Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Maniac Cop 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 12, 2013

Bill Lustig's "Maniac Cop 2" (1990) arrives on 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.

Back to raise Hell

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bill Lustig's Maniac Cop 2 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Blue Underground.

Using a brand new high-definition transfer struck from a new 4K scan of the original camera negative, Maniac Cop 2 looks simply beautiful on Blu-ray. Detail and clarity are superb, while image depth is the very best I have seen on a Blue Underground release. What impresses the most, however, is the incredibly wide range of very beautiful and perfectly saturated colors. Indeed, there are sequences in the film that look almost uncharacteristically beautiful. There are absolutely no traces of problematic sharpening or degraining corrections. Also, there are no purely transfer specific anomalies to report in this review. Unsurprisingly, the film has a very solid and enormously convincing organic look. Finally, there are absolutely no debris, scratches, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in this review. All in all, this is the very best looking release I've seen produced by Blue Underground since the independent distributors started releasing their catalog titles on Blu-ray. Terrific work. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Maniac Cop 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, English Dolby Digital 2.0, and Music (Isolated Music Track) DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, Blue Underground have provided 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.

The audio treatment is every bit as impressive as the video treatment. The 7.1 track boasts outstanding depth and very impressive range of nuanced dynamics. The music, while not too prominent, is also perfectly mixed. For the record, the dialog is crisp, stable, exceptionally clear and always easy to follow. The optional English SDH subtitles are yellow.

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

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

• Trailers -
  
  1. International trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).
  2. UK teaser trailer. Music only, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080p).
  3. French trailer. In French, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).
  4. German trailer. In German, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• 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).

• Audio Commentary - new audio commentary with director Bill Lustig and Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, Only God Forgives). This 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.

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

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

In a lot of ways Bill Lustig's Maniac Cop 2 is a much better film than its predecessor. It is still as ridiculously unbelievable as the first film, but it is a lot more entertaining. Blue Underground's technical presentation of Maniac Cop 2 is simply outstanding. In fact, it is the best looking release I've seen produced by Blue Underground since the independent distributors started releasing their catalog titles on Blu-ray. This is reference quality material, folks. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.