Shout Factory continues to bring the cult classics to Blu-ray with new collector’s editions under their Shout Select brand. The latest is the 1987 feature film sequel of sorts Dragnet starring Dan Aykroyd, Tom Hanks, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul, Dabney Coleman, and Jack O’Halloran.  

 

Dragnet follows nephew of Detective Sgt. Joe Friday with his namesake who like his uncle, he's a blue-suited, by-the-rules cop who reluctantly joins forces with his footloose partner Pep Streebek to rescue the City of Angels from the machinations of a power-mad Reverend and corrupt Police Commissioners. I remember not being very fond of this movie when it originally came out, but I have to admit that I actually enjoyed it a bit revisiting it. Make no mistake its still not an overly good movie, but Aykroyd is on point as Friday. He fully captures the essence of original Friday Jack Webb and it makes for a great continuation of the iconic character. Being able to bring in Harry Morgan to reprise the role of Gannon from the original series, but now captain makes for another great connection between the two.

 

This is far from a perfect film with some of the jokes falling flat, but it screams 80s and I honestly don’t think it could have worked at any other time in film. For the direction they decided to go it works well and actually holds up in all its silly glory. I am a sucker getting to see any early Tom Hanks and this one is no exception as he brings the more current aspect to class along with Friday’s dated sentiments.

 

This latest release is a must have for fans of the original series or just fans of Aykroyd and Hanks. In addition to the film this release includes bonus content including a photo gallery, trailers, commentaries and interviews. Gather nothing but the facts with Dragnet: Collector’s Edition available now from Shout Select.

 

For more information head over to www.shoutfactory.com