Bulletproof is the kind of 90s action-comedy programmer that used to be released at least once a month in theaters to great fanfare. The Ernest Dickerson-directed film leans heavily on the chemistry between stars Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans but surprises in how much action there is for a Sandler Comedy. Taking its cues from 48 HRS and Midnight Run rather than Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore.
In fact, what makes the film so enjoyable is that it deviates from the normal Adam Sandler comedy troupes have become stereotypes or tropes, depending on your love of the comedian’s films. More of a true balanced buddy-action comedy than a Sandler or Wayans film. One does wish the film would have gone harder with the action, which seems to have scared the studio after the success of Sandler’s first two PG-13 sophomoric comedies (not a criticism, as this review does love the first run of Sandler films leading up to The Waterboy).
There is a window into a career Sandler could have had in harder-edged action projects, much like Wayans. The superstar dives into the action with a serious-mindedness that would later return to films like Uncut Gems and Hustle(the latter a truly great underseen gem). There isn’t a hint of a smirk or joke when he’s taking out bad guys in the bloody (for a Sandler film) finale.
Of course, Wayans is great as the primary lead in the film. One does see him and wonder if he had gotten more action-centric roles, could his career have been bigger. There’s a force and charisma that Wayans has that feels like he was one John Woo-directed film away from being one of the biggest action stars in the world. It’s a shame that it was never fully realized.
The biggest key to the film’s success is director Ernest Dickerson’s crisp direction and the propulsive energy of George Folsey Jr.’s editing. At a sub-90-minute runtime, there is zero fat on this film, and it’s all the better for it. Jokes and one-liners fly by as quickly as bullets, and action scenes are sharply edited and shot by cinematographer Steven Bernstein. Though one can feel the lack of the edgier material that Dickerson was known for in classics Juice, Surviving the Game, and Demon Knight. Bulletproof remains a highly entertaining film nonetheless, a vastly underseen, truly underrated action comedy that fans of 90s action owe it to themselves to either revisit or a first time watch.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is another excellent example of the great work that Kino Lorber is doing. The film’s widescreen photography by Steven Bernstein gets a huge uptick in vibrancy and detail because of the HDR encoding. There isn’t a scratch or defect during the runtime of the film, providing a flawless image. The same goes for the contrast and black-level details, as well as the fine grain detail. The film has never looked as good, even in theaters, as it does on this 4K UHD.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
NEW Audio Commentary by Director Ernest Dickerson with Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
NEW Audio Commentary by Action Film Historian Mike Leeder
5.1 Surround & Lossless 2.0 Audio
Triple-Layered UHD100 Disc
Optional English Subtitles
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
NEW Audio Commentary by Director Ernest Dickerson with Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry
NEW Audio Commentary by Action Film Historian Mike Leeder
A Character That Helps to Tell the Story: Interview with Actor Xander Berkeley
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
The first of two all-new Audio Commentary tracks is by Director Ernest Dickerson with Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry opens with introductions before discussing how Dickerson got involved with Bulletproof after a script he was developing called In Too Deep and needing to “pay the bills”. Some of the details include the budget and how much of it was actually used for the production (e.g., the below-the-line vs. above-the-line); Dickerson’s mother’s cameo appearance; the track to release and how short it was from production to release and how much help editor George Folsey Jr. aided that process; who was Dickerson’s first choice to play the James Caan role; working with Caan on the film; how adept that Sandler was with action at the time; Dickerson’s love of John Woo and how it influenced him here; how he designs action and collaborates with the action coordinator; the visual references that Dickerson took for the film; how Spielberg’s Always helped Dickerson with a bigger sequence; a story about the test screening process and the testing results and how that informed the post production on the film – including an incident that caused Dickerson to lose it in the editing room; the discussion of the first day of filming; a larger discussion of the various actors appeared in the film; the various locations that the production used; and much more.
The second all-new Audio Commentary track is by Action Film Historian Mike Leeder, who opens with his credentials before diving into the film. Some of the details include where Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans were, respectively in their careers before starring in this film; the history of action buddy cop films of similar ilk that began with the very different The Defiant Ones but includes 48 HRS, Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys, Rush Hour; the lack of success of the film; a discussion of the real-life regional ads that the James Caan character in the film stars in; the work and career of actor James Farentino; the fact the film feels like a softer-R rated film and how it looks to have been edited down from its original form; the work, career, and visual style of director Ernest Dickerson – including the director’s thoughts on the film; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and their career and work; and much more.
A Character That Helps to Tell the Story: Interview with Actor Xander Berkeley (18:51) – in this all-new interview, the character actor opens with an his by admission that this is the smallest role he ever played other than Heat (which is much more iconic for his single scene), which includes a great JT Walsh story. Berkeley goes on to discuss how his early childhood and his mother’s ability to make him costumes informed his wanting to be an actor; his time in the theater and how it trained him; his approach to bad guys – and how that typecast him; working with director Ernest Dickerson; the difference working with Wayans and Sandler at the time; stories from the set including an issue with an AD that he had; and much more.
Deleted Scenes (7:36) – pulled from Ernest Dickerson’s own personal VHS workprint; the quality is rough, to say the least. The three deleted scenes consist of Alternate Opening; Back from the Dead; and Keats and Traci in Bed.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Bulletproof (2:19); Happy Gilmore (2:23); Billy Madison (2:00); Half Baked (1:54); Major Payne (2:05);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has given us another great 4K upgrade to a cult title. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans star in the action-buddy comedy Bulletproof, new to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Bulletproof is the kind of 90s action-comedy programmer that used to be released at least once a month in theaters to great fanfare. The Ernest Dickerson-directed film leans heavily on the chemistry between stars Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans but surprises in how much action there is for a Sandler Comedy. Taking its cues from 48 HRS and Midnight Run rather than Billy Madison or Happy Gilmore.
In fact, what makes the film so enjoyable is that it deviates from the normal Adam Sandler comedy troupes have become stereotypes or tropes, depending on your love of the comedian’s films. More of a true balanced buddy-action comedy than a Sandler or Wayans film. One does wish the film would have gone harder with the action, which seems to have scared the studio after the success of Sandler’s first two PG-13 sophomoric comedies (not a criticism, as this review does love the first run of Sandler films leading up to The Waterboy).
There is a window into a career Sandler could have had in harder-edged action projects, much like Wayans. The superstar dives into the action with a serious-mindedness that would later return to films like Uncut Gems and Hustle(the latter a truly great underseen gem). There isn’t a hint of a smirk or joke when he’s taking out bad guys in the bloody (for a Sandler film) finale.
Of course, Wayans is great as the primary lead in the film. One does see him and wonder if he had gotten more action-centric roles, could his career have been bigger. There’s a force and charisma that Wayans has that feels like he was one John Woo-directed film away from being one of the biggest action stars in the world. It’s a shame that it was never fully realized.
The biggest key to the film’s success is director Ernest Dickerson’s crisp direction and the propulsive energy of George Folsey Jr.’s editing. At a sub-90-minute runtime, there is zero fat on this film, and it’s all the better for it. Jokes and one-liners fly by as quickly as bullets, and action scenes are sharply edited and shot by cinematographer Steven Bernstein. Though one can feel the lack of the edgier material that Dickerson was known for in classics Juice, Surviving the Game, and Demon Knight. Bulletproof remains a highly entertaining film nonetheless, a vastly underseen, truly underrated action comedy that fans of 90s action owe it to themselves to either revisit or a first time watch.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is another excellent example of the great work that Kino Lorber is doing. The film’s widescreen photography by Steven Bernstein gets a huge uptick in vibrancy and detail because of the HDR encoding. There isn’t a scratch or defect during the runtime of the film, providing a flawless image. The same goes for the contrast and black-level details, as well as the fine grain detail. The film has never looked as good, even in theaters, as it does on this 4K UHD.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
The first of two all-new Audio Commentary tracks is by Director Ernest Dickerson with Entertainment Journalists/Authors Bryan Reesman and Max Evry opens with introductions before discussing how Dickerson got involved with Bulletproof after a script he was developing called In Too Deep and needing to “pay the bills”. Some of the details include the budget and how much of it was actually used for the production (e.g., the below-the-line vs. above-the-line); Dickerson’s mother’s cameo appearance; the track to release and how short it was from production to release and how much help editor George Folsey Jr. aided that process; who was Dickerson’s first choice to play the James Caan role; working with Caan on the film; how adept that Sandler was with action at the time; Dickerson’s love of John Woo and how it influenced him here; how he designs action and collaborates with the action coordinator; the visual references that Dickerson took for the film; how Spielberg’s Always helped Dickerson with a bigger sequence; a story about the test screening process and the testing results and how that informed the post production on the film – including an incident that caused Dickerson to lose it in the editing room; the discussion of the first day of filming; a larger discussion of the various actors appeared in the film; the various locations that the production used; and much more.
The second all-new Audio Commentary track is by Action Film Historian Mike Leeder, who opens with his credentials before diving into the film. Some of the details include where Adam Sandler and Damon Wayans were, respectively in their careers before starring in this film; the history of action buddy cop films of similar ilk that began with the very different The Defiant Ones but includes 48 HRS, Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys, Rush Hour; the lack of success of the film; a discussion of the real-life regional ads that the James Caan character in the film stars in; the work and career of actor James Farentino; the fact the film feels like a softer-R rated film and how it looks to have been edited down from its original form; the work, career, and visual style of director Ernest Dickerson – including the director’s thoughts on the film; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and their career and work; and much more.
A Character That Helps to Tell the Story: Interview with Actor Xander Berkeley (18:51) – in this all-new interview, the character actor opens with an his by admission that this is the smallest role he ever played other than Heat (which is much more iconic for his single scene), which includes a great JT Walsh story. Berkeley goes on to discuss how his early childhood and his mother’s ability to make him costumes informed his wanting to be an actor; his time in the theater and how it trained him; his approach to bad guys – and how that typecast him; working with director Ernest Dickerson; the difference working with Wayans and Sandler at the time; stories from the set including an issue with an AD that he had; and much more.
Deleted Scenes (7:36) – pulled from Ernest Dickerson’s own personal VHS workprint; the quality is rough, to say the least. The three deleted scenes consist of Alternate Opening; Back from the Dead; and Keats and Traci in Bed.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Bulletproof (2:19); Happy Gilmore (2:23); Billy Madison (2:00); Half Baked (1:54); Major Payne (2:05);
The Final Thought
Kino Lorber has given us another great 4K upgrade to a cult title. Highest Possible Recommendations!!
Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Bulletproof is out September 22nd
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