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9 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Yet Another Solid Sequel., 31 March 1999
7/10
Author: Zorin-2 from United States

"Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence" is yet another solid sequel that is just as good as the previous two movies in the series. As weird as it may seem, the maniac cop (played again by Robert Z'Dar) seems to have a heart in this one when he starts protecting a female cop who was wounded in a shootout and was said to be too hard on criminals. Now the crazed cop goes on another killing spree and it is up to Robert Davi (repraising his role from "Maniac Cop 2" to stop him. If you're a fan of the first two, be sure not to miss this entry with the exciting climax with the crazed cop a flame behind the wheel of a car. *** out of ***** Stars.

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
"The network won't even consider it unless unless there's at least three confirmed dead." Another great Maniac Cop film., 4 January 2006
8/10
Author: Paul Andrews (poolandrews@hotmail.com) from UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence starts where Maniac Cop 2 (1990) ended with the funeral of the Maniac Cop himself Matt Cordell (Robert Z'Dar). However at the same time a Voodoo priest brings him back to life, with the aid of a little bit of black magic & a severed head. It's just another ordinary crime ridden night in New York as Officer Kate Sullivan (Gretchen Becker) responds to a pharmacy robbery where high on drugs junkie Frank Jessup (Jackie Earle Haley) is shooting dead any police that get anywhere near him, Kate manages to shoot Jessup but is shot herself by the crooked shop assistant who organised the robbery & badly injured but also manages to shoot & kill the assistant. Two freelance cameramen Bishop (Bobby Di Cicco) & Tribble (Frank Pesce) capture the incident on film & re-edit it so it appears that Kate shot two unarmed suspects hoping to cause controversy & make lots of money, her close friend Detective Sean McKinney (Robert Davi) sets out to clear her name. The Maniac Cop Matt Cordell takes an interest in Kate & starts to kill those wanting to switch off her life support...

The third, & thus far the last, entry in the Maniac Cop series of films Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence was originally going to be directed by William Lustig but was completed by co-producer Joel Soisson after Lustig walked out, apparently even scriptwriter Larry Cohen voiced a dissatisfaction at how the film ended up. The truth of what actually happened behind the scenes may never be known but it makes you wonder, doesn't it? While parts of the film don't work as well as they could have I still think Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is a really good horror film. First the negative things, the film never really explains why the Voodoo priest guy brings Cordell back from the dead. He doesn't make Cordell do anything or try to control him so why bring him back? The ending is very silly, why does the seat Cordell is sitting in not catch fire? It's not made clear why Cordell takes such an interest in Kate, I think maybe because he sees much of what happened to him in her but the link is somewhat tenuous. Now the positive, Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is well written, a bit different, witty, clever while it also tries to say things & in this regard it has a certain amount of success like city corruption, the importance of money over human life, biased edited for TV news coverage, an uncaring medical profession & the legal right's of a criminal over those of the innocent. It moves along at a nice pace, is never boring & entertains from start to finish.

Director's Lustig & Soisson give the film a nice look & special mention goes to cinematographer Jacques Haitkin (who has worked on over 75 films) as Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence looks fabulous throughout, from the candle lit Voodoo rituals to the cold, clinical & sterile Hospital interiors this is one great looking, atmospheric & moody film. The gore was disappointing, I have no idea if the version I saw was uncut but apart from a severed head & it's headless body, a few gory gunshot wounds & someone with their face melted there isn't much to speak of. There is a really cool car chase at the end with a burning Matt Cordell behind the wheel of a police car trying to catch McKinney.

Technically Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence is very good, the stunts at the end are great, the photography is great, I really liked the music & it's generally well made. The acting is pretty strong by all involved & Caitlin Dulany as Dr. Fowler is a bit of a babe & easy on the eye's.

I really liked Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence, it lacks a bit of logic but it tries to raise a few issues & have some twisted fun with them. Not as good as the first two entry's but still a great film in it's own right, in my humble opinion. Definitely worth a watch.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Okay sequel that though pretty mediocre isn't without it's moments., 19 July 2005
7/10
Author: Zombified_660 from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Badge of Silence is undoubtedly the worst of the Maniac Cop series. The title is cool, and some of the movie is pretty good, but overall, it feels quite dull and lacking in comparison to the tense, suspenseful first movie and it's balls-to-the-wall horror action sequel. I suppose it's best viewed as a mix of the two, but it's unfortunately not quite as good as that sounds.

For instance, the movie pulls in some good suspense moments, like a chase through an underground pipe system, and a fantastic closing chase segment, but generally these are quite tame and uneventful in comparison to the similar moments in the first two, and won't wring genuine scares out of you.

Again, some cool action segments are present, but they're few and far between, and most leave you wanting for a little more than they provide. For instance, an early sequence in which Cordell (the titular Maniac Cop) throws a man up in the air then shoots him several times on the way down was very exciting, but then nothing like that happens for the rest of the movie.

From the script and direction point of view, this movie is pretty interesting, involving a blacklisted cop in a coma that Cordell is trying to clear by killing everyone involved in her framing, and a lot of similar cop-thriller style direction from Lustig, but the movie just lacks any real spark.

Don't get me wrong, Badge of Silence is still a reasonably fun watch. The dialogue is as snappy, well delivered and sarky as we've come to expect from the series, and Cordell is still quite an impressive presence thanks to the excellent Robert Z'Dar, but it just lacks oomph this time round. I can kind of see why it trailed off and they never made a fourth outing despite this movie's open ending.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Very good second sequel, 19 April 2007
10/10
Author: TheSingingReviewer from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I'm a fan of the Maniac Cop films since they was a slasher film but with some action as well. Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence is a pretty good sequel to Maniac Cop and Maniac Cop 2.

Written by Larry Cohen who wrote the previous two Maniac Cops and directed by William Lustig who directed the previous two Maniac Cops also some scenes was directed by Joel Soisson, Robert Devi returns as Sean McKinney and Robert Z'Dar returns as Matt Cordell.

The film sees Matt Cordell returning from where Maniac Cop 2 finished off, this time he's after a female cop named Kate that was gunned down and is framed for killing a civilian. The Maniac Cop shows up in the hospital killing people getting in his way and the staff that are not trying to help Kate Properly.

Matt wants Kate for his wife since Houngan, a man that used magic to bring him to life again can return her soul into her body making her live again then she can be Matt's bride.

But Sean McKinney is out to stop Matt again and save Kate's soul from Matt Cordell. Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence is an excellent follow up to the Maniac Cop Trilogy. 10/10

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Not only the best sequel, but the best of the series, 2 August 2001
Author: aaronzombie (aaronzombie@aol.com) from Yucaipa, CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The first Maniac Cop is pretty good entertainment, but is nothing really special. Maniac Cop 2 was only fun for the first 10 minutes and then quickly went downhill. So after the dissapointment of 2 I wasn't exactly thrilled to see a 3rd installment, but after hearing so many good reviews, I bought it, and let me tell you it was worth every penny.

!!!POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!A voodoo priest resurrects the corpse of officer Matt Cordell. He sets out on a mission to protect the woman who was meant to be his wife by killing anyone who comes near her. It's up to Lt. Sean McKinney from the 2nd film to stop him.

Good story, acting, and death scenes. ***1/2 out of *****.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the all time top trilogies., 25 May 2001
8/10
Author: Andrew Morris (moz-1) from Southampton, England

In a word, wow! Maniac Cop one was awesome: great subject matter, assured direction, true excitement and Bruce Campbell. I thought I'd watch the sequel for a laugh and ... it too was awesome. Enter Robert Davi and some more great action and laughs. What's that I hear you say? A cheap eighties action/horror with an equal sequel? Well you won't believe this, but I watched number three last night and I was blown away. Once again this film is equal to the original, and also enjoys a new cynical humour which was great fun. In this movie the cops and reporters and doctors all have a really crass way of talking about death when Robert Davi ask's how his partner is doing he gets the reply "Put her in a rock garden", with her parents well in earshot! This kind of sick humour punctuates the impressive action and actually adds to the realism of the movie. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes to enjoy themself(which has to be everyone). Go watch!

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Passable sequel., 24 January 2001
5/10
Author: gridoon

The plot apparently was not the main consideration of the people who decided to make this, the second sequel to the 1988 surprise hit; that's the only way to explain why there are so many gaps in it (like "Who is that voodoo master?", "Why did he choose to resurrect the Maniac Cop" and "Why does the Maniac Cop kill / help good AND bad guys so arbitrarily?"). Since justice had been set straight at the end of the previous installment, there is no really compelling reason for the title character to return from his grave, so the whole movie seems pointless and unmotivated. But the lengthy chase sequence near the end is so fast-paced and well-done that made me raise the film's rating by half a star. (**)

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A good way to end the series., 29 November 2005
Author: Prolox from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Police Officer MATT CORDELL is back & wasting away the innocent rather than the criminal due to his own injustice, but wait! this time he also plans on clearing a female cop who was wrongfully accused of using excessive force during a robbery, now she lies in a hospital bed in critical condition. Can Matt clear her name? more importantly, can returning DET. McKINNEY put a stop to the Manic Cop & his vicious slayings once & for all? This supposedly is the last installment to the MANIAC COP series, this one is considered by many fans of the series to be the weakest, I can't really say that because at the time of me writing this review I've only seen Part 2, but just because it was poorly received by some doesn't make it a bad movie, MANIAC COP 3 is still pretty decent, it's well directed & well acted, the zombie make-up is still up to par & the film has a very good story to keep you hooked, I really enjoyed this one, whether it was, or wasn't the best to this series, regardless of his fiery death at the climax, the door is left open for Matt to return to dish out more punishment & murder, so don't be surprised if you see him come back in a Part 4 & if he doesn't come back again, that would be a real crime! (Pun intended)

*** stars

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Finish it!, 14 September 2008
4/10
Author: lastliberal from Florida

I am at a distinct disadvantage here. I have not seen the first two movies in this series, although I have seen a lot of Larry Cohen films. Fans of the series seem to think this is a good film. Judging it on it's own, it was pretty boring.

You never get a real good look at the maniac cop's (Robert Z'Dar) face, but what I did see was pretty grim. The death scenes seem to be staged to eat up the most film, not to give any thrills. Maybe if I saw the NC-17 Director's Cut, I may be more impressed.

The ending with the car chase with Z'Dar, Caitlin Dulany, and Robert Davi was pretty intense. best part of the movie.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
"You can't keep a good corpse down.", 23 October 2002
Author: Backlash007 from Kentucky

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

~Spoiler~

Robert Z'dar is back and his jaw is bigger than ever. Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (or Bride of Maniac Cop as it's affectionately known) does not live up to the first two. It lacks something that I can't quite put my finger on...oh yeah...reasoning. A ton of plot elements just don't add up in this installment. Why did the priest resurrect Cordell in the first place? I thought maybe it was to keep the streets safe or something like that. Even if the priest used him to take revenge on his enemies would have been fine. But no, we're given no good reason. Also, why does he try to kill Robert Davi's character McKinney? McKinney cleared his name in the previous entry. He's also one of the few people that attended his funeral. It's just not up to par with the rest of the series. They did finally decide to keep the main character this time and I'm happy with that. And there were a ton of famous faces. I was thoroughly surprised to see Robert Forster pop up, along with Paul Gleason, Jackie Haley, and the two Roberts. Too bad they couldn't save the picture. What I really want to know is did Bill Lustig have anything to do with this movie? He's credited as co-director, but I think the only part he had a hand in were the flashback scenes (of which there were many). Oh well, you still gotta love Davi lighting his cigarette with Cordell's severed, burning arm.

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