Hollywood Homicide DVD Review:

Hollywood detectives Joe Gavilan (Ford) and K.C. Calden (Hartnett) had other activities outside of their police work. Gavilan was an unsuccessful real-estate broker and K.C. was a wannabe actor. When an up-and-coming rap group is murdered on their beat, the two have to try and put their distractions behind them and solve the case before more rappers are killed.

Trying to make fun of the mismatched buddy-cop movie by trying to inject some comedy elements into it, Hollywood Homicide fails to do this big time.

An incomprehensible plot, uninteresting characters and a complete lack of direction, make the movie a complete mess from start to finish. Questions are posed and never answered, subplot are introduced and never completed, reasons and motivations are never truly explained and worst of all you just don’t care about the characters or their situation.

What is Harrison Ford doing with his career? With the exception of What Lies Beneath, Ford hasn’t made a decent movie since Air Force One in 1997. A string of duds and failures have littered his career with the exception of the Robert Zemekis directed frightener and you have to ask about the motivations behind his movie choices. He really needs to have a rethink or get himself a new agent. He does add a little credibility to the movie, as he is still a good action character actor but he alone can’t save this mess.

The presence of Hollywood heartthrob Josh Hartnett can’t even add any appeal to what is an extremely average buddy-movie. The supporting cast isn’t much better. The talented Lena Olin is only really given a bit part, Isaiah Washington is almost a cameo villain and Bruce Greenwood is a shadow of his normal commanding self.

Director Ron Sheldon should stick to what he does best, Sports movies. White Men can’t Jump, Tin Cup and Bull Durham are good movies but whenever his strays from his specialist genre it seems like he is out of his depth.

Hollywood Homicide is a complete mess of a movie. A good cast has been wasted on an extremely average film that has only one action scene and nothing of any interest to say.

Star Rating = * *

PICTURE & SOUND
Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a 5.1 Dolby Digital. The picture and sound quality are first rate, as you’d expect from a modern transfer. The Dolby Digital soundtrack comes into its own during the car chase sequence, utilising all the speakers and the heavy thud of the sub.

DVD EXTRAS

Audio commentary by Director Ron Sheldon

This is an interesting commentary track as the director also co-wrote the movie as well. He talks about the script been based on real events that happened to co-writer and LAPD veteran Robert Souza and that the main emphasis of the movie wasn’t the murder cast that Joe Gavilan (Ford) and K.C. Calden (Hartnett) were investigating but their lives outside of the force that was the main thrust of the film. He also talks about filming in many of his old haunts throughout the Hollywood area and that much of the dialogue is very LA based. The commentary is an interesting insight into the influences behind the screenplay.

Featurette: LAPD Stories (16.04 mins)

This unusual featurette has interviews with actual, retired Hollywood police officers. Brenda, Ken and Joe talk about their experiences on the streets of LA, touching on subjects like gang problems, racism and the Rodney King incident. Each officer also relates to characters in the movie, taking about side jobs, Internal Affairs and working homicide cases, all of which are quite interesting.

Hollywood Homicide: Confidential (9.18 mins)

Cast members talk about the characters they play in the movie. Director Ron Sheldon and writer Robert Souza talk about their inspirations for the project. There is one major emission from the featurette however as Harrison Ford does not appear in it.

The Making of Hollywood Homicide (15.33 mins)

A slightly more interesting look into the making of the movie. Director Ron Sheldon and writer Robert Souza talk about the characters and the fact that Harrison’s role was based upon Souza’s life in the LAPD. Interesting facts also emerge about the production process like Josh Hartnett and Harrison Ford sign on before a script was even written and most of Hollywood’s most famous landmarks were actual locations for the film. While the insights and cast and crew interviews are good, there isn’t much behind the scenes footage on how sequences were shot or much on-set footage.

Filmographies

Lists of films that Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Ron Sheldon and Robert Souza have been involved with.

Trailers

Trailers for Hollywood Homicide, Anger Management, National Secruity, S.W.A.T. and xXx

OVERALL

While the film itself is very average the extras are not. Ron Sheldon’s commentary is very insightful and LAPD stories featurette is informative and different from the usual pat your self on the back, behind the scenes fair. I would have like to have seen more on the stunts work and locations but this is not a bad package for people who actually enjoyed the movie.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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