COP SECRET
Directed by: Hannes Þór Halldórsson
Starring: Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson, Steinunn Ólína Þorsteinsdóttir, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Jón Gnarr
Bussi is Reykjavik's toughest cop, a loose cannon who threw the rule book out the window years ago but dammit he gets results. When he is partnered with rival cop Hörður to take down a gang of violent bank robbers, more than sparks are going to fly as Bussi wrestles with his repressed sexual feelings for his new partner…
In some ways, Cop Secret feels like an inevitability and if it had arrived 20 years ago the world may be a better place right now.
Bussi and Hörður are basically modelled on Tango and Cash - Bussi is the violent slobbish one who plays by his own rules and scares the hell out of his current partner Klemenz (the film starts with a hair-raising car chase and its only halfway through that you find out Klemenz's baby is strapped in the back of the car!). Meanwhile Hörður is an ex-model turned detective, rich, educated and a snappy dresser. However both have the same destructive approach as Riggs and Murtaugh and are likely to destroy whole neighborhoods in their pursuit of justice!
The film doesn't just pay lip service to this though, it goes all in, tongues and all. The action set-pieces are all really well produced and the director is able to throw in a lot of action movie flourishes which fans of Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer will instantly recognise (especially some of the music cues which sound like they're straight out of Con Air).
What sets this apart of course is the sexuality of the protagonists. Hörður is openly 'pansexual' and is totally at home with himself. However Bussi has been struggling with his sexuality for years. He has a long suffering girlfriend who has figured it out but he still cannot admit to it. Bussi is a bit of a dinosaur in his own attitudes towards sex and doesn't realise that Society is likely to be more accepting of him that he is of himself.
The script does a good job of balancing both the relationship drama with the action so one doesn't eclipse the other. In the bad-guy corner we have Rikki, also a former model and someone from Hörður's past. He's a great supervillain parody - constantly spewing forth nonsensical monologues ("Do you know who long it takes an anaconda to fully digest a human??") and only speaks in English. He does have a devious plan even though as Bussi notes later it's ripping off an idea from a certain action franchise and he tends to be sketchy about the details when discussing with his henchmen.
THE VERDICT
I've been saying for a while that we need a gay action hero. It's a dynamic which has yet to be broached properly by the film industry which is strange considering the amount of bromance and testosterone which are featured in the classic buddy action movies. Of course back in the day, any such feelings towards partners would be played for laughs and/or met with homophobic reactions.
Its so wonderful then that this film exists and that it works on different levels. At the very least this is an excellent action comedy which skews the rogue/loos cannon cop cliiche to perfection (there's even a hilarious "getting chewed out by the Chief because of all the destruction" scene). But at its heart is this burgeoning relationship which is played both for laughs and for warmth as Bussi finally confronts his own feelings.
9 out of 10 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
MIKEOUTWEST