Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 Good to be a Sequel

Fans of one of the most popular Canadian films of all-time, 2006’s Bon Cop, Bad Cop often wondered why a sequel was never made. . . well, out of the blue, eleven years later, everyone was just as surprised when Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 arrived in theatres, catching many off-guard – very much like the original unexpected hit.

Reuniting Colm Feore and Patrick Huard once again, the former, Martin Ward, is now a senior federal officer with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, while the latter, David Bouchard, is a provincial officer with the Sûreté du Québec. Unbeknownst to either, the former quasi-friends, who have grown apart over the years, are working the same case, though Bouchard is undercover.

Tracking a gang of car thieves led by mobster Sylvio Dipietro (Noam Jenkins), Bouchard’s cover is almost blown when Ward leads a quick-strike attack to capture the kingpin. Flying by the seat of their pants, they are able to figure out a way in which Bouchard can keep his position on the inside. Following their random clash, Bouchard comments that his former acquaintance has changed (taking it as a compliment, it is not meant as one). On the flip side, Ward suggests that his former partner hasn’t (which he takes as a compliment, likewise, it is not meant to be). It is a raucous, funny scene that places us right back in the fold with the former partners, mixing the action, laughs and chemistry that was so invigorating in the original.

With Bouchard being in a position that he finds especially irksome, being undercover (yes), but more so having to be subservient to Ward, who is running the show now, the duo must find a way to work together to figure out how they are going to take down Dipietro and his group of thieving hoodlums. Soon, the pair realize that things may not be so simple and that there may be a bigger threat than just stealing cars. Will the very different, unlikely duo be able to save the day once again?

Eleven years on from the original, it is amazing just how fresh this sequel feels, with Feore and Huard having the same infectious chemistry they had in the original feature. Grayer and older, they are not quite as quick as they once were (though they are just as quick-witted). Huard, who also wrote the screenplay, adds in realistic things that people must deal with when growing older – a health issue for Ward and family issues for both. Ward’s son Jonathan (Erik Knudsen) has fallen away from his father and is now living with the wrong crowd – he will not take his dad’s calls. It is a burden on the aging man, especially with all that is going on in his life. Bouchard must deal with being undercover for so very long, away from his family. His wife Suzie (Lucie Laurier) misses her man, while Bouchard worries about his daughter, Gabrielle (Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse), who is following his footsteps and becoming a cop. She is dating a hairy individual, not only because he is a bit sketchy, but also because he is a shaggy, long-haired dude.

Still playing a bit off of the French vs. English stereotypes, this story focusses more on a third piece to complete the triangle – the Americans. Building a quality narrative that brings the pair south of the border, they struggle with their neighbours – playing off the cliché that they generally lack knowledge about Canadians. At one point, Bouchard is brought into a rural police station to be questioned by a nervous and paranoid sheriff. Thrown by his accent, he and his underlings do not buy that it is French, believing that it is actually German. They finally settle on Swedish, suggesting that it sounds exactly like the Swedish Chef from The Muppets – only the female officer (who the men mostly ignore), is smart enough to suggest that it is some sort of slang, bastardized French.

Featuring entertaining action, clever and witty comedy, as well as a surprising amount of drama, Bon Cop, Bad Cop 2 is a quality sequel in so many ways. Bringing back these two intriguing characters, there is pure magic when they come together, a mixture of comedy and drama that makes their personas real. It is the charm that comes from the fact that they both aggravate the other, but, at the same time, can make each other laugh harder than anyone else – they also have the ability to soften each others’ respective burdens, finding ways to discuss and solve things that you often don’t see men do in these types of films. New director to the franchise Alain Desrochers deserves much credit for making the intricate balancing act work so well. It would be a ‘good’ idea to see this one, and a rather ‘mauvais’ idea to miss it, so curl up and check this one out to discover a rare sequel that merits a medal of honour.