The Bad Lieutenant • Port of Call New Orleans [2009] • USA

Eva Mendes doesn't have much screen time. I don't know why she's on the movie poster. Wait. Yes I do. There's no use comparing this to the 1992 film called Bad Lieutenant by Abel Ferrara because it's not a remake, not the same film at all.

Herzog doesn't spend a lot of time on things, which is good, I suppose, because that way we get more Herzog. But then again, if he would have known ahead of time that he was going to get the performance from Nicolas Cage that he got he might have spent a little more time massaging the script and he might have produced a masterpiece. Instead what he gives us is a pretty good movie with a masterpiece performance from Cage. The film comes off as a series of vignettes rather than a smoothly flowing story. A lot of it is rather implausible if you stop and dissect it so maybe a series of hallucinogenic impressions was the only way to go. It's a great film but it's not a masterpiece.


★★★★



2 comments:

  1. This review really makes me want to see this film. Director Werner Herzog? I know Cage has great performances in him, but he acts in so many shitty films. Glad to see he's found another vehicle for his virtuosity.

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  2. Hey there! Well, it's, of course, not really a review, just me chiming in to say it's worth seeing and the "remakes suck" talk is nonsense. Cage's performance is subtle and very physical. His walk, his talk, it's an outstanding bit of acting.

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