Officer Down

"Today is the day I die." Detective Callahan (Dorff) is a good cop with a checkered past. While out protecting someone he gives chase and does what he has to do, when the person he is chasing turns out to be a cop he wonders what is going on. Things begin to become confusing to him and he is struggling to do his job and fall back into his old ways. This movie starts off very exciting and gripping and stays that way for about half the movie. Then it starts to slow down a little. I think the problem with this is that it is a really good idea for a TV show but when stretched out into a full length movie they have to drag some things out and that really hurts the pace of the movie. This is still worth watching though and keeps you interested for most of it. While not amazing this is still better then most of the movies like this that have come out. Overall, worth seeing but would have been better as a TV show like "Blue Bloods" or "NYPD Blue". I give it a B.

It's better than "Brake", and certainly more entertaining than "Somewhere".

I rented "Pawn" and "Officer Down" last night for a b-cop-double-feature. Pawn was alright, but Officer Down gets the nod out of the two for its' better acting across the board.

It marginally works as a character study.

The pacing is alright and the writing isn't half-bad.

The film needed a bit more interaction and back-story to the marriage/wife - which might have added some genuine drama. Really, that was the problem with both of these movies.

While this is a "b" movie, and I am rating it a 6(56/100), I'm not going to be adding to my "jeremy's B Movie marathon list". I don't know that I can give this my recommendation, but there are certainly worse options in the redbox.

The film has just enough surprises, and that 'better than usual' performance from the lead that makes this slightly better than average, and certainly better than most of the b-straight-to-DVD fair that's out there.

In Bridgeport, Connecticut, Detective David 'Cal' Callahan (Stephen Dorff) is a family man, married with Alexandra (Elisabeth Röhm) with the teenage daughter Lanie (Beatrice Miller). Cal has an unscrupulous past, drug and alcohol addicted, and he has reborn when he was shot by a drug dealer and saved by a stranger.

When a stranger meets Cal in a bar, he tells that he was the one who saved him and gives the journal of his deceased daughter to Cal. He tells to Cal that she committed suicide after Angel (Walton Goggins), a regular of a night-club owned by the drug dealer Royce Walker (Dominic Purcell) where she danced, beaten up on her and raped her in the parking area. Cal investigates Angel and when he sees the man in his car in front of the school where Lanie studies, he believes that Angel is a pedophile and Cal decides to take an attitude. But he finds that he is a marionette and someone is pulling the strings and watching him dance.

"Officer Down" is a good police story with a non-linear screenplay developed like a puzzle with flashbacks and plot points that keeps the truth hidden until the conclusion. Detective David 'Cal' Callahan is tailored to Stephen Dorff that has good performance and James Woods is great as usual. The conclusion with the redemption of Cal is a little disappointing and unbelievable especially considering that Cal has a family to support and certainly mortgage to pay, and spending five years in prison does not seem to be a second chance in life. He could have accepted the report offered by Captain Verona and turned into a good cop. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rastros de Violência" ("Violence Tracks")

Stars stephen dorff as detective callahan, a man with a past. When a bystander helps him after a shooting, he decides to return the favor. He reads the journal of a dead girl, and decides to do something about it. The whole film is a flashback, showing what led up to the opening scene. James woods is his police captain. It has some issues... the volume keeps jumping up and down. The script needed tightening up. Some editing mistakes. Some verrrry interesting tidbits in the trivia section, which may explain some things. And since callahan and logue look so similar, it's easy to get them confused. The basic story is pretty good, once we figure out what's going on, but it takes a while. ( the time lapse where we watch the night turn into day was actually pretty cool, at the halfway mark) its okay... with a little work, could have been better. Directed by brian miller. He seems to like stories about cops and killers. Story by john chase.

Brian A Miller's 'Officer Down' is A Dark Cop-Drama. Its an impressive film, that delivers a gritty story convincingly along-with good performances.

'Officer Down' Synopsis: A corrupt, guilty police officer goes in search for redemption.

'Officer Down' is dark, gritty & violent. Its certainly not meant for the faint-hearted. Brian A Miller's Direction is focused. John Chase's Screenplay is convincing & the second-hour, in particular, has meaty sequences.

Performance-Wise: Stephen Dorff is remarkable in the lead role. Dominic Purcell is very good. AnnaLynne McCord is a complete natural. Walton Goggins is in decent form, while David Boreanaz & Stephen Lang are routine. James Woods is fantastic in a strong supporting role.

On the whole, 'Officer Down' deserves a watch.