Corrupt Det. Terence McDonaugh (Nicolas Cage) -- whose bad habits include pain drugs, reckless sports gambling and accepting sexual bribes -- investigates the murder of five Senegalese illegal immigrants in New Orleans. Co-starring Val Kilmer as McDonaugh's partner, Xzibit as drug supplier Big Fade and Eva Mendes as prostitute Frankie Donnenfield, director Werner Herzog's action drama is a loose update of Abel Ferrara's 1992 film, Bad Lieutenant.
Yes, this movie is independent, it is dark, it is not typical - and all of those things walk a fine line between good and horrible. I was curious, though there were some stretches in characters and story, to find the point of it all. Just when I thought there wasn't one, it reached a conclusion. I was happy with the film being imperfect in it's non-traditional format. Nicholas Cage is somewhat disconnected for me as a main character, but I used my imagination to find the character he was portraying. Lots of sadness in this film, lots of issues, and not a lot of sunshine. If that doesn't scare/bore you, watch away.
I didn't expect much from Bad Lieutenant: New Orleans because I didnt like Harvey Keitel's Bad Lieutenant. But BL:NO was a different kind of movie, and better. Where the first BL was a decent character study, it was of a dreadful, unsympathetic person, and offered no real story. BL:NO is more a fairy tale. Nic Cage is more in form with his younger self, back to the days of Vampires Kiss, and his bad lieutenant, unlike Keitel's, is shown with some decent character that gives us sympathy for him. The movie offers a story, though it strays, and in doing so requires imagination from the viewer. It could be argued that BL:NO is a stoner flick. Impressive improvement over Keitel's Bad Lieutenant.***/*****
3/5 Stars
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