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Cop Land (1997)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
9/03, 9/05, 6/17, 3/20
9/05:
While watching Cop Land, I thought how the plot didn't seem to be coherent.
The logic doesn't hold water because there's no way that the sheriff would've finked to Ray and kept Superboy at his police
station without alerting the NYPD while being dumb enough to have no backup in the morning prior to walking outside with
Superboy. Also, Nixon's quote "No one is above the law" feels ripped off from Steven Seagal's picture.
Anyway, what a stellar all-star cast. But the performances don't live up to the hype although the intensity is there and the
climactic scene is dramatic and explosive. Robert De Niro overacts. Harvey Keitel is typical. Ray Liotta tries
too hard to imitate the same stuff from Goodfellas. Sylvester Stallone looks depressed. Robert Patrick is still
recovering from the dart incident. Yet it's interesting to witness the meeting of two washed-up ex-boxers in the same room:
Jake LaMotta and Rocky Balboa.
All in all, Cop Land is a nice try.
6/17:
James Mangold must have called Martin Scorsese and asked him, "Can you give me the guys from Mean Streets,
Raging Bull, and Goodfellas?"
And Marty said, "Hell, yes!!!" One of the best scenes in Cop Land is when Jake LaMotta meets Rocky Balboa, both
over-the-hill fat slobs who are out of it. It's a surreal moment. So is seeing Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel together.
That's a lot of Mean Streets memories right there.
What I love is the quality of the cast: Sylvester Stallone, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert
Patrick, Cathy Moriarty, Frank Vincent, Michael Rapaport, and Annabella Sciorra who can be easily mistaken for Marisa Tomei.
Even Debbie Harry and Method Man are included.
When I first saw Cop Land in 1997, I thought it was a blah movie that featured Sylvester Stallone's futile attempt to
be taken seriously after gaining forty pounds. But it has stayed intriguing over the years. Today, I recognize it
as an exceptional neo-noir thriller that's Western-like. It's funny how time can be kind to films this way.
I have to say that Sylvester Stallone gave the best performance of the show. There's a lot to like about what he did
with his character: a poor, pathetic hard-of-hearing bum who isn't bright and lets himself be pushed over by everybody
in blue. It's sad but effective. Then, the dirty guys appear in the likes of Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick,
and Arthur J. Nascarella with names like Ray Donlan, Gary Figgis, Jack Rucker, and Frank Lagonda. That's some serious
powerhouse acting.
The greatest scene by far is the shootout; it's brilliantly shot and almost reminiscent of Brian De Palma's stuff. My
favorite is when Ray tried to say something and Freddy gave a powerful yet haunting line: "I can't hear you, Ray."
Sylvester Stallone shouldn't have regrets about taking on the role considering the fact that it was a move that set his career
back for years. It's one of the best performances I've seen from him, having owned everybody which is no
easy achievement given the number of high-profile actors. By the way, NYPD officers aren't allowed to live outside of New
York state despite wanting to escape the city's high tax.
All in all, give Cop Land another try, and you'll be surprised how much better it looks today.
3/20:
I keep forgetting how good Sylvester Stallone is as a total loser in Cop Land.
That being said, he should've received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Armed with an interesting screenplay, it's
brilliant in the tradition of Sydney Lumet's police corruption films. The cast is dynamite, bringing together
guys and a gal from Mean Streets, Goodfellas,
Raging Bull, and Rocky combined. When I saw
Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro in the same scene, all I could think of was Rocky Balboa meeting Jake LaMotta.
I love the appearances of Ray Liotta, Harvey Keitel, Robert Patrick, and Arthur J. Nascarella. They bring a hard edge to the story.
Sure, nobody is perfect or smart, so they're flawed human beings. The last fifteen minutes is the
most explosive and the best part which is the reason why I love seeing the film over and over.
All in all, Cop Land is the policeman's version of On the Waterfront.