van Couvering, Jon Watts
Executive Produced By: Lance Acord, Kevin Bacon, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Frank Brenner, Walter Kortschak, Bill Perry, Tom Valerio
Director of Photography: Matthew J. Lloyd, Larkin Seiple
Production Designer: Michael Powsner
Edited By: Megan Brooks, Andrew Hasse
Costume Design By: Ruby Katilius
Music By: Phil Mossman
TECHNICAL INFORMATION BLU-RAY™:
Street Date: September 29, 2015
Copyright: 2015 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 62171305
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Rating: R for language, violence and brief drug use
Languages/Subtitles: English SDS, French and Spanish Subtitles
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Run Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Street Date: September 29, 2015
Copyright: 2015 Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Selection Number: 62171304
Layers: Dual
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Rating: R for language, violence and brief drug use
Languages/Subtitles: English SDS, French and Spanish Subtitles
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1.0
Run Time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
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