Someone, somewhere gave piles of money to writer/director/star Dax Shepard to make a film version of “CHiPs,” a late 1970s television show that’s mostly known. DVD and Blu-ray Reviews including CHiPS, PRISON BREAK, DEATH POOL, DEATH LINE, THE UNHOLY, DIRTY DANCING, THE PINK PANTHER FILM COLLECTION.
Commentary CHIPS, based on the old TV series, is a Dax Shepard comedy chronicling the pairing of a tenured undercover FBI agent, Ponch, and a newly sworn-in and very physically fragile California Highway Patrol officer, Jon, as they set out on their first assignment. Of course, little does Jon know that Ponch is an FBI agent at the outset. Ponch is embedded in an effort to catch a number of dirty cops, including the lead bad guy, Ray Kurtz. Jon’s skill as a motorcycle whizz, coupled with Ponch’s determination and experience allow them to get past their initial intrapersonal issues to become a great team. As they pursue the crooked cops, Jon is also in the process of trying to put his marriage back together despite the fact that his wife is already living with another guy in their house. Meanwhile, Ponch is a sex addict who is constantly succumbing to his desires.
The movie isn’t going to win any awards for the story, but there are some extremely funny exchanges between the two characters that makes it worth a watch. Initially, Ponch is a hardened detective that doesn’t want to discuss his issues with his new partner, while Jon is overly psychoanalytic, bordering on invasive. This dynamic coupled with the characters’ personal issues leads to much of the humorous interaction. I can’t honestly say I found it all funny, but there were definitely parts that had me laughing out loud. Not everything in the film is all laughs. In fact, the one thing that actually surprised me about the film was the level of violence.
There were some fairly graphic action sequences that one does not expect to be in a comedy, but they were not so gritty as to be completely out of place. Vincent D’Onofrio always gives a superb performance, especially when he is a bad guy. You never know just how close his characters are to tipping over the edge of crazy.
That is true of Ray Kurtz as well, who is supposedly crooked for nothing more than to get funds to pay for his son’s special needs. Thus, he is able to justify the aforementioned violence and brutality in his pursuit.
Gabe Lowe is a Data Storage Professional residing in Durham, NC. Upon first getting a taste of surround sound in the late 1980's, Gabriel was hooked. He pieced together his first system shortly thereafter with hand-me-down speakers, a 20' CRT TV, and a HiFi VCR, and has had a passion for gear ever since. Using various internet and print resources, along with the help of a friend, he built his first dedicated custom home theater in 2003. Apart from home theater, Gabriel also loves spending time with his wife and 2 children, watching and playing sports, and staying up to date on the latest trends in technology.
CHiPs was shot by Mitchell Amundsen, whose experience with action features is extensive, both in second unit (on several films and multiple Michael Bay projects) and lead DP (the first ). Like most major studio productions today, the project was digitally acquired (on the Red Weapon, according to IMDb). Amundsen expertly lights and photographs the stunt sequences, which, as Shepard proudly notes in the extras, were performed 'in camera', albeit with CG enhancement. He's less successful in creating anything visually distinctive for what comes before and after the action, and for the most part CHiPs doesn't look much different than a TV drama with R-rated dialogue.