Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

SnoopyStyle This is the story of real NYPD officers Dave Greenberg and Robert Hantz. New recruits Greenberg (Ron Leibman) and Hantz (David Selby) find the strict bureaucratic hierarchy of the force restricting. They are assigned traffic duty but jumped at doing unconventional work on their own time. They ignore the normal rules to take down criminals. They fight the system and stop corrupt cops.This has a good deal of the grimy street level action. It has the rough and tumble feel. While no name actors does help to creating realism, it would be nice to have bigger actors in the lead. At their core, these are solid character actors but they are no leading men. There may be real world controversy about their tactics but it doesn't matter to the movie. They do have opponents but they don't have a singular villain. That's more due to its real life nature. For all of its flaws, it has a dirty gutter quality that serves it very well.

timmy_501 Based on a true story, Gordon Parks' 1974 film Super Cops is a loose collection of episodes about a couple of honest and determined rookie cops that gradually changes tone. The opening is satirical as titular pair Greenberg and Hantz encounter a police-training program notably for its absurdity. The opening scene is emblematic of the issues the film handles as the head trainer insists that the recruits should form two lines, with the front line composed of the tall men and the back line composed of the shorter men. When told quite logically that this is opposite of the way such things are usually conducted, the head trainer responds that this is just the way things have always been done in this course. The police departments consistently asserts its backwards priorities throughout training, as when a senior officer insists that the rookies mind their post directing traffic while an unopposed gunman takes shots at civilians from a high window a couple of blocks away. This section, which points out the absurdity of a bureaucracy that keeps things from being done instead of aiding them as it should, gets the film off to a particularly good start as it makes its point economically and convincingly while simultaneously displaying a sharp biting wit and establishing the characters and their goals. Greenberg and Hantz quickly make a name for themselves as they take on real police work when they are off duty, arresting drug dealers and other small time crooks who flaunt their crimes before an undefended public. Here again, the police department comes off as the main antagonist as the veterans view these rookies with suspicion and assume their hard work is part of a grift. As the film progresses, the men encounter laziness, corruption, and stupidity at every level of the department and are generally punished for their hard work until they become famous for some of their wilder antics. One such antic has one partner commandeering a city bus and another jumping off a fire escape to get the drop on some out of town hired killers. The humor in such scenes is a bit on the zany side, though not overbearingly so; rather, this complements the more sophisticated jabs at bureaucracy surprisingly well. After the mostly comedic first part, Greenberg and Hantz end up stationed at an undesirable precinct in a particularly dangerous neighborhood and the tone gradually becomes more serious, especially when they work against some well-connected drug distributors who use the department's flaws to their own advantage. Director Parks conveys a sense of tenseness in certain scenes quite well, an especially impressive feat given the comedic sections preceding them. In fact, Parks work is impressive overall, as all aspects of the film are more than competent, though there aren't many moments that really stick out on a technical level. This is an engaging, well-made police film that highlights some of the problems of bureaucracy in general and police bureaucracy particularly with a combination of satirical wit, zany humor, and a few scenes that are a bit more serious.

WNYer Two rookie cops join forces to try and make a difference fighting crime on the streets of New York. They quickly learn they must also fight the corruption and bureaucracy in their own police department.Entertaining and offbeat crime drama from Gordon Parks which served as his first follow-up feature after directing the two successful Shaft films with Richard Roundtree. Like that series, Super Cops is given a big lift by some great on-location shooting in New York City which really captures the gritty look and feel of 1970's street life.It also benefits from two likable performances from Ron Leibman and David Selby as the rookie duo "affectionately" nick-named Batman and Robin by the locals. The rest of the cast is a solid mix of familiar faces from the crime and blaxploitation films from that era. Standing out is Pat Hingle as a gruff inspector trying to bring down the boys and Sheila Fraser - fresh off her appearance in the Super Fly films - as a prostitute.The screenplay is based on the real life exploits of NY police officers David Greenburg and Robert Hantz (who both have cameos in the film) and frequently veers between comedy and drama - albeit somewhat unevenly. It is still held together by the engaging story and the smart direction of Parks.

tonypuma "The Super Cops" was surprisingly rare on video for a long time, and my first exposure of it was a grey-market copy of the 1982 MGM release on videotape. Allegedly available on laserdisc, also note there was a Super Cops comic book also released at the time. I just received what seems to be a legal release of this film on DVD, from New Star Video. It's still relatively hard to find, but the DVD features a slightly cleaner version of the print that I had previously. The colors in the film are passable, but this film would look far better if it were cleaned up. The DVD features above average cast bios/filmographies of Leibman and, but all in all is a pretty slim packaging. This is the third directoral outing of Gordon Parks, famed photojournalist/renaissance man best known for "Shaft" and "The Learning Tree." It's not his filmic acme, but one would hope that it might become available again as Parks' genius has not yet been fully celebrated.This film lacks the vitality and edge of "Shaft", something that must have been a budget issue. Nonetheless, it's quick, good-hearted police action based on the L.H. Whittemore book of the same title. Whereas the book covered the late 60's/early 70's NYC crime scene very well, the film comes only halfway in detailing the true story depicted here. The plot is somewhat disjointed, with choppy arrest and pursuit scenes that do not build upon each other. By the end of the movie, one still has the interest in the characters, but no clue exactly how much they've endured. Still, it's a fun ride and good visually if one is familiar with the book. At best, a solid document of the time- a good cop story if nothing more.The underrated Ron Liebman is excellent in one of the lead roles, cocky and enthusiastic. David Selby is more refined and cool, and many of the police superiors are great as gruff, cranky New York types. This story is begging for another attempt, with more detail and character development. But without the superb 70's environment and post-Serpico interest in police flicks, would it float?A friend of mine to whom I screened the movie years ago met the great Gordon Parks a few years before Parks' death. He reports that upon mention of The Super Cops, Parks immediately responded, "I like that one!! ...but Shaft was better."