The Other Guys (2010/Sony Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B+ Extras: B Film: C+
Someone
just recently said to me that a film where Mark Wahlberg is an accessory
character usually does quite well, but the minute the main focus is on him the
film is a disaster; I would tend to agree.
The only exception I can think of is Boogie Nights, but even at that Wahlberg’s acting was generally
dreadful. Then there is Will Farrell,
who continues to play the same over the top, obnoxious character in every film
or television stint he has done. So
combine the mediocre Mark Wahlberg and the obnoxious, hit or miss Will Farrell
and you have the train wreck known as The
Other Guys.
The Other Guys has Will Farrell and Mark
Wahlberg teaming up as an unlikely police partners. Farrell is the odd straight arrow cop who
would rather do paper work than fight crime, while Wahlberg’s character (just
recently demoted after accidentally shooting Derek Jeter) is the diehard police
office looking to kick ass and take names.
At the beginning of the film we have Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and
Samuel L. Jackson being the top cops on the scene, most of the time causing
more damage than the crime is worth; essentially a satire of the Lethal Weapon/Die Hard film mentality. But
after an idiotic/unfortunate event the duo are off the street (more like all
over it) and all the city’s cops are looking to take their place as the hot
shots in town. Whereas Mark Wahlberg’s
Detective Hoitz character wants to get out on the streets, but since Will
Farrell’s Detective Gamble is glued to his desk there is no such luck; to the
point where Hoitz kidnaps Gamble at gun point so they can go solve a
crime. The film from there goes on to
follow Hoitz and Gamble as they get mixed up in a (nonsense) crime involving
poorly invested money, the stock exchange, and a band of private thugs. Whereas, Hoitz and Gamble are not inept, they
are screw ups and trouble seems to follow them wherever they go. So the viewer gets to experience a buddy cop
film, where the cops aren’t such buddies.
The films
script is weak and whereas I did have a good chuckle here and there, overall it
was a flop. Eva Mendes as Will Farrell’s
insanely gorgeous wife was a humorous touch that was a solid setup for many
jokes, but that can only take a film so far.
Once again it was the lack of range on both Farrell’s and Wahlberg’s
parts that made the film so horrible, on top of an already idiotic script. Good concept, poor execution.
The
picture is a 1080p AVC encoded MPEG-4 presentation that is solid with bright
colors, a crisp image, and solid blacks; there is some motion blur and though a
solid presentation, nothing too impressive is demonstrated. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is better than
the picture as there are a fair amount of action scenes in the film that
utilize great directionality and bass, as well as continuing to prioritize
dialogue throughout.
The
extras are ACTUALLY better than the film itself, giving fans an opportunity to
see some true, unbridled comedy that keeps giving. My one complaint is that whereas the extras
are ‘plentiful’ they are all VERY short (usually less than 5 minutes) and
leaves fans wanting more. Extras include
Bed, Bath & Way Beyond featurette; some Deleted/Extended Scenes; Crash and
Burn featurette going over the films many stunts; Mom-Mentary; Gag Reel;
Line-O-Rama; Flash Forwards; Wasn’t That???; Alternate Action; Rob Riggle Likes
to Party; Why are the Brits in this Movie?; We Shouldn’t Kiss Chicken; Mark
Wahlberg’s Eating Contest Entourage; Lendl Global Commercial; “Pimps Don’t Cry”
Music Video; Everyone Hates the DVD Guy; Extreme Close Up; Blu-ray Live
features.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
