Maniac Cop 2 and 3 find themselves a home on your 4K UHD shelf with lovely restorations on both films from Blue Underground.  These are both significant upgrades from the blurays so let’s dive in a see what makes these releases stand out.

Packaging and Art

The packaging on both discs is pretty standard for Blue Underground 4K releases.  You have an embossed slipcover with nice detail, and a “thicc-boi” soft case containing both the bluray and 4K discs with no supplements included.  Unfortunately there is no reversible artwork here, and no new artwork was commissioned for the release, so we are treated to the same artwork as was used for the previous blurays from Blue Underground.

Bonus Features

Maniac Cop 2:

Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn
Theatrical Trailers
Isolated Music Track

Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn
Back On The Beat – The Making of MANIAC COP 2
Cinefamily Q&A with Director William Lustig
Deleted Scene
Theatrical Trailers
Poster &; Still Gallery
Isolated Music Track
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

Audio Commentary with Director William Lustig and Filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn
Back On The Beat – The Making Of MANIAC COP 2
Cinefamily Q&A with Director William Lustig
Deleted Scene
Theatrical Trailers
Poster & Still Gallery
Isolated Music Track

Maniac Cop 3:

Disc 1 (4K UHD Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

NEW! Audio Commentary with Director Alan Smithee
Theatrical Trailer

Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:

NEW! Audio Commentary with Director Alan Smithee
Wrong Arm Of The Law – The Making Of MANIAC COP 3
Deleted and Extended Scenes
Theatrical Trailer
Poster & Still Gallery
Original Synopsis

Audio: Dolby Atmos; English: 2.0 DTS-HD – Both Films

For audio and visual, I am going to review both films collectively as I feel they both had similar improvements.  Both titles have Dolby Atmos tracks that really thumped and gave way more impact than I had expected.  Audio was clear and crisp with vocals with a very engaging mix throughout all channels.  Both of these films have scenes where there are car crashes, punches and explosions that will have your sound system stretching its muscles.  These mixes feel precise and active compared to other releases of these movies and I would say the audio is the major selling point here.

Visual: Native 4K Transfer From the 2013 4K Restoration Supervised and Approved by Director Bill Lustig.  Dolby Vision +HDR10 – Both Films
(HDR10 via Epson 5050ub used for review)

Both films are sporting brand new 4K transfers that are extremely well balanced and well done.  The highlights and neons light pop from the screen, contrasted by rich dark levels that contain excellent shadow details.  The grain is still on the stronger side if you are sensitive to that, but this transfer really refines the grain and leaves for a smoother image overall.  The standout for me are the black levels.  These movies are naturally more dark, and these discs have excellent control in those moments.

Overall

Although these reviews are not about the film’s quality, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I was very late to the game with any Maniac Cop film.  I was lucky enough to catch the Arrow Video version of the first film, and see both 2 and 3 on these glorious 4K transfers for the first time.  These movies are way better action movies and just flat out better movies than their titles set them up to be; in my opinion.  These releases are well balanced in audio and visual with audio being the major standout here.  I strongly recommend adding these to your collection or watchlist, and a huge thank you to MVD Entertainment for hooking us up with these for review.

Gear Used for Reviews:

Speakers:
Klipsch RF-7 Fronts
Klipsch RC-7 Center
Klipsch RF-82ii Surrounds
Klipsch RS-7 Back Surrounds
Klipsch RSW-115 Subwoofer (Front)
BIC Acoustech PL-200ii Subwoofer (Rear)
Dayton Audio BST-1 High Power Pro Tactile Bass Shaker
OSD ICE660 Dolby Atmos In Ceilings

Seating:
American Signature Fiero Theater Recliners

Projector:
Epson 5050ub

Screen:
Silver Ticket 135″ 16×9 High Contrast Grey screen with 0.9 gain.

Rack: (SysRack 18u)
Denon x3700h
Episode 150 Amp
Dayton Audio BSA-200 Power amp
Sony UBP-X700 4K Bluray
Sony BDP-S6700 4K upscale Region Free Player
Apple TV 4K (2021)
Xbox One S
PS4
AC Infinity Aircom T8
TCP-4 Rack Fan
2x AC Infinity Axial Fans
AC Infinity Airframe T7
URC MX450 Universal remote/base/RF adapter.
Monster Power Conditioner

Cables:
Component cables – Key Digital 4K HDR 4:4:4 HDMI Pro Cables

Projector Cable – Key Digital 4K HDR 4:4:4 Fiber Optic HDMI

Acoustic Treatment:
6 – 2×4 4″ panels
2 – Auralex 2x2x2 panels
2 – Arial acoustic diffusers
3 – 1.5×3 4″ Ceiling panels
Black Velvet treatment to front stage

Paint:
Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black