Maniac Cop 2 – Blue Underground (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1990
Director: William Lustig
Writer: Larry Cohen
Cast: Robert Davi, Claudia Christian, Michael Lerner, Bruce Campbell, Laurene Landon, Robert Z’Dar, Leo Rossi

Release Date: November 16th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 87 Minutes 23 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Atmos English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH, French (Canadian), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Castilian), French, German, Italian, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Korean, Japanese, Russian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"The "Maniac Cop" is back from the dead and stalking the streets of New York once more. Officer Matt Cordell was once a hero, but after being framed by corrupt superiors and brutally assaulted in prison, he sets out on a macabre mission of vengeance, teaming up with a vicious serial killer to track down those that wronged him and make them pay... with their lives!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Stunning restoration NOW IN TRUE 4K ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION with DOLBY VISION HDR."

Maniac Cop 2 comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.1 GB

Feature: 58 GB

Maniac Cop 2 comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 42.9 GB

Feature: 24.8 GB

Eight years after Blue Underground released Maniac Cop 2 on Blu-ray, Maniac Cop 2 gets a 4K makeover. And as good as their Blu-ray release was, this new 4K transfer is a substantial improvement over their earlier release. Colors, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression look solid throughout, and grain looks organic.

Audio: 5/5 (Dolby Atmos English)

Blue Underground have carried over a DTS-HD stereo mix in English from their Blu-ray release. The only new addition to this release is a Dolby Atmos mix in English. And this is the only track that I listened to for this release. The Dolby Atmos track is a fully immersive track that does a great job with ambient sounds and action sequences that sound robust and then some. Also, the dialog always comes through clearly. This release comes with eighteen subtitle options: English SDH, French Canadian), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Castilian), French, German, Italian, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Korean, Japanese, Russian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include International trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), UK teaser trailer (34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), French trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French, no subtitles), German trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with director William Lustig and filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and an isolated music track in DTS-HD stereo. 

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include International trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), UK teaser trailer (34 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), French trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo French, no subtitles), German trailer (1 minute 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo German, no subtitles), poster & still gallery (201 images), deleted scene: The Evening News with Sam Raimi (1 minute 31 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival Q&A with William Lustig at Cinemafamily (28 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Back on the Beat: The Making of Maniac Cop 2 (46 minutes 52 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with William Lustig and Nicolas Winding Refn and an Easter Egg, a clip from Movie Time, who reviewed Maniac Cop 2 (2 minutes 40 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include a limited-edition slipcover.

Summary:

Sequels frequently fail to live up to their predecessors, and the majority of the time, this is because they recycle what made the aforementioned predecessor so successful. Then there are films like Maniac Cop 2, which defy all rules in regards to sequels. A film that literally follows the same formula that made its predecessor so popular and yet the end result is something that almost transcends the other films in the Maniac Cop series.

To Manic Cop 2’s credit, its greatest asset is the way in which it deposes its surviving protagonists from the Manic Cop. As a result, new blood is quickly brought in to take on the ever-dangerous maniac cop who has risen from the grave and is once again wreaking havoc. Another reason why this sequel works as well as it does is how well-rounded these new characters are. Especially the character named Det. Sean McKinney, who is superbly portrayed by Robert Davi (Die Hard).

From a production standpoint, everything is bigger and better this time around, as this film reportedly had twice the budget of its predecessor. The film’s film noir-like visuals give it more of a thriller vibe, which greatly differs from the horror vibe of the first film. And though this film does not have the copious amounts of blood that one would expect from a film with a psychopath killer, all of the kill scenes are brutal and appropriately gruesome. Most notably, there is a scene where the manic cop goes on a killing/shooting spree in a police station, basically single-handedly taking out everyone who crosses his path.

It should not come as a surprise that this film, like its predecessor, is not rooted in reality and that the bulk of what occurs pretty much requires any perceptive viewer to take a leap of faith and then some. But then again, this is also why these films are so much fun and never lose any of their luster, no matter how many times you watch them.

Besides Robert Davi’s aforementioned performance, another performance of note is Leo Rossi (Relentless) in the role of Turkell, a wild-eyed bearded madman who befriends the maniac cop. He gives a deliriously manic performance that dominates every moment he is onscreen. Robert Davi returns to the role of Matt Cordell, aka "maniac cop," and he delivers yet another imposing performance that is rooted in his physical size. To put it bluntly, he is a man of few words. Ultimately, Maniac Cop 2 is an exceptional sequel that also makes a strong case as William Lustig’s crowning achievement as a filmmaker.

Maniac Cop 2 gets a spectacular 4K UHD upgrade from Blue Underground, who continue to raise the bar when it comes to cult and foreign cinema on 4K UHD, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer