Space Cop (2016)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There's a special kind of joy that comes when the opening credits of "Space Cop" are rolling and you realize that you're not watching just any low-budget sci-fi movie, you're watching a labor of love from a group of friends who really wanted to make this movie.Even when the script falters, or when the acting falls flat, it's this heart that powers the film and keeps you invested.You can see the care and effort in the miniature Moon sets, in the production design for the alien spaceship, and in the props used by Space Cop and the rest of the Milwaukee precinct. Certain elements of the production are intentionally cheap, an elbow jab at the low-budget movies the gang discovers on "Best of the Worst."The filmmakers were obviously inspired by these cheesy, goofy, often over-the-top buddy cop actioners they saw on their show, because from obvious stunt doubles to overacting police chiefs, this movie goes right down the list, checking off every box.As Space Cop, Rich Evans is devotedly stoic and straight-faced, adopting a gruff, no- nonsense voice to mask his character's gross incompetence. But one yearns for the lovable presence Evans has in "Best of the Worst," or on "Half in the Bag." Mike Stoklasa, on the other hand, also hams it up as a detective from the past. There's a childish fun to their scenes together, and to their scenes with Jay Bauman's character Griggs. But too often does the pacing overwhelm the film, and we're left marooned for minutes on end with no jokes to latch onto.How much you enjoy the film will ultimately rely on how much you share Mike, Jay and Rich's absurd, awkward sense of humor. If a nearly minute-long scene of Space Cop punching in the code for his refrigerator only for a single bottle of beer makes you smile, or if you're delighted by three minutes of Space Cop and Patton Oswalt's character awkwardly watching each other on a video call, Oswalt scrambling to figure out how to log out of the call, then this movie is made for you.Stoklasa's character gets some good mileage out of his fish-out-of-water character, and he's dumbstruck to discover that not only can you not smoke in the police station, but you can't "have sex with a woman against her will," either.But on top of it all is Evans, whose Christian Bale–type gruffness anchors much of the film, and whose "Don't Think, Act" attitude provides many hilariously violent scenes. A certain sequence involving a train and a seven-year-old on a bicycle made me laugh so loud, I probably scared my neighbors, only for the scene to be matched a half an hour later by an out-of-nowhere shootout in an alien spaceship that leaves several innocents dead.Only those who truly love the team of RedLetterMedia should check out "Space Cop." It's not as consistently funny or as well-paced as "Black Dynamite" or other farcical '80s-nostalgia films, but the care and love put into the production is undeniable. And, hey, it has to be good — it took 12 years to make, after all.

To say that this movie was awful, abysmal, appalling or atrocious would be incorrect as this movie (on Bluray !!!!!!! what?) is far worse. I cannot think of a single adjective in the English language which would give the reader even a slight inkling as to how inane and puerile this thing is (I cannot bring myself to label this BoS as a movie).I was fortunate as to be able to skip-view this (took about 5 minutes) with brief plays of about 10 or 15 seconds. That was much more than enough to determine that I actually spent 5 more minutes than this turd deserved.Avoid, as in avoid like the plague.I did learn something though, now I know of the existence of RLM. Judging from this movie this is akin to knowing about Ebola .... just say no, don't, avoid, run for the hills ....

First things first: If you're not familiar with Red Letter Media, not even their majestic Plinkett reviews, I suggest checking their stuff out from RedLetterMedia.com or their Youtube channel. It's basically three guys (along with some occasional sidekicks) talking about films and obviously making them themselves. Naturally funny guys, I might add. Their humor is something many probably want to imitate, but can't. I found out about them four years ago, and I still think they're probably the best "content creators" around.Anyway, about the film. Space Cop! I have to say that I wanted it to be better. I knew how funny these guys can be, and I set certain expectations for the movie that weren't met. And I know how hard it is to strike that balance in a movie like this. Space Cop knows it's a bad movie, which is an approach that almost always guarantees a failure. It's not unintentionally bad either, which of course is the funniest kind of bad. So from the get go, this movie makes things hard for itself.It's ultimately not any funnier than an average RLM skit. It's not that spectacle of hilariousness many of us were waiting for. Some jokes are even straight up bad, in the worst kind of way. I smiled a lot, but I don't know if I laughed out loud even once. Space Cop takes the obvious route too many times, and it seems to hold itself back. This is evident from some of the deleted scenes: some of them were a little more off the cuff, lacking this certain restraint that plagued much of the main film and it made me actually laugh.But is it crap, then? If you're expecting to see a good movie, yes, it's kind of crappy. If you're just interested about these guys and what they do, then it becomes okay, because you're not the audience anymore, but an observer instead. "Space Cop" is basically a strange inside joke in a movie form that's hard to explain. The RLM quality is still there at times, and it's still a funny enough movie to barely deserve its own existence. You can see how Mike, Rich and Jay love movies and the craft involved. They probably hate the process of making a movie itself, but they like to express themselves in a funny way nonetheless. That certain childish heart shines through. So whenever I saw weird miniatures or several do-it-yourself solutions on the screen, I smiled like an idiot. And that's what Space Cop ultimately is. It's a somewhat self-aware B-movie made by a bunch of friends who love (B-)movies and like to be creative. It feels like more of a thing that these guys made, and less of a movie. It's not the ultimate RLM experience by any means, but it's certainly a part of it. Be warned though: For anyone with no affection for these guys, this movie might flat out suck. There are plenty of winks and inside meta-humor too, and for a newcomer they probably won't land at all. Rich Evans and Mike Stoklasa play the main characters, and they're both fine. I've always liked Mike. I just can't help but have a stupid grin on my face when I see him "acting", but Rich is alright too, playing his role straight. In fact, there are good performances and even real actors in this movie. No joke. Chike Johnson and Deborah Clifton, for example, do really well. Plenty of familiar faces, some going back as far as the Plinkett reviews and probably their older movies too. Bonus points for Patton Oswalt, his bit was good. Double bonus points for Len Kabasinski's performance as Rich Evans' stunt double. I also have to compliment the production, because it's not that bad for a low-budget flick. Some of the visual digital effects are way better than I thought I'd see in this movie. Looks like their Canadian friends came through! And of course the practical effects and this do-it-yourself approach never gets old. At its best, this kind of B-movie charm can inspire people into making films just as much as praised classics. That mostly happens with better movies, but there is some of that to be found from Space Cop.Whoever made the opening title sequence theme music, captured the Terminator/Total Recall vibe perfectly.I don't know what else there is to be said. Space Cop is Space Cop. It struggles to find its comfort zone, and it's bad in all the wrong ways, but at the same time I kind of like it. Not so much as a movie, but as a thing these guys made. If they make a movie after this, I'd like it to be something really stripped, really simple, really mindless and loose (which can make for a tighter movie). It might be that Space Cop was just too much of a collaboration and too long of a project for that Half in the Bag - kind of humor we (or at least I) love to surface itself. In that environment, these guys are relaxed and funny all around. With Space Cop, there are loads of things to take care of, people to work with, schedules to worry about and such. I don't know if that has any effect on anything, but it's a thought. They might have gone too far - or not far enough - in a few places, but it's stylistically designed to be that way. They can't undo it, and now that it's out they can't even diminish the effects of it. I paid a little too much for the movie (well over 40 euros when shipped to Finland, including the ridiculous toll), and It's not what I hoped, but I don't regret getting it. I'll probably watch it at least one more time, and check out the cool extras again as well.

It's hard to qualify a movie like Space Cop. I don't think it can be fully appreciated if you don't know the Red Letter Media guys, and if you are not familiar with their shows "Best of the Worst" and "Half in the Bag". The movie is self-referential from start to finish, with lots of nods specially to "Best of the Worst" episodes from the opening credits to the ***SPOILER*** Len Kabasinski cameo and stunt doubling. The "Samurai Cop" references also had me in stitches!All in all, I wouldn't say the story kept me riveted, nor the gags had me rolling on the floor, but it was a very funny movie for me, as a fan of Rich Evans and Mike Stoklasa's overacting. It's like having your (talented) friends making a movie. You can see all the work and efforts that went into it (specially if you listen to the commentary track), you're already won to their brand of humor and the end result is very endearing.If you are not fans of Mike, Rich, Jay, Jack and all the gang, better skip it. You won't get the joke.