Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Maniac Cop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 26, 2021

Bill Lustig's "Maniac Cop 2" (1990) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers; Q&A session with director Lustig; informative featurette with cast and crew interviews; collection of posters, advertising materials, lobby cards, color stills, B&W stills, behind the scenes stills, deleted Sam Raimi scene, and VHS covers; isolated music score; and audio commentary with director Lustig and Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn. In English, with optional English SDH, French (Canadian), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, French (Parisian), German, Italian, Mandarin (Traditional), Mandarin (Simplified), Korean, Japanese, Russian, Danish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Maniac Cop 2 begins exactly where Maniac Cop ended -- with that van crashing into the river and quickly sinking with Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar, Tango & Cash, Shadow of the Dragon) in it.

Soon after, a vicious killer begins roaming the streets of New York. Officers Jack Forrest (The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness: Evil Dead 3) and Theresa Mallory (Laurene Landon, Maniac Cop, The Ambulance) begin asking questions, but both quickly exit the film after Cordell pays them a visit. The man who takes over the case is Detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi, City Heat, Raw Deal), a tough straight shooter who has a pretty good idea why Cordell is back and angrier than before.

For some strange reason Cordell befriends a wacky bum named Turkell (Leo Rossi, Raw Justice, Road to Redemption), who loves to spend time in striptease clubs and stalk his favorite dancers. The two then visit his lair and he shows Cordell pictures of 'Turkell’s girls'. When the bum is eventually arrested by McKinney’s men and put in jail, Cordell goes on a very impressive killing spree and frees his friend. Wrongfully assuming that Cordell is on a mission to create an army of convicts and clean up the city, the bum suggests that they head to Sing Sing to recruit the best guys for the job.

Completed in 1990, two years after Maniac Cop, Manic Cop 2 is essentially a better polished version of the first film. The action sequences, in particular, are far better choreographed and shot.

The plot is once again utterly unbelievable, but it never feels like there was any intent to prove otherwise. Instead of trying to make the film look realistic, its creators concentrated on replicating and then improving the atmosphere and style introduced in the first film. As a result large parts of the sequel are actually far more effective.

For a film of this caliber, the cast is very good. Davi’s performance, in particular, is far more convincing than Campbell’s. Landon’s replacement, the elegant Claudia Christian, also fits better. The only questionable choice is Rossi, but then his character is also the only one that does not quite feel right for the story. (In a video interview included on this upcoming Blu-ray release, Bill Lustig addresses the significance of his character).

Technically, the film is also a lot more convincing. The special effects are more complex and the editing far better. The long and quite dangerous sequence where Cordell confronts his old foes in Sing Sing, for instance, required multiple takes that were done during different days, but the final results is indeed terrific.

Maniac Cop 2 was lensed by cinematographer James Lemmo (Abel Ferrara’s The Driller Killer), who also assisted director Lustig on the first film. The soundtrack was created by Jay Chattaway (Star Trek: Voyager, Lustig’s Maniac, Joseph Zito's Red Scorpion).

Maniac Cop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 4K Blu-ray release of Maniac Cop 2 is a combo pack with 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray copies of the film. Both are sourced from the 4K restoration of the film that was supervised and approved by director Bill Lustig in 2013. The same restoration was initially introduced on Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

The screencaptures that are included with this article are from the 4K Blu-ray disc, but are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, when you view them, you should keep in mind that they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

In native 4K and with the HDR grade the film looks better balanced, with darker areas where the neon lighting becomes prominent revealing some of the most notable improvements. Shadow definition looks outstanding, but I don't think that the transition from 1080p to 4K produces any serious upgrades. Grain is much more refined, which means that you should expect tighter and overall smoother visuals. (This isn't the digital type of smoothness, but that wonderful organic smoothness only very high-quality 4K masters produce). If you view your films on a big screen, I think that you will immediately appreciate the positive difference. Fluidity is excellent. Better than that of the Blu-ray release? Yes, because the entire 4K restoration looks tighter in native 4K. Color balance is perfect. In fact, I think that the nighttime footage is so impressive that it can and should be used as demo material. There are no stability issues. The entire film looks spotless as well.

*The 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases are Region-Free.

Maniac Cop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on the 4K Blu-ray release: English Dolby Atmos and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Russian, and Swedish subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Dolby Atmos track was created exclusively for this release and it is the one I used to view the film in native 4K. I think that it is a rock-solid audio track with incredible fidelity and dynamic oomph, but I would be lying if I wrote that it is vastly superior to the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track from the Blu-ray release. Frankly, I think that the overwhelming majority of viewers will have a very difficult time identifying any specific areas where the Dolby Atmos track offers meaningful improvements. Both tracks are really, really good, so ultimately choosing the 'best' track is a matter of preference. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is a nice option too, and in fact it can compete with the Dolby Atmos track just as well.

Maniac Cop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary with director Bill Lustig and Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives) previously appeared on the Blu-ray release of Maniac Cop 2. It is a very informative and very honest commentary with an abundance of information about many of the most memorable sequences in the film, the production history (including comments about the fist film) and the funding of the sequel, the creative atmosphere during the shooting of the film, the film's premiere at Cannes, etc.

• Trailers -
  
  1. International trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).
  2. UK teaser trailer. Music only, not subtitled. (1 min).
  3. French trailer. In French, not subtitled. (2 min).
  4. German trailer. In German, not subtitled. (2 min).

BLU-RAY DISC

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary with director Bill Lustig and Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives) previously appeared on the Blu-ray release of Maniac Cop 2. It is a very informative and very honest commentary with an abundance of information about many of the most memorable sequences in the film, the production history (including comments about the fist film) and the funding of the sequel, the creative atmosphere during the shooting of the film, the film's premiere at Cannes, etc.

• Trailers -
  
  1. International trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).
  2. UK teaser trailer. Music only, not subtitled. (1 min).
  3. French trailer. In French, not subtitled. (2 min).
  4. German trailer. In German, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Isolated Music Score - presented as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0.

• Back on the Beat - The Making of Maniac Cop 2 - a very informative featurette that focuses on the production history of Maniac Cop 2. The featurette contains interviews with director Bill Lustig, writer Larry Cohen, actors Robert Davi (with some absolutely hilarious comments), Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, Leo Rossi, and Robert Z'Dar, amongst others. The featurette was produced by Blued Underground with association with Red Shirt Pictures. In English, not subtitled. (47 min, 1080p).

• Cinefamily Q&A with Director William Lustig - following a screening of Maniac Cop 2, director Bill Lustig answers a series of questions about the shooting process, the funding of the film, the different locations used and and seen in the film, some of the most memorable actions sequences (there is a great comment about a famous Jackie Chan film that inspired director Lustig to shoot one of those sequences), the stunt work, etc. The Q&A session was filmed on September 14, 2012. In English, not subtitled. (29 min, 1080p).

• Poster and Still Gallery - a collection of posters, advertising materials, lobby cards, color stills, B&W stills, behind the scenes stills, deleted Sam Raimi scene, and VHS covers. The gallery was compiled by Gregory Chick. (1080p).

• Deleted Scene - this deleted scene is titled The Evening News with Sam Raimi. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Maniac Cop 2 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is pretty obvious at this point that the titles the folks at Blue Underground are releasing on 4K Blu-ray will never ever have to be upgraded again because they feature astonishing technical presentations of impeccable restorations. This upcoming 4K Blu-ray release of Maniac Cop 2 is another stunner, so if you like the film give yourself an early holiday present. Hopefully, next year Blue Underground will begin bringing previously unreleased titles to 4K Blu-ray, and perhaps even double its output. There are so many special genre films that can use the Blue Underground treatment. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.