Rating of
2.5/4
"Bad Lieutenant" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 11/13/12
A corrupt New Orleans detective juggles his drug addiction, high class hooker girlfriend and gambling debts while trying to solve the gangland execution of a Senegalese family. Bad Lieutenant is a semi-remake of an extremely bleak and nihilistic Abel Ferrara film but its approach is rather more comic than the original, largely because of Nicolas Cage's typically eccentric performance. Cage's projects are always extremely hit and miss but this is exactly the kind of off beat story that suits his larger than life persona down to the ground and he remains very watchable throughout. It's very much a one man show though and although there are a fair number of laughs because of his sheer, bare faced bravado, the complete lack of consequences or redemption for his immoral actions make the conclusion of the film rather empty and unsatisfying. Certainly oddball enough to make it stand out from the crowd of endless Hollywood cop thrillers but it lacks the potency of the film it is based upon.
