Alexis Luder acts like the heroine (and the only woman in), a sleek and ruthless action thriller in the ’70s. She plays Valerie Young, a Nevada sheriff and former army doctor with neon pink nails.
In the cell opposite the police station is killer Bob Vidick (Gerard Butler) and his target, “mob fraud” Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo). Vidic has a plan, but his mission stops. By the unexpected arrival of psychopathic serial killer Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss). Who storms the station. Young is caught in the crossfire.
Why they are largely irrelevant; Highlights are the men’s bun and snakeskin boots.
Vidik’s single-row boots (“The loud cab loads loudly”, snoring. A tone that admits sounds fantastic and doesn’t mean anything). And the memorable scene where Young is fixing someone’s hole.
Joe Carnahan is a perennial director. At the start of his latest copshop, the soundtrack blasts the irresistible Wacca-Wacca out of scores. By Lalo Schifrin’s Magnum Force and “Freddie’s Dead” by Curtis Mayfield of Superfly.
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You can imagine he’d be at home directing Clint Eastwood or Steve McQueen or Lee Marvin in a short thriller from the 1970s. As such, Copshop, hot after last month’s boss level. It is the typical Carnahan shop: lean, brawny, morally gloomy. Especially in the second half, heavily armed with a gun. He is humble in ambition but delivers lo-fi pleasure with aplomb.
This action is based on a beautiful premise. To escape the clutches of lethal killer Bob Vidick (Gerard Butler), lewd con artist Teddy Murrett (Frank Grillo) encounters policewoman Valerie Young (Alexis Stronger than the Guards). Who explodes to destroy the local corporation’s destruction – and before all – in a way.
But Vidic, a killer who once cut off a victim’s leg and killed him, must not be stopped. He pretends to be a DUI and finds himself in a cell fighting Teddy with a clever trick to free himself.
So far, so easy. But Carnahan and co-author Kurt McLeod began adding layers of deception.
Including crooked cops, crooked federal officials, and the dead Nevada attorney general. It’s the famous double-cross and triple-cross Farrago, and the characters you thought were dead are back.
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Still, there’s a fun dialogue “What made you curious?” “Curiosity”. “They look like Tom Cruise in this samurai movie”. Effective action, and filming the frugal but clever film Carnahan, cameraman Juan Miguel Azpiroz finds exciting sights in a deserted police station.
The director is also endowed with a cast that matches his sensibilities. Grillo creates a slimy weasel, Butler threatens a quasi-support role. And Toby Huss gives the second half the odd energy of a psycho-childish bubble.
However, the film finds its centre in cop Alexis Lauder, a victorious figure who is calm throughout the battle. Unfortunately, that will be set aside when the film switches to full gun mode. As Carnahan and Copshop deliver a decent size for their modest money.
Butler, an actor who seems to be in constant danger of being swallowed by his beard, is bitten reliably. Stronger, also featured in this year’s Tomorrow’s War, is a discovery. He has a very clear and falsely naive diction with which he seals his authority.
But Grillo feels wrong: a strong enough film for a butler, but one-dimensional as a sociopath villain. This robs Copshop of more significant character differentiation and moral shadow. As the two argue over which of them deserves to be released by a possessed cop.
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If copshop limits itself to the bar film genre. It’s still a film with energy that goes from B-movie to style code. There are also sharp settings, including operation with the nine-digit keyboard under high pressure; difficulties in the digital age that everyone can recognize.