Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence – Blue Underground (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1993
Director: Alan Smithee (William Lustig, Joel Soisson)
Writer: Larry Cohen
Cast: Robert Davi, Robert Z’Dar, Caitlin Dulany, Gretchen Becker, Paul Gleason, Jackie Earle Haley, Robert Forster

Release Date: November 16th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 84 Minutes 43 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 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
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $49.95

"When Officer Kate Sullivan storms a hostage situation, the whole incident is captured on tape by an unscrupulous media crew who edit the footage to show Kate killing a helpless victim. Now in a coma, Kate's only hope is Detective Sean McKinney, who desperately tries to clear her name. But unbeknownst to him, "Maniac Cop" Matt Cordell takes it upon himself to exact revenge upon those responsible for smearing her name." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5

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

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 55.2 GB

Feature: 53.5 GB

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 31.5 GB

Feature: 23.7 GB

Eight years after Blue Underground released Maniac Cop 3 on Blu-ray, Maniac Cop 3 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: 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 thirteen subtitle options: English SDH, French Canadian), Spanish (Latin America), Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Castilian), French, German, Italian, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Korean, Japanese, Russian

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a trailer (1 minute 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with director Alan Smithee (William Lustig, Joel Soisson).

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include original synopsis (text based extar), poster & still gallery (21 images), a trailer (1 minute 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), seven deleted and extended scenes: Hospital Hallway (24 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles), A Statement (1 minute 11 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles), Chinese Restaurant (1 minute 55 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles), Wedding Nightmare (1 minute 48 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles), Defibrillator (1 minute 32 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles), Perverted Justice (1 minute 39 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles) and Motives for Murder (1 minute 43 seconds, Dolby Digital 5.1 English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Wrong Arm of the Law: The Making of Maniac Cop 3’ (25 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles) and an audio commentary with Alan Smithee (William Lustig, Joel Soisson).

Other extras include a limited-edition slipcover.

Summary:

Some movies are only sequels in name, though the intent was there to stay faithful to what had come before. Somewhere along the way, things went awry and what ended up onscreen was totally devoid of the vibe that the filmmakers had established with previous films in the series. This is a nutshell of what happened to Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence.

Trying to make sense of who is responsible for what in this production is not always a cut and dry proposition, since there were way too many cooks in the kitchen. Reportedly, one of this film’s producers took over directing responsibilities when William Lustig washed his hands free of this project. With that being said, anyone remotely familiar with Bill Lustig’s films is sure to notice the moments that were shot after his exit. He has a distinctive style and a subversive sense of humor that runs through all of his films.

The plot is bland, pacing is often tedious and outside of a few standout set pieces, the bulk of this film is a rather pedestrian affair that total forgets what its core audience is. Surprisingly the film’s more action oriented moments are actually well executed and some of the stunts are impressive, most notably the film’s finale car chase.

Performance-wise, things are not much better than the rest of the production. The film’s only memorable performance comes from Jackie Earle Haley (The Bad News Bears, A Nightmare on Elm Street) in the role of a drug-addicted psychopath who goes on a killing spree. Even Robert Z'Dar, in the role of Matt Cordell, aka "Maniac Cop," is woefully underused in this film.

Just like the two previous films, this third installment began with a basic, yet ingenious premise: give the film’s Frankenstein his bride. Unfortunately, those funding the film had a different idea of how said love story should evolve. Ultimately, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence can be best summed up as a film of failed possibilities.

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence makes its way to 4K UHD via a solid upgrade from Blue Underground, 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