Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Officer Downe'

Written by Scott Edwards

I do like a good buddy cop movie now and then. There was this great franchise that came out in the late 80’s that really turned the buddy cop movie into a big time thing called Lethal Weapon. While these might not have been the greatest movies ever created, they did show how to have a good time when working the beat and sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if I really wanted to be a cop. Although those days are behind me, wanting to be a cop anyway, I still am on the lookout for a good buddy cop movie to fill that void and Officer Downe not only filled that, but it also gave me some appreciation for wanting to do my job and do it well.
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Loving his job, even working for the L.A.P.D., Officer Gable is about to get a surprise of a lifetime. Getting called in to talk with the Chief, Gable has been put on a special detail and will work with the station’s top cop. Being taken down into the lower floors and seeing what appears to be a dead man about to be shocked back to life, all of the rumors that he has heard about a never dying officer are absolutely true. Watching as Officer Downe is brought back to the land of the living, Gable will serve as back up to the living legend and is looking forward to having his new partner’s back in the field.

The Fortune 500 is at ends with each other as they have lost another one of their drug operations to the L.A.P.D.’s super cop. Needing to find some sort of way to get Downe out of the way, the idea of bringing in Zen Master Flash comes to mind, since he has an army and has never let anyone down before when it comes to eliminating someone. Coming to terms with Flash, the Fortune 500 can now sit back and wait for Downe to be disposed of in the most heinous manner and reap the rewards that will be coming their way with him gone. 

Sitting outside of the church that houses one of the most notorious gun running nuns, Mother Supreme, Gable is getting anxious about when to back up his new partner. He is quickly told to cool his jets by Fritch, Hanso and Carter who have been on the beat for some time, since they know exactly what needs to be done. Basically being a cleanup detail for Downe when he is finished does not sit with what Gable heard from the Chief and he takes matters into his own hands and enters the church to find a trail of bloody nuns leading him to Mother Supreme. Seeing Downe taking shots that would kill a normal man, Gable is able to make the arrest of the top nun, but when seeing Downe get back up to finish the job, Gable sees a gun pointed at Downe’s head. Falling to his death again, Downe is picked up by his team and taken back to the station to be resurrected once again, but can he remember what he is really fighting for?

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Getting reprimanded by the Chief, Gable is able to keep his post for the time being, but wants to know what the real story is behind Downe and his battle against evil in the city. Finding a secret entrance to a hidden lab under the locker room, Gable comes face to face with who is keeping Downe alive and killing. A lab filled with quadriplegics who possess the power of telekinesis supply the power that keeps Downe alive and on the beat, but while Gable does not fully understand if they or Downe know what is happening, Downe graces his group of life bringers with his presence. Not remembering his previous deaths is one thing, but Downe knows first-hand that these are the folks keeping him on the hunt for evil in the city.
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Needing to get something off of his chest, Gable heads to the local cop bar and sees that his new partners are there waiting to rag on him. With a fight being avoided, the group starts to drink together and while he is not able to tell them everything that he has seen, Gable questions if what they are doing is right by bringing Downe back for every fight that could kill regular cops in his place. With the liquor flowing, the cops get a call about an incident at the hospital that Downe has already responded to.  Seeing bodies sliced to bits by Zen Master Flash and his gang, Officer Downe is also missing from the premises and the need to find him will keep Gable from resting. With no power to make the ultimate decision, Gable calls upon whatever he can to find the greatest cop in the department’s history, but there might be more to it than he would ever know.

There was something that caught my attention right away when watching Officer Downe, and that was that Downe knows exactly what is wrong with his city and he will do anything to get it back, that and an orgasm counter to show how dedicated he is to the job. I was having a hard time not laughing throughout the movie, even during some of the battle scenes, because they are the perfect throwback to some of the 80’s splatter fests that we grew up with. You really got to feel Gable’s frustration throughout as he only wanted to be a part of something more and really loved being a cop, and was told not to be by the Chief. Fighting for what he knew was right and being able to help his possible future friend, the team of Gable and Downe might be the greatest thing ever to hit the L.A. streets to put all of the evil away, one way or another. With machine gun wielding nuns, an undying cop, bodies flying everywhere, a gang that wears furry outfits and a Zen Master that does not like subtitles, this movie may have you wondering what you just watched, but in my opinion, it is just pure entertainment as I had to give it a second viewing. Happy Viewing. 

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