The Last Cop - Season 4 - DVD

Content: Mick Brisgau (Henning Baum), the cop who slipped into a coma in the 80s after being shot at and who only woke up 20 years later in a world that was nevertheless very strange to him, is back. After three years of coming to terms in his own special way with the modern police service and his new partner Andreas Kringge (Maximilian Grill), he quit the police service at the end of season 3. The breach of trust weighs too heavily on Mick after he finds out that Andreas, his superior Martin Ferchert (Helmfried von Lüttichau) and his lady of the heart and presidium boss Tanja Haffner (Proschat Madani) have kept it from him that they know the identity of the man who shot him over 20 years ago. Now Mick lives in seclusion in a cabin in the woods. All attempts to get him to return have failed. Only when a murder is committed with the very gun that was once used to shoot Mick does Der letzte Bulle return to active duty.

After discovering that the shooter of old, small-time hood Schaller, did not act on his own, but was hired by a mysterious mastermind to kill Mick, the charming macho man now does everything he can to solve the twenty-year-old case and finally find peace. In addition, he and Andreas also have to solve the murder of a private detective who investigated the disappearance of several parcel delivery trucks, have to deal with a dead sperm donor, protection rackets and a poisoned homeless man, or clarify whether an alleged suicide bombing was really an act of terrorism. On top of that, Andreas finally becomes a father and seems a bit overwhelmed with this new role at first. And with the controller Steffi Averdunk (Franziska Weisz) a new woman comes into Mick's life, who gets on his nerves at first, but then turns his head all the more violently...

After The Last Cop had shown the first signs of fatigue in season 3 and the concept of the series seemed to be a little worn out, the makers have tried in season 4 to enrich the proven ingredients with a little fresh wind. What remained was the mixture of classic crime format and humor, of 80s soundtrack and cool sayings. The case around the shooting of Mick, the liaison with Steffi and the fatherly joys of Andreas are a welcome addition to the series. True, there are some moments that don't really work, such as the birth of little Karl or the way Steffi then says goodbye (for now?) to the series. But on the whole, the series can easily maintain the level of the first season even in the fourth year.

Of course, this is again due to the good chemistry between the actors, whereby especially Henning Baum, who even gets to play a bit of James Bond in an undercover operation in a casino in the last episode, again proves to be the ideal cast for the policeman with the old-fashioned macho charm. It's also very nice that a real male friendship slowly develops between the former rivals Brisgau and Meisner, which makes for some very nice moments between the two. If the makers now still present the humor again a little more subtly, since they are in some scenes but by the facial expressions of the actors and the staging in danger of drifting into klamauk, then nothing stands in the way of a successful fifth season!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD is again in the fourth season on a good TV level. Smudges or glitches there are None, the image sharpness is satisfactory and the color mixing very harmonious. The stereo-only audio is, of course, dominated primarily by the dialogue and the good soundtrack, with both sounding clear and powerfully mixed out of the speakers. Good!

Extras: On the third DVD are some extras worth watching, which fans of the series will certainly enjoy. The focus is on some more in-depth interviews with Henning Baum (approx. 8 min.), Maximilian Grill (approx. 6 min.), Robert Lohr (approx. 5 min.), newcomer Franziska Weisz (approx. 4 min.), Proschat Madani (approx. 3 min.), Tatjana Clasing (approx. 2:30 min.) and Helmfried von Lüttichau (approx. 4 min.). Not all of the questions are really profound (Can you cook?), but all in all the viewer is offered very entertaining and likeable interviews. Amusing are also the almost 14-minute outtakes, which have some very funny moments to offer.

Finally, there is the first episode of the fourth season with an audio commentary by Henning Baum. Unfortunately, the actor hardly provides any insight into the production, but mainly explains the story, which also comes with some long pauses. A joint commentary with Maximilian Grill or with the writers or director would certainly have been more interesting and entertaining. Nevertheless, the fact that the fans at all such an extra is offered, quite commendable.

Conclusion: Even in the fourth season, Der letzte Bulle still works very well. The proven mix of crime and comedy, enriched with very likeable characters, is just fun, even if not all scenes work equally well. A few new plot elements and a new lady of the heart for Mick ensure that the series remains exciting and entertaining in its fourth year. On DVD, the thirteen new episodes present themselves in good picture and sound quality and on Disc 3 there are also a few nice extras that fans will certainly be happy about. Therefore: if you already liked the seasons 1 - 3, you simply can't miss this box! Absolutely recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp