Os Bad Boas

I went into *Almost Cops* expecting a dumb comedy with some cheap laughs-but I wasn't prepared for just how painfully bad this movie actually is. It's not just unfunny-it's aggressively annoying. The plot makes no sense, the jokes fall flat every time, and the acting feels like a school play gone off the rails.

The characters are caricatures with no depth, the pacing is a mess, and there are moments that feel like they were improvised by people who have never told a joke in their lives. It tries so hard to be edgy or "random" that it ends up being nothing but cringe. I kept waiting for it to get better. It never did.

By the end, I was just angry I wasted my time. There are bad movies-and then there's *Almost Cops*. Easily the worst movie I've ever seen. I wouldn't even recommend it as a "so bad" it's good" watch. It's just bad. 1 star, and that's being generous.

The plot is not thick and can be seen from miles away, the acting could be better but yet it is very entertaining. Specially for Dutch films it is entertaining. The most annoying is not even the acting but the wholes in true story where adding some time to the playing length could have done the storyline some serious good. One actor that truly stood out and had limited screentime was Stephanie. She could have been more put in on the action making it more funny. Or the love story with Ramon is not well played out while it could have been. So actually not a bad movie, no terrible acting but just lacking some in-depth storytelling. But still positive experience.

This is a result of a filmmaker who doesnt know what movie to make. One moment you watch a spoof with potential, the next moment it is bad action movie. Sure, it is possible to shoot a funny action movie, but that would mean you have funny action scenes and not one moment of comedy, one moment of action. The action scenes were mediocre, acting mostly bad, but I did had to laugh a little once and a while. The idea to created a movie about BOA's was great, it really was. But the writers and director should have done some investigation to the real tasks of a BOA. One finale point of criticism. The Netherlands do have good actors. Really they do exist. But why are always the same bad actors casted. For instance Teun Kuilvoer. He is always casted for a bad boy character, but is one of the worst Dutch actors exists.

This film is nothing more than a PR stunt to make the Dutch BOA system look good. BOAs (Special Enforcement Officers) were never meant to assist police - they were created to replace them because they're cheaper and send fine money straight to local governments. They can't use force, can't make arrests, and mostly hand out petty fines for things like cycling in city centers or parking errors.

Almost Cops tries to paint BOAs as lovable underdogs, but it completely ignores the truth: BOAs are powerless, widely disrespected, and symbolize a broken system focused on revenue, not safety. Dressing that up in comedy doesn't fix the problem.

It has a few funny moments, I won't deny it. But if you're looking for a comedy that makes you laugh non-stop, you better look elsewhere. Almost Cops tries to be many things at once-action, drama, satire, social commentary-and ends up being none of them. The whole thing feels like a movie that doesn't know who it's for or what tone it wants to keep. One moment it's trying to critique police corruption, and the next it's making poop jokes. It doesn't add up.

The main duo works... sometimes. The chemistry between Ramón and Jack could've been much better if the script weren't filled with clichés and recycled twists. Most of the humor feels forced or straight-up childish. And worst of all: there are scenes that aim for seriousness, but neither the pacing nor the visual style supports it. The direction never finds the right tone, and the story lurches forward with choppy editing, flat dialogue, and ridiculous action scenes.

The Rotterdam setting is totally wasted. They could've leaned into the local context or real social dynamics, but instead, they chose to copy American formulas with zero personality. There's nothing here that makes it stand out or feel rooted in a specific place. This could've been shot anywhere and it wouldn't have made a difference.

What's really sad is that you can sense there was a message behind it all: some social critique, an attempt to show that the lowest-ranking officers are often the ones closest to the people. But it's so poorly executed that it doesn't move, doesn't hit, doesn't leave any mark. It's a missed opportunity-a sloppy mix of genres and references that steps all over itself.

In short: there are a couple of moments that might make you smile, but this is a messy, aimless, and boring film. One of those comedies that simply isn't funny, that promises thrills but delivers apathy. If Netflix is going to keep betting on international productions, they better back stronger ones. Because this one... this one's a mess.