Nicholas Cage, who has made some pretty bad movie choices (and personal ones) the last couple of years now stars in the Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans.
His character is a police detective who don’t know the limits anymore as he is under the influence of drugs. Because of this there is more going on than just solving a multiple homicide. Under the influence of drugs he makes deals with criminals, abuses his power to get things done or just to get things he needs.
Cage is excellent in his role. He doesn’t move fluently because his character had an excellent which damaged his back. He plays his role completely crazy (and way over the top) as his characters is using drugs. It’s something only a few actors can pull off like this (for example Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson). Because this over the top acting a lot of scenes are very funny. Probably not everyone will share this opinion, but you should watch it as a movie with very dark humor. There are shots in this movie which can only be labeled as “trippy” as he’s seeing reptiles (or other things), which have been shot with a cheap camcorder. Pay attention to one of the last scenes where different story lines are wrapped up within 30 seconds. It was one of my favorite scenes.
Eva Mendes plays the role of Cage’s girlfriend, who’s an addicted prostitute. She wasn’t very special in this movie. Her relationship with Cage does lead to a scene with one of her customers, which i will give the title of the best/funniest minor parts in a movie (pay attention to the words “Whoa” and “Big mistake” and you will see for yourself).
The movie could have been a bit short. Especially towards the end a couple of scenes could have been removed without diminishing the power of the movie. Harvey Keitel starred in the original Bad Lieutenant. But according to the director this has nothing to do with that movie, he didn’t even see it. I can’t remember anything about it, so i can’t compare. I would like to see the original again to see what that is like. I’ve read that the original was very serious.
This version however is highly recommended!
Score: 7