Narc: Calles peligrosas

Rating: 8 out of 10. Written and Directed by Joe Carnahan.

Narc is one of the best movies that I have seen in recent months, I rented it several weeks ago from the video store and caught most of it again just last week on a movie channel. This is a story of bad cop and bad cop working together, which is a relief to me since the good cop plus bad cop pairing is too over done. Joe Carnahan shows that he is an extremely talented writer and director.

I have found myself thinking back to this movie several times since seeing it. It has a unique quality and excellent style to it. It also does not hurt to have good writing and directing that was complimented with the great acting of Jason Patric and Ray Liotta.

Jason Patric is Nick Tellis, an undercover narcotics officer. The movie opens with Tellis chasing a drug dealer through backyards and into a park until the chase ends with a shooting, the suspect gets hit, but so does a pregnant woman that was a bystander. The next scene takes place over a year later, and Tellis is in a boardroom meeting with a police board of inquiry. We find out that the pregnant woman that got shot lost her unborn child and that Tellis has been on an administrative leave all this time for over a year. The board offers him a deal, which is to solve the murder of a slain undercover narcotics officer named Michael Calvess. If he solves this murder, he will be fully reinstated with a choice assignment. Tellis storms out of the meeting declining the offer. A police captain played by Chi McBride follows Tellis out the room and is able to convince Tellis to reconsider.

As Tellis starts to investigate the murder, he requests the help of Calvess' former partner Henry Oak played by Ray Liotta. Initially the police captain says that Oak is off limits to the Calvess case and mentions that Oak is unstable. Oak isn't just unstable, he is a brutal cop, and we see a few flashback scenes of Oak viciously beating up suspects. Police Internal Affairs is always on the look out to find Oak guilty of brutality or planting evidence or any of the violations of conduct that Oak is suspected of doing. What allows Oak to continue to roam around like a vigilante is his impressive work record, the majority of Oak's arrests end up with a conviction. Therefore, Tellis is able to get Oak back onto the case.

As we see Tellis and Oak investigate, we see some very unusual characters and a couple of twists to the storyline. Of course Oak is quite brutal and Tellis is okay with using police brutality at times but is sometimes surprised at Oak's actions and methods. The movie ends with some shocking revelations.

Narc was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002. Which is not a surprise since this was a very good film.

Detroit undercover cop Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) accidentally shoots a pregnant woman who subsequently loses her child during a violent takedown. He is dismissed but he's reinstated 18 months later to investigate the murder of rookie cop Michael Calvess. His wife wants him to do something else. Despite Captain Cheevers (Chi McBride)'s misgivings, Tellis gets Calvess' unstable partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) reinstated on the case.

This is a hard-boiled gritty cop drama. Both Patric and Liotta have that hard worn-down edge. It has the violent brutal sense of a dirty underground. It's a throwback to a 70s sensibility of a murky police investigation.

Seeing that Ray Liotta is one of my favourite actors, I was pretty sure this movie was going to be very good. And it is a good movie. It is dark, well acted and it tells a story of how far some people are willing to go to honour the memory of a friend and colleague. One cop, Nick Tellis, suspended after a stray bullet hits a pregnant woman, is put on a murder investigation of an undercover cop. He teams up with bad ass cop Henry Oak and together they try to solve it. But if everything as it seems? Both lead actors in this movie, Jason Patrick and Ray Liotta, do a great job. You really get the feeling like you are in the movie instead of just watching it. Most of all, the characters are believable and that is so important for a movie like this. If you like thrillers with a dash of action and drama, you will enjoy this movie. I know I did. I rate this movie 7/10

The good-cop-bad-cop pairing in movies is so well-worn, that it has practically become a Hollywood institution. Thankfully 'Narc' powerfully smashes the stereotype.

Persuaded back into active service by his bosses, ex narcotics cop Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) finds himself investigating the murder of a fellow officer alongside live-wire new partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta).

The coupling of Tellis and Oak feels so realistic, you actually understand each character's resentment at being pitched together.

It's this natural mistrust which erases the legacy of Lethal Weapon style buddy relationships, and instead harks back to classic '70s cop movies such as 'Serpico'.

'Narc' bristles with energy, from its heart-stopping hand-held opening chase to its brutal, bloody showdown, all the while framed by cold claustrophobic street scenes.

Director Joe Carnahan probes deep into the characters to discover what drives these men to lay their lives on the line, day in, day out.

It helps that the performance of both leading men is superb. Patric's troubled, introspective Tellis is torn between his loving family and his empathy for the dead undercover cop.

However, it's Liotta - Oak by name, oak by stature - who dominates the film with a career-best performance. Intimidating and brutal but never inhuman, he forces you to remember just how powerful a cinematic presence he can be, given the right material.

'Narc' is a fast-paced, original, gritty thriller that will leave you wanting another fix. 9/10

NARC (2002) **** Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Chi McBride, Krista Bridges, Busta Rhymes, Anne Openshaw, Alan Van Sprang, Richard Chevolleau, John Ortiz. Filmmaker Joe Carnahan delivers the gritty goods in this throwback homage to 1970s cop thrillers the likes made by Sidney Lumet and William Friedkin with this moralilty play about corruption, the brutal slaying of an undercover cop and some skeletons rattling around in closets shared by volatile detective Liotta (in one of his fiercest performances to date; a career high) and Patric (equally compelling; the film's barometer of fair game and confusion), a vice undercover cop attempting to redeem his reputation by being assigned to a dicey investigation of the murder of Liotta's protégé partner with more at stake than meets the eye. Carnahan's script is above average in its no-holds barred depiction of the stress-levels of on the job performances by police as well as the dire consequences for their actions and reactions thereof. High adrenalized from the get-go with one of the most pulse-quickening opening moments of any movie in recent memory that continues its brisk pacing and bruised cinematography by Alex Nepomaniaschy and modulated score by Cliff Martinez has a unique look and sound. Its two principals deliver award calibre performances in a genre flick that's more than a cut above from the usual offerings. Produced by Liotta and Tom Cruise (among others); one of the year's best.