The ending of Almost Cops was all about Ramon and Jack avenging Kevin by bringing the people who were responsible for his death—namely Guido, Lizzy, Richard, and Juan—to justice. On one not-so-fine night in Rotterdam, CID detectives Kevin and Jack were surveilling the shipping yard for signs of illicit activity. They came across a bunch of kids stealing some stuff, which turned out to be 100 kilos of drugs. While leaving the site with the confiscated material in a police van, a bunch of masked hooligans crashed into them, stole the drugs, killed Kevin, and left Jack alive. Since Jack’s career was already in the gutter due to his impulsive behavior, this incident garnered him a demotion that was hand-delivered to him by his boss, Daphne. And he went from being a CID detective to a Community Service Officer (CSO). Coincidentally, the team that he was assigned to was where Kevin’s half-brother, Ramon, was working as well. Ramon was already distraught due to Kevin’s death, but Jack’s dogged determination to nab the people responsible for killing Kevin unleashed a beast within Ramon that even he didn’t know existed. However, as they got closer to achieving their goal, Ramon and Jack’s newfound bond also reached an inflection point. So, did their friendship survive the hunt for Kevin’s killers? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Guido killed Kevin
Ramon and Jack’s investigation led them to Smits, who was partaking in a drug transaction with a Polish gang, and they assumed that he was the one who had ordered the hit on Kevin. While the drug bust was a success, and Smits was arrested for his crimes, Ramon and Jack were shocked to learn that Kevin was on his payroll. So, Smits might’ve been responsible for a lot of crimes, but he claimed that he hadn’t killed Kevin. Ramon and Jack assumed that they’d get some time to process this piece of information by retiring to the space that Ramon was turning into a rehab center for kids. However, that building was bombed, traumatizing the duo even more than they already were. The bombers got away, but Ramon activated the CSO network and traced them all the way to Jack’s former workplace. Jack was convinced that his boss, Daphne, was the mastermind of an illegal operation that had resulted in Kevin’s death. Well, the truth was that Daphne wasn’t doing anything illegal, but she was ignorant enough not to realize that 3 of her officers, Guido, Lizzy, and Juan, were peddling drugs. The trio abducted Ramon and Jack with the intention of killing them because they were too close to ripping the masks off of these rotten officers’ faces. And while transporting them to death’s door, Guido and Juan shed some more light on Kevin’s involvement in this whole drugs racket.
Apparently, Kevin used to work with Guido, Lizzy, and Juan. But then he suddenly decided to turn on them and put an end to a practice that was rotting Rotterdam from the inside. But the thing about the world of crime is that it’s very easy to enter it and next to impossible to leave it. I assumed that Guido would reveal that Kevin wasn’t actually corrupt, thereby alleviating Ramon and Jack’s pain a little, but they just doubled down. Sure, they could take some solace in the fact that Kevin tried to rectify his mistakes, but what would that have amounted to compared to the lives he had ruined by peddling drugs whilst being an officer of the law? Not much, in my opinion. Anyway, when he and Jack busted their latest shipment of drugs, these corrupt officers ambushed them and killed Kevin. What was the point of letting Jack live, though? Well, firstly, he wasn’t the one who was betraying them, and secondly, I think they hoped that after witnessing the death of a colleague, Jack’s thirst for justice would evaporate and he’d stay away from any drug-related affairs. Well, that plan evidently backfired, as Jack became even more intent on cleaning up his city. Hence, they had to kill him this time, along with his new partner because, firstly, Ramon had seen their faces, and secondly, if Guido killed Kevin and Jack, he knew that Ramon would stop at nothing until he put him six feet into the ground.
Ramon Was Captured
Now, like rubbing chili flakes on a gaping wound, before killing them, Guido revealed to Ramon that Jack was right beside Kevin when he was killed. Since Jack had hidden that fact from Ramon all this while, the latter felt betrayed on top of the pain that he was experiencing after learning about the circumstances under which his half-brother had perished. I think Guido did that because he expected Jack’s “betrayal” to further weaken Ramon, thereby preventing him from putting up much of a fight before his execution. Again, the exact opposite of that happened, as Ramon freed himself and attacked the trio. Juan and Lizzy were caught, but Jack allowed Guido to make a run for it. I am not sure, but I am assuming that Jack did so because he wanted to track him down and find the person who was allowing these corrupt officers to function with absolute immunity. That plan went sideways when Ramon had an epiphany that Richard was the mastermind (which was correct), which prompted him to head to the van der Vloed tower. Given how Ramon had “broken up” with Jack for keeping him in the dark, he went in there all by himself, and he was captured by Richard’s guards. By this time, Jack had learned his lesson, and he knew that he shouldn’t “be the hero” and wade into murky waters all by himself. Teamwork makes the dream work. So, he called in a few favors.
Moussa, Youssef, and the rest of their gang used to partake in petty crimes on Yasmina and Snoopy’s behalf. They were the ones who had arrived at the shipping yard to smuggle the drugs into the city, and while Moussa and Youssef were caught, the gang had stolen Jack and Kevin’s surveillance vehicle. Since Jack and Ramon had taught them to live on the straight and narrow, when the former called them to help him save Ramon, they answered the call. In addition to that, the CSOs that were in the precinct that Jack and Ramon worked at—Dilan, Bruno, Shakir, Brenda, Charly, and Janet—really loved Ramon. Hence, when Jack requested that they nab Richard’s guards once they were provoked by Moussa and Youssef, they sprang into action. Jack used this chaos to get to Ramon and free him from his confines. That said, Ramon wasn’t willing to accept Jack’s help because he hadn’t apologized to him for lying about being with Kevin when he was killed. Jack was an egotistical man who took pride in his machismo. However, over the course of his brief stint as a CSO, he had seen how that could have a negative impact on an otherwise docile and empathetic person like Ramon. That’s why he decided to put his pride to the side and apologized to Ramon for lying to him. And Ramon was such a sweet guy that that apology was enough for him to forgive Jack and proceed to deal with those who had taken Kevin’s life.
Guido died
In Almost Cops’ ending, yes, it’s revealed that Richard, Smits, Yasmin, and Guido were all in cahoots with each other. Well, technically speaking, everybody was under Richard’s thumb, as he was the biggest businessman in all of Rotterdam. I guess everyone was free to smuggle drugs any way they wanted as long as Richard kept getting his cut. But due to Jack and Ramon’s shenanigans, their business was impacted, leading to tension among the factions. Conveniently enough, when Ramon decided to walk up to the van der Vloed tower, all of them were having a chat right there. Hence, when Jack showed up as well, it gave the CSOs the perfect opportunity to bring the biggest drug nexus to an end. However, while Yasmin got to leave the building relatively unscathed, Smits was stabbed by Guido because he wanted to frame Richard for that murder unless he increased his share in this enterprise. Guido’s plan didn’t exactly come to fruition because Jack and Ramon cornered him. Richard promised him that if he took care of these 2 officers, he’d get whatever he wanted. Apparently, that motivated Guido to put up a brutal fight against Jack and Ramon. Eventually though, Ramon got the better of him and almost threw him off the tower. Since Ramon was a good guy, he did try to help Guido up. For some reason, Guido snatched Ramon’s necklace, which belonged to his father, which caused Ramon to flinch, thereby causing Guido to plummet to his death.
I have tried a lot to think about the significance of this moment, and here’s what I arrived at. Ramon’s father was a decorated police officer who died trying to take down a bunch of robbers. While taking his last breath, he gave his necklace to Ramon, and he kept it on his person all the time. And after a point, I think that piece of jewelry started to weigh him down instead of allowing him to carry on his father’s legacy. Therefore, inadvertently, Guido freed Ramon of that pressure and helped him realize that he had made his father proud. That’s just how I see it. During the closing moments of the film, Richard was arrested. I think Yasmin got away, so if there’s an Almost Cops 2 on the cards, I suppose she’ll show up. The building that had been bombed by Guido and his group had been repaired, and Ramon got to name it after his dad and make it homely enough for kids to not gravitate towards the world of drug peddling. Ramon and Jack were given the chance to join the CID, but they decided to continue being CSOs because they loved the people on their team, and I think, as CSOs, they had a more direct impact on all the juvenile delinquency, pollution, traffic violations, and drug peddling that was happening on the streets. Guido, Lizzy, Juan, and Kevin’s corruption proved that the higher up you got, the more susceptible you were to forgetting why you had entered the world of law enforcement in the first place. Hence, Ramon and Jack chose to keep their ears close to the ground and ensure that their positive influence reached the people who needed it. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the ending of Almost Cops. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments below.
