Mitch Preston (DeNiro) is a straight-laced LAPD detective who takes his police duties very seriously. In contrast Trey Sellars (Murphy) is only a police patrolman until his less than stellar acting career takes off. They cross paths one night and just as Mitch is hot on the trail of a drug suspect Trey manages to mess things up. And just to make matters worse the television crews who have raced to the scene find themselves the target of Mitch’s anger and he shoots and breaks a camera.

In order to pacify the television station and avoid a law suit and as a bonus improve the public image of the LAPD, the chief approves a reality show that means a crew headed by Chase Renzi (Russo) will follow Mitch and his new partner Trey as they patrol the streets

This makes for some comical moments as the two different personalities with different priorities clash as they try and solve the drug case plus make good television! There are some funny scenes as William Shatner, aka T.J. Hooker, gives the duo some tips as to how to make their police actions look more realistic for the cameras.

VIDEO
The widescreen anamorphic transfer has been performed very well with all aspects being of a high quality. All images are extremely clear and sharp and shadow detail is very good. Skin tones are realistic and overall some vibrant colours are utilised which exhibit good contrast. There is no evidence of grain and there are minimal artefacts present although there is one noticeable example at 33:27 involving De Niro walking past a bright camera light. Film artefacts are negligible.

The sharpness of the movie contrasts to the footage shown that is supposed to represent that shot through the camera of the crew trailing Mitch and Trey and is identified with a red Rec in the corner of the frame. It has been deliberately shot with a lower resolution to make it seem like you are looking through the video camera lens.

The layer change occurs at 50:19 and there is a brief pause in audio. This position corresponds to a change in camera angle so the picture is not noticeably disrupted.

AUDIO
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio soundtrack is of a very high quality. There is effective use of the surround speakers throughout the movie, particularly in the action scenes such as when helicopters come flying in and of course for the obligatory gun fights, but they are also used to to set less dynamic scenes such as for traffic on the street. Sound in general is very rich and deep and helps the viewer become immersed into the scenes

Despite the intensity of the soundtrack the dialogue is always clear and distinct and easy to understand.

There is a varied musical soundtrack provided that covers a range of music types and accompanies the various action scenes to capture the particular mood of the moment.

EXTRAS