William Minsky’s “Copy Right” can be summed up as a video geek’s action flick. We open with two nefarious characters slipping into their car. They travel to a deserted parking garage to meet up with three even more nefarious characters, awaiting a deal of some sorts. Is it drugs? Weapons? Kiddie porn? Not at all. It’s an illegal copy of a videotape.
Lurking behind the concrete blocks is a special agent bent on busting this video piracy ring wide open. A rooftop shootout ensues, along with a painfully long car chase through the streets of Edmonton, and eventually a foot race through more of the deserted city and into the inner bowels of the subway… and then? Well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise ending.
“Copy Right” is well thought out and planned in terms of shots, and the no-budget action is impressive at times. It is clear that Minsky knew what he wanted (although he “samples” from several notable action flicks like Ronin and presents an homage to Reservoir Dogs which runs on much, much too long).
Casting was a bit inconsistent. The pirates were decent (although one of them was a bit short to pass as a Mafioso-type), but the Agent left more to be desired. If you’re going to shoot an action film, it is best to find a star that resembles an action hero. Instead, the Agent looked more like Colombo after a weekend of hard drinking.
The biggest problem with “Copy Right” is the length. Like the Keith David/Roddy Piper fight in “They Live,” this is too long even on fast forward. It’s a 26 minute video that leads to a single punch line, which is most appreciated by anyone who pirated a Star Wars tape from the library in the 1980s. It’s an interesting punch line, but a punch line none-the-less that doesn’t warrant 25 minutes of lead-in. Maybe 5 minutes, tops.
