A company pledging full financing so refn will direct Maniac Cop immediately raises the question of what exactly is being financed besides lingering shots of empty streets. Mubi's commitment to theatrical play in multiple territories reads like a polite way of saying the film will open in art houses for two weeks before the real money comes from streaming add-on fees.
Goodfellas stepping in as co-producer adds the reassuring note that someone in the room has seen an actual script, yet the project still feels like turning a 1988 drive-in flick into a museum piece about urban alienation. Every chase that once lasted ninety seconds will now unfold over twenty minutes while the synth score explains the killer's childhood trauma.
The original worked because it never pretended to be anything deeper than a guy in a cop uniform stabbing people. This version appears designed to extract meaning from the premise until only the title remains recognizable.
