The Man – Nothing special, but definitely watchable

'Buddy cop' films have been around for as long as I have. Sometimes, they work, other times they don't. In short... simply having two people forced to work together who are basically complete opposites is not a recipe for success. Whether the film succeeds or sinks normally depends on the actors involved. And, I'm pleased to say that with the (perhaps unlikely?) pairing of Samuel L Jackson and Eugene Levy, it really does hit the spot.

Samuel L Jackson plays, well… Samuel L Jackson, while Eugene Levy plays – you guessed it – Eugene Levy.  Neither really stray far from performances you’ve already seen them give numerous times, but – again – it works.  Levy is a salesman who gets mixed up with an arms deal while having dinner in a café.  Luckily, Jackson is on hand to step in and not just save him, but also sets him up as a supposed ‘kingpin’ that he can use to bring down one half of eighties supergroup Bros (or Luke Goss to be precise – a bad guys so generic, he’d fit right in to the Marvel Cinematic Universe!).

You may have guessed that a chatty and middleclass salesman is not the ideal person to play a dangerous criminal, but – yet again – it works.  Or at least it works in terms of comedy.  Yes, in real life Levy may have been gunned down within ten seconds into walking into a room with a load of criminals, but, here, they take him at his word.

There are some other minor subplots running alongside the main story, i.e. a branch of Internal Affairs are looking into Samuel L Jackson and he’s also in the process of trying to patch things up with his ex wife and daughter.  However, it’s the two leads’ show all the way.  Their chemistry and banter elevates the film and makes it totally enjoyable.  The bickering between the two is truly a sheer joy to watch as Levy’s dry comebacks slowly wind Jackson up more and more.  There’s also plenty of swearing and some, moderate violence to go with the laughs, so it’s more for an adult audience.

Samuel L Jackson has a wide range of movies under his belt, some big budget, others that feel almost ‘straight-to-DVD.’ This one sits somewhere between the two and is definitely worth a watch if you’re a fan, or just like those kind of crime/comedies with a strong sense of mismatched central characters who have to overcome their personalities in order to reach a greater goal.  A tale as old as time, but, if done right – and it is here – it’s definitely worth an hour and a half of your time.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that