In a time where cops are cloned and people are fighting for justice, a group of people find themselves in their compound wondering about their situation and what to do.
Written by Phillip Cordell and Daniel Dones with Dones directing as well, this sci-fi action comedy is one that has a bit of everything for everyone and a whole lot of chaos and clones. It’s one of those films that makes you scratch your head from the start. The story here is somewhat chaotic, yet simple. It makes a few good points but clearly aims to entertain above educate, creating a sense of fun while also adding violence, inappropriate humor here and there, and quite a few clones with silly uniforms. The film makes a point to be out there and fun while taking the viewers on a ride with it. The writing works, most of the humor works (but that’s quite dependent on each viewer’s sense of humor), it has some dark humor, some light humor, some blood, some good, some of everything all put into one story in a way that works quite well. The direction here being by one of the writers is an advantage as Dones is clearly close to the material and understands it fully which helps him bring it to the screen in just the right way.
The cast here works well with the material, they have good comedic timing, can handle the action, and clearly aren’t afraid of the sci-fi. As a whole, they work well together, and a few stand out more than the others, but generally, the talent on display is well-matched between the cast members. Steve Byrne as the Nefari spokesperson is fantastically on point almost giddy at times as he speaks about the company like they aren’t doing anything wrong. He sells the part and feels very much like many mega corporations’ spokespersons out there, those who have worked for megacorps will recognize the style, the look, the cadence of speech, and more. This is well-researched and well-delivered performance. Henry Haggard is just right as Frank, Quinnlan Ashe is the right choice for Fera, Schyler Tillett has the right balance of innocence and possibly a touch of stupidity as Kinder, and so on and so forth. The cast works well here, and they sell the world this takes place in just right.
The look of the film is also quite fun with cinematography by Corey Allen that plays with the locations, the training videos, and the other sources of video very well, putting them all together in a way that makes sense. Of course, it’s all looking quite like it’s from the same source, so the connection between them is not too hard to make. The editing here works well with all these and makes the film an easy, breezy watch.
Clone Cops is a fun romp into the world of clones with action and comedy that land right. The cast works well, the film is fun, there is not too much depth (there is some, but not a ton), making it an easy watch that can be put on at any time and enjoyed for what it is. The film looks like the folks making it had fun making it and it helps it become what it is, entertaining, light with some violence and blood, some good and some odd humor, and a whole bunch more so that everything can have something to enjoy here.