''Space Cop'' is a 2016 American
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
action comedy film
The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...
directed and produced by Jay Bauman and Mike Stoklasa, written by Stoklasa, Bauman, and Rich Evans, photographed and edited by Bauman, and starring Evans, Stoklasa, Bauman, Jocelyn Ridgely, Chike Johnson, Steve Piper, and Zach McLain. Produced and distributed by
Red Letter Media
Red Letter Media, LLC is an American film and video production company operated by independent filmmakers Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman, and Rich Evans. It was formed by Stoklasa in 2004 while he was living in the Scottsdale section of Ashburn, Chicag ...
, the film had been in production for at least seven years dating back to 2008.
''Space Cop'' was released on
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on January 12, 2016, and on digital download on January 30, 2016.
Premise
Space Cop, a highly disgruntled, impulsive, and destructive police officer from the future of 2058 (the future of space), accidentally travels back in time to 2007 after a pursuit through space causes him to travel through a time rift. He then spends eight years as a member of the
Milwaukee Police Department
The Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. ...
.
After encountering two alien criminals he comes across during a heist at a cryonic storage facility, he is teamed up with a comparatively more methodical and by-the-book police officer from the past who is accidentally unfrozen in the present. They are tasked with apprehending a criminal known as the Gold Digger known for stealing exclusively gold-based items.
However, when they discover that the Gold Digger is in fact a part of a much bigger plan affected by alien lifeforms, they must defeat the evil aliens who threaten the present and the future.
Cast
* Rich Evans as Space Cop (born Holden Madickey)
* Mike Stoklasa as Detective Ted Cooper
* Jocelyn Ridgely as Zorba
* Chike Johnson as Agnon
* Jay Bauman as Grigg
* Zack McLain as Charlie
* Alison Mary Forbes as Charlie's wife
* Dale R. Jackson as Chief Washington
* Clarence Aumend as Officer Partner
* Rick Pendzich as Officer Cunningham and hostage taker
*
Patton Oswalt
Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...
as Space Police Chief (uncredited)
*
Freddie E. Williams II as Solitaire Man
* Len Kabasinski as Space Cop (Stunt Double)
* Steve Piper as Timmy’s dad
Production
A documentary-style video released on the
Red Letter Media
Red Letter Media, LLC is an American film and video production company operated by independent filmmakers Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman, and Rich Evans. It was formed by Stoklasa in 2004 while he was living in the Scottsdale section of Ashburn, Chicag ...
channel on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
in 2020 features extensive behind-the-scenes material and details on the building and execution of various sets and scenes. As a general rule, only one larger set could be built at any time due to the physical restrictions of the facilities available to production. Additionally, while some digital effects usually related to simple
green screen
Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two or more images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fie ...
s were used, decidedly practical movie tricks also came into play on several occasions. For example, in one scene featuring a pot of boiling water on a stove, the boiling effect had in fact been generated by Rich Evans blowing air through tubes attached to the pot's bottom (to avoid using actual boiling water, for safety).
Release and reception
''Space Cop'' was released straight to
Blu-ray
Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
on January 12, 2016, and on digital download on January 30, 2016.
Mark Varley of
Moviepilot
Moviepilot (stylized Movie Pilot) was a fan-centric online magazine covering the film industry. Its content was written predominantly by an in-house team of staff writers, with additional articles from contributors known as Creators.
History
Mo ...
wrote that, despite the filmmakers wanting "to make a film that was tongue in cheek...''Space Cop'' was boring and unfunny". Felix Vasquez Jr. of ''Cinema Crazed'' wrote that the film is "a neat, if flawed, mash up of genres reserved for select movie fans that appreciate this kind of comedy, or have been loyal followers of the Red Letter Media team for years".
References
External links
*
Behind the Scenes* {{IMDb title, 3892384
Space Copon
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
2016 films
American direct-to-video films
American action comedy films
American science fiction comedy films
American science fiction films
American science fiction action films
Fiction about suspended animation
2010s films about time travel
Films set in 2007
Films set in 2015
Films set in 2058
Films set in Milwaukee
Films shot in Wisconsin
Fiction about flying cars
Moon in film
2010s English-language films
2010s American films
English-language action comedy films