Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans team up in Bulletproof, now celebrating its 30th anniversary with a remastered 4K release from Kino Lorber.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, comedians Adam Sandler (The Wedding Singer) and Damon Wayans (The Last Boy Scout) were on fire with films like Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Major Payne, and The Last Boy Scout. Therefore, it seemed like a no-brainer for these two stars to team up and work together on a buddy comedy film. The result was 1996's Bulletproof. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't the hit either of them was hoping it would be, and it mainly fell by the wayside in the last three decades. However, since Bulletproof is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Kino Lorber has decided to release a remastered version of the film, and the 4K combo pack will be available in stores this week.
Moses (Sandler) and Keats (Wayans) are friends who hijack cars together, so when Moses introduces Keats to car dealership owner and major drug lord Frank Colton (James Caan; Misery), Colton is apt to trust Keats. However, it turns out Keats is really an undercover cop who betrays Moses and, when the two confront each other, Moses accidentally shoots Keats in the head. Fast-forward a few years, Keats has recovered, and Moses is arrested and turns state's evidence against Colton, who wants Moses dead. Keats must now transport Moses to federal court and keep him alive long enough to testify.
The concept behind Bulletproof was definitely interesting, and putting two of the best comedy actors in a movie together seemed like a sure hit. Sandler is very good, though I couldn't generally see him playing a career criminal dealing in stolen cars and heroin. Wayans plays more of the straight man, but he too does a good job of it. Caan, though his role is on the smaller side, is great playing the villain. Unfortunately, the sum doesn't equal the parts in this case, and the movie isn't all that good.
The script, written by Joe Gayton (Hell on Wheels) and Lewis Colick (Charlie St. Cloud), isn't particularly strong. The dialogue is pedestrian at its best, cringeworthy at its worst, and mediocre all around. Some of the jokes fall flat, and the dialogue hasn't aged well since we now live in a "woke" society, and making fun of disabled people will get an actor canceled.
This 4K release has been upgraded to Dolby Vision video with 2160p resolution and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Interestingly, some scenes look as if they are shot on film, while others look like live camera, and there is an obvious difference between what was shot on location and what was filmed on a soundstage. Therefore, the video quality is uneven, with some scenes looking sharp and clean with good color saturation, while others look a little fuzzy and somewhat "dirty."
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is solid, with decent reverb and very well-done ambient noise. The dialogue is crisp and true throughout, though some of the sound effects sound tinny because they were created 30 years ago.
Besides the two audio commentaries, there are approximately 30 minutes of extras. The extras include Commentary One with director Ernest Dickerson and critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry, Commentary Two with critic Mike Leeder, Xander Berkeley, Deleted Scenes, and Trailers.
The concept behind Bulletproof was admirable, but the execution wasn't great, and the matchup of Sandler and Wayans didn't quite live up to expectations. While it's nice to see the film receive a 30th-anniversary 4K release from Kino Lorber, the uneven video presentation keeps the upgrade from being as impressive as I had hoped.
Kino Lorber generally does an excellent job bringing older films to 4K, and while this release isn't one of their strongest upgrades, fans of Bulletproof, Sandler, and/or Wayans may still appreciate having the film in their collection.
Grade: C-
