Under the direction of Jerry London, “Rent-a-Cop” features Reynolds as Tony Church, a detective whose career takes a nosedive following a botched drug operation. During the chaos, a criminal known as Dancer (portrayed by James Remar) eliminates Church’s team and holds Della Roberts (Liza Minnelli) hostage. Although she narrowly escapes, Church is dismissed from the police force and takes up a job as a security guard. When Dancer targets Della for witnessing his face, she turns to Church, hiring him to protect her until Dancer is apprehended, thus earning him the moniker “Rent-a-Cop.”

The film was not well-received, as reflected in its Rotten Tomatoes score. Critic Roger Ebert described it as “directly off the assembly line,” albeit acknowledging some charm in the performances of Reynolds and Minnelli. Audience reactions were similarly lukewarm, with the film receiving just an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter. Compounding its poor reception, both Reynolds and Minnelli were nominated for Razzies, with Minnelli taking home the dubious honor for Worst Actress.

Fast forward a decade, and Reynolds found himself in another 0% rated film, “Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms.” This made-for-TV sequel to a popular Jean-Claude Van Damme film did not feature Van Damme himself. Instead, Matt Battaglia took over the role of Luc Deveraux, while Reynolds portrayed Mentor, a deputy director at the CIA. His role was minor, as the plot centered on Deveraux’s realization that his brother, Eric (played by Jeff Wincott), is also a super-soldier. The film attempted to capture a television audience with a reduced budget, lacking any original cast members.

A decade after “Rent-a-Cop,” Burt Reynolds appeared in another 0% percent movie on Rotten Tomatoes: “Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms.” This made-for-television film is a sequel to one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best movies, but the Muscles from Brussels is nowhere to be found here. Van Damme’s Luc Deveraux is now played by former football player Matt Battaglia, while Reynolds plays Mentor, a CIA deputy director. It is a tiny part, since this story is mainly about Deveraux’s discovery that his brother, Eric (Jeff Wincott), is also one of the titular super-soldiers. Not a single cast member from the original film returned, as this one was made to woo TV audiences into maintaining a cheaper franchise.

Reynolds reappeared as Mentor for the follow-up, “Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business.” That entry holds a stronger 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, so at least there was some improvement. Having said that, the entire franchise was retconned a year later when an official theatrical sequel, “Universal Soldier: The Return,” was released. Van Damme came back to personally do some damage as Luc (a role nowhere near as good as his last decent film, “JCVD,”) alongside Michael Jai White and pro wrestling superstar Bill Goldberg as new super-soldiers. Burt Reynolds, needless to say, did not come back.