One Good Cop Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

One Good Cop Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 5, 2018

One Good Cop could, in some circles and in some ways, be considered a Vigilante film. Rather than do harm to bad people in the name of pure, unadulterated vengeance, the film's lead character commits a crime against a band of criminals in order to provide for a trio of young girls they left fatherless, in a roundabout way. The film treads that iffy middle ground of making a hero into a criminal, with an asterisks beside his name, and it does it well enough to make the movie a pointed, emotionally centered experience. Its resolution is far too clean for all the dirty violence that precedes it, but it's silky smooth and complimentary of all the feel-good vibes the story otherwise emotes amidst the darkness.

Artie Lewis (Michael Keaton) is a dedicated New York cop who has spent the last eight years partnered with Stevie Diroma (Anthony LaPaglia) and is in a loving marriage with his wife Rita (Rene Russo). Stevie is a widower caring for three young girls by himself after his wife passed away. During a dangerous standoff with an armed man, Stevie, fearing for the hostage’s life, prematurely jumps into action. He’s killed in the ensuing mayhem, leaving his three girls without a mother or father. Stevie’s will names Artie their legal guardian. Artie considers dumping them on an overburdened system; he’s told they’ll find a permanent home sooner rather than later, but he and his wife decide to try and keep them, leaving Artie to do whatever it takes -- even skirt and break the law -- in an effort to give the girls the good home they deserve.

One Good Cop is a movie of dualities. It's very capable of presenting the rugged, gritty, hard-edged life of a cop on the streets while, at the same time, following him home at night where his guard comes down but the realities of his day, and a career's worth of violence and heartache, still define who he is. Of course, the film explores Artie's life at a time of significant upheaval on the job, dealing not only with his partner's death but newfound responsibilities with three young girls in his care. In a way, he literally carries the scars with him every time he steps foot in the house, their beaming eyes and big smiles a persistent reminder of how they came to be in his life. The film follows Artie's character arc, not evolution, because a good cop committing a crime doesn't fundamentally change him, in this case. In fact, when he takes far more money than he needs to provide for the children, he donates the remainder -- a substantial amount -- to a local church to which he briefly considered entrusting the girls. The film takes great pains to ensure that the audience knows he's not a changed man, not a bad man. He's a vigilante by another, slightly altered definition, a Robin Hood, perhaps, who takes what he needs to make the best life he can for the girls caught in the crossfire of life on the streets.

The film boasts an all-star cast, headlined, of course, by Keaton, but also featuring Rene Russo, Anthony LaPaglia, Kevin Conway, Rachel Ticotin, and a young Benjamin Bratt all in key roles. The acting is strong all-around, with Keaton leading the charge. The actor is tasked with juggling a number of personality traits, both as a hard-edged cop and a loving husband who brings his bruises -- physical and emotional -- home with him. As fatherhood is thrust upon him, he has to quickly evolve into a father figure to three little girls. Keaton is tasked with finding the necessary depth to bring them all to light and discover how the totality of his work and home experiences defines him, both before and after his partner's death. It's a complex character, albeit one who lacks significant emotional wear and tear at the script level. Keaton does a fine job with the material on hand, but the script never makes the character feel truly vulnerable or afraid, at least on the family side of the ledger. He ultimately, of course, decides on a particular and unlawful course of action, but the decision never seems to tear him apart. He's at least firm in the aftermath, sure of what he has done, and confident that he's in the right, but the character never quite reaches the highest highs or, more necessary to the story, the lowest lows along his way to making that decision and dealing with whatever repercussions come his way.

One Good Cop Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

One Good Cop makes for one fairly good Blu-ray. Mill Creek's 1080p presentation delivers a solidly and consistently pleasing, though not perfect, image. The print is in good shape, lacking any significant speckling or wear, though both are evident in minimal quantities. The image additionally retains a firm, organic, largely balanced and pleasant grain structure that delivers a little heavier, snowier texture in lower light. Good essential details are commonplace. Basics like clothes and faces are impressively revealing with tangible textural goodness. Dense and detailed environments are a joy, particularly rough and raw and varied exterior urban landscapes and worn-down interiors, such as inside a low-rent apartment complex or a crummy-looking police station interior. Colors aren't intensely saturated. They're a touch faded, but stable as they are and finding a largely pleasant level of variety. Black levels aren't too dull but flesh tones do appear a little pale and pasty. For a budget release, this one's not bad at all.

One Good Cop Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

One Good Cop's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack delivers sufficient spacing across the stage's front portion, the only one available to it, with a few nice city effects that are both discrete and transitional across the pair of active speakers. Clarity never hits the peak, but essentials are transmitted with pleasing enough core details, including carnival din midway through and police sirens and other street-level sounds that do well enough to pull the listener into the film's more lively locations. Gunfire can be surprisingly punchy and deep without a subwoofer channel on hand, though some shots fail to deliver as much heft as others. Salsa music at a club at the 68-minute mark enjoys good clarity and energy, while general score is well spaced and nicely defined on essential levels. Dialogue is clear and pushes effortlessly to the center. A few lines sound a bit hollow but such are few and far between.

One Good Cop Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of One Good Cop contains no supplemental content. The film begins playback immediately upon selecting it from the main menu screen.

One Good Cop Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One Good Cop asks audiences to accept that two wrongs make a right. The film straddles that line well enough to bring it all together, showing two sides of the same coin as a dedicated cop and family man turns into the very type of person he fights on the street to make something good in a world of darkness. The film's resolution may be far too tidy, but it's a decent enough ride through murky morals, punctuated by capable work from Michael Keaton in a role that challenges him to pull himself in one direction along two opposing extremes. Mill Creek's featureless Blu-ray delivers solid video and audio. Recommended.