Plot: What’s it about?
Adam Sandler’s been in enough movies by now that I feel it fair to classify his works as “the old stuff” and “the new stuff.” Naturally, his older films are among my favorite with titles like Airheads, Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore getting all the accolades. I remember seeing a poster for Bulletproof sometime ago and decided to check it out. It wasn’t as highly touted as the aforementioned films but had a decent cast, so I thought I’d check it out. As it turns out, the movie wasn’t half bad and it’s a film I’ve watched several times since. Imagine my surprise when I found out the movie was coming to 4K! This fits very nicely in Adam Sandler’s “old stuff” movies and with good reason: it’s just a kind of movie he wouldn’t make anymore. His newer movies are arguably more commercially successful, but are a bit sappy. Films like Click and 50 First Dates are funny and have some good lines, but they’re just not the same as his more irreverent early roles.
Sandler plays Archie Moses, a generally decent guy who happens to work for notorious drug lord Frank Colton (James Caan). Archie’s best friend, Rock Keats (Damon Wayans) is an undercover police officer trying to infiltrate Colton’s operation and put him behind bars. Naturally Archie knows nothing of this. The time comes for Keats to do his thing, but he’s mistakenly shot in the head by Archie. Archie escapes the law and Keats spends the next year of his life learning how to walk again. With a grudge against Archie, Keats must now seek out Archie who’s willing to testify against Colton. However, the drug lord isn’t too happy about Archie testifying against him so the duo must travel together and try to learn to trust each other all over again, lest they’ll meet their fate.
There are some truly funny moments in the film and after not seeing the movie for a few years; I think maybe it was funnier to me ten years ago. Still, Sandler is great and Damon Wayans holds his own too. There are some classic characters in this movie, notably Charlie (Mark Roberts), the owner of a hotel in the middle of nowhere that has the world’s largest selection of adult films. It’s a short movie and yes, a tab predictable as well. However, Adam Sandler movies aren’t really meant to change the world, just to be watched and laugh at. Bulletproof is one of his more obscure films and if you’ve never seen it and are a fan of Sandler (which would seem to offset one another) then this is certainly worth a rental.
Video: How does it look?
I’ve seen this movie on just about every format available; it’s one of the Laserdiscs I owned if that says anything. Naturally, this 4K is the best the movie has ever looked. The remastered 4K 2.39:1 HEVC breathes new life into this one. Contrast is strong, black levels are on the mark and the detail has been improved as well. Bulletproof has never looked better, but there are other titles out there that look far better than this. You’ll be getting an upgrade, for sure.
Audio: How does it sound?
The DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack wasn’t really that impressive to begin with, it mainly consists of some background noise and the same, repetitive soundtrack that goes on scene after scene after scene. There are a few moments when the surrounds kick in, but that’s not too often. Dialogue is very nice and natural, but this might have well been a surround mix. I really can’t think of much more to say about this mix, it’s not bad and like the video, is the best the movie has sounded – but it never sounded that great to begin with.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Kino has added some new features to this disc, though you’ll need to watch them on the included Blu-ray as the 4K only has the commentary tracks. Odd.
Disc One (4K)
- Audio Commentary – Director Ernest Dickerson is joined by critics Bryan Reesman and Max Evry, all of whom seem to spend the track reminiscing. There are some facts about the shoot, the chemistry between Wayans and Sandler as well as the structure of the film. It’s a nice listen and certainly a welcome addition to the disc.
- Audio Commentary – The second track, also new, is from film critic Mike Leeder. Leeder tends to take a more objective approach to the film, citing some of its inconsistencies which, I feel, somewhat loses its allure. Between the two tracks, the first is the better listen, to be sure.
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary – Same as above.
- Audio Commentary – Same as above.
- Xander Berkeley – The veteran character actor discusses his role (a minor one, he plays Gentry) but tends to reflect on his career as well as those in “the business” as well. It was a nice feature, but kind of an odd choice as well. One of his more notable roles was that of the foster parents in Terminator 2. Deep pull, I realize.
- Deleted Scenes – Given the film’s rather short running time of 84 minutes, I feel there might have been a few that could have worked, but the film stood on its own. These are nice to have, though the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
- Theatrical Trailer
The Bottom Line
I’m willing to bet that this isn’t a title that Sandler gets asked about all too often. It came out just a few months after Happy Gilmore and Sandler’s star was on the rise (and he likely had to fulfill a contract with Universal, hence this title). But there are some truly funny moments in the film and it’s nice to see it get the 4K treatment.
