5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
A crusty Chicago cop is forced to turn in his badge when he is wrongly accused of being in cahoots with a sinister, murderous, drug dealer. Subsequently, the cop is "rented" by a kooky call girl, whom the pusher wishes to kill. Hijinks ensue when the mismatched duo team up, and attempt to nab the nefarious villain themselves.
Starring: Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, James Remar, Richard Masur, Dionne WarwickThriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Jerry London's "Rent-a-Cop" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include an exclusive new audio commentary by actor Richard Masur and critic Lee Gambin as well as vintage trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtiles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rent-a-Cop arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.
The release is sourced from an exclusive, gorgeous new 4K master that was apparently struck from the original camera negative. I liked everything that I saw on my system. For example, the entire film has a very healthy, very attractive organic appearance, and color balance is as good as I think it can be in 1080p. (I am quite certain that several supporting nuances can be expanded a bit, but this is an improvement that will only be possible in a wider color gamut). The density levels of the visuals are excellent as well. In a couple of darker sequences grain can be a bit tighter, but I did not see any anomalies to report. Image stability is great. All in all, I think that fans of Rent-a-Cop will be thrilled with the new 4K makeover that was prepared for this release and have a great time revisiting the film at home. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
While not a conventional action film, Rent-a-Cop has a lot of material that can test one's system. I was quite surprised by the dynamic potency of several action scenes. Also, Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack sounded very, very lush as well. The dialog is always very clear, sharp, and easy to follow. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies to report in our review.
Is Rent-a-Cop as disappointing as old reviews have claimed? Yes, unfortunately, it is. It has numerous flaws, but the most consequential one is the awful chemistry between its two big stars, Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli. Rent-a-Cop tweaks the old buddy cop formula, so while Minnelli is not a cop, everything meaningful during the hunt for the killer depends on her chemistry with Reynolds. And, no, Rent-a-Cop does not work as an it-is-so-bad-it-is-good misfire either. Kino Lorber's release is sourced from an exclusive, gorgeous new 4K master that was struck from the original camera negative.
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