Genre: Comedy, drama
The opening shot of A Cop and A Half is something which would normally be enough for one to switch the movie off and forget it ever existed. Starting your movie with a shot of poop is certainly a choice, but if anything, it’s a sign that the filmmakers are not afraid to make bold choices.
The story follows a mismatched duo, a cop named Jon, played by Jonathan Boynton-Lee, and a street criminal named Trev, played by Trevor Gumbi, who are forced to work together to fight crime in the busy city of Johannesburg.
The films is packed with a bunch of familiar faces including Noxolo Dlamini, Jack Devnarain, Nthati Moshesh, Ayanda Bandla, Sihle Ndaba and Simphiwe Ngema.
Once you’re able to get past the first 45 seconds, it fast becomes an enjoyable watch with all the makings of an SA action comedy that rivals a Hollywood production.
The premise of the film is so simple, yet every moment on screen is pure chaos. Everything — from the dialogue to the simple interactions between cast members — is so much fun to watch. At no point can you predict what happens next. It makes such a pleasing watch.
Gumbi and Boynton-Lee have great chemistry. Their character development is done so well.
We watch them go from two, relentlessly bickering strangers, to literally risking their lives for each other.
This is pure ubuntu.
Gumbi is the star. His humour is sketchy, occasionally cringeworthy, but the lines are always hilarious.
I found myself laughing out loud. His words are so unhinged that it has a fresh feel of improvisation.
Standing tall in this movie is the SA flag of authenticity.
There is no pandering to Hollywood and this is why it works so well.
You know you are South African when your gut tells you it knows precisely what the jokes and innuendo mean!
The graphics are not the best, some of the actors aren’t great, and the pacing feels unnecessarily slow at times, but this does not detract from a wonderful SA film.
A Cop and A Half is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video
