Bon Cop, Bad Cop - Region 1 DVD

WINNER / Best Motion Picture / Genie Awards

Shoot First, Translate Later

Martin Ward (Colm Feore - Paycheck) and David Bouchard (Patrick Huard – Stardom) could not be more different: one speaks English and is from Toronto; the other speaks French and is from Montreal. One obeys the law while the other makes his own. When a dead body is found draped over the border sign dividing Ontario and Quebec, they are forced to work together on the investigation and engage in a violent cat-and-mouse game with a deranged serial killer who is determined to keep the body count mounting.

approx. 117 mins. WIDESCREEN


If the phrase "Canadian action thriller" doesn't send you running to the video store, Bon Cop Bad Cop is hoping to change your mind. When a body is found straddling the Ontario/Quebec border, a detective from each province must partner up to solve the case. Naturally, in the grand tradition of buddy-cop movies, one (Colm Feore, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould) is straight-laced and by the book while the other (Patrick Huard, Les Boys) is a chain-smoking loose cannon. The mystery escalates as more bodies pile up, all connected to the world of hockey (and based on real-life hockey figures) and all marked with mysterious tattoos. Gags about French vs. English pile up as well, along with other Canadian in-jokes, but despite that, Bon Cop Bad Cop is accessible and entertaining, a preposterous, over-the-top blend of Lethal Weapon and Saw. It has all the classic elements--an eccentric coroner, women throwing themselves at the heroes, a brawl in a bar, a time-bomb on an innocent victim, a detective clinging to the roof of speeding car--as well as a number of unique bits, like some creepy bobble-heads and a killer in a sports mascot costume doing a De Niro impression. (Be warned that the violence is sometimes extreme, though usually for comic effect, and there's a steady flow of strong language.) --Bret Fetzer