MovieChat Forums > Space Cop (2016) Discussion > the good and awful of space cop

the good and awful of space cop

posted 9 years ago by punchamonkey
3 replies | jump to latest

so what are things you liked and didn't like about this film?

going in the trailer was not very good for this, but i have to
say i did find a lot of funny stuff in line with their past skits.
i don't really enjoy their reviews as much as i enjoy the skits that
are around them.

i think the writing was competent, a too many long take jokes where
they stretch the awkwardness, but i felt it's part of their humor.

rich evans is actually very funny as lead and did a good job.
mike is not a good actor, maybe that's what he was going for but his 50's
era voice and mannerism was really bad, but he wrote a pretty funny movie
so that's a good thing about it.

the cinematography is really bad in this movie, as in the look, the direction
is fine, but in an era with DSLRs that can mimic film i have no idea why they
have modern effects and camera movement using such ugly DP work.
there are films with no budgets filmed with dslrs and equivalent that look better
than this. i guess that's my main concern is the lack of slick visual compared to
their funny sense of humor.

just point out the chase scene alone is why, the opening framing at the mines
as well some bad dp work.

the diggity d scene was very funny, but there are definite changes in tone
in direction if i remember both guys directed this and you can see weird shifts.
i don't know who directed what but the diggity d stuff was great.

so in all i think the writing was in line with their humor, i thought it was
well put together but the visuals (as in framing) really took a big screw to the film.
the production design was great, great set design stuff as in buildings, the
cg and car stuff but they need to step up their camera work. is it worth a watch i definitely think so, but if they want to be taken much more seriously as film makers
get a better *beep* camera.

[–] fliphop 9 years ago

i guess i didn't notice the camera problems until so many people, like you, pointed it out on internet reviews. I thought a lot of it was great, like Space Cop walking thru sparks, the Moon Mayor zooms, etc. I guess I notice the "problem areas" more now that you have pointed them out... RLM even point some of them out themselves on the commentary track.

But I guess I'm not too picky about camera stuff ? I love it when it's genius like Interstellar or Tarsem Singh's movies, but then again I like a lot of Kevin Smith movies and Smith admits he doesn't know much about things like framing and lighting, he is more focused on dialogue.

things i liked

horrible jokes

awkward pauses and takes that go on way too long

"boobery" (falling down, trashing stuff)

Agnon, Chief Washington, Zorba, Grigg, Moon Mayor, Bartender... and of course Kabasinki's fight work.

Alien masks, looked great.

Space Cop's car + effects, awesome.

The Music!!!

Space Cop as a character (overly violent, nihilistic, a time traveler who, unlike Marty McFly, essentially winds up being a bored clockpuncher and alcoholic who lives in filth. despite his knowledge of the future, his amazing gun, etc.).

Ted Cooper being this weird mix of go-getter detective and manically depressed fish out of water.

Taking the two things above, together, i love that the movie is kind of addressing the actual emotions of time travel. Time travel, in real life, would be horrible, and a large part of it would be the brutal culture shock and the emotional turmoil created by it. I don't think Back to the Future addressed it in the same way - it was an adventure story with some weird situations and incest, but there is no time for brooding or contemplation. Bad guys, good guys, plot, go. But in Space Cop these characters are almost traumatized by it.... and I find it even more interesting that such an emotional approach to time travel is juxtaposed with scenes full of green goo and fart jokes.

Time loop / unintended consequences, which is caused directly by Space Cop's character flaws and alcoholism.

I like that it is an homage to schlock, without being ... insensitive? Like they say in the commentary, Ted's arc is that he learns to stop being a blatant misogynist . . . and Space Cop, who is technically a mass murdering psychopath, is actually proud of the fact that he is not a bigot. It might be the only thing he is proud of and/or positive about in the whole movie.

things i did not like

the racial slur was a bit harsh on my ears... don't get me wrong I love Blazing Saddles but this felt like it missed the target somehow.

the club dancer has a name (Candy) but no lines/reaction shots (maybe a conversation with or about Space Cop? i dunno, maybe it's just me. surely the regular dancers have some opinion of the guy who comes in all the time dressed in a "halloween costume")

a handful of things dont make any sense to me whatsoever, like the Blue bald alien picking up a calculator when the moon base gets blown up. Or Space Cop staring at the screen silently for no apparent reason for 5 minutes. And the VCR bit going on for like 5 minutes. And Space Cop / Aliens in a shootout 10 feet from each other, completely unable to hit any target while Ted just talks to him, unaware of the laser battle. Some of the Agnon meeting also had me puzzled. These didn't bother me too much, i laughed, but they were still head scratchers. I can follow almost everything that happens in the film so, but there are these few scenes where I'm like "what? why is that character doing that?". Everything else was 100% logically consistent of course. lol.

[–] jack_spicer 9 years ago

I read a review that suggested Mike should have played the deadpan, cynical Space Cop, and Rich should have played the wacky 1940s detective with the funny voice. The more I thought about it, the more I agreed.

The movie had funny bits, but was miscast. Overall, I give it a 6/10.

[–] Laserseightoclockdayone 8 years ago

Being from Milwaukee, I really liked how the film showcased some of our more recognizable things. Like the Pfister, the Landmark Inn, and our flying cars.