Police contre police

All right, all right, I was ecstatic as the next L&O junkie when I heard that Chris Noth would reprise his role as Mike Logan. I looked forward to this movie for months, lying to every friend, family member, and creditor I have that I was absolutely, positively, unavailable that particular Sunday night. I even told my roommate that he was going to have to live without the X-Files for 1 week.

Mulder and Scully, you never looked so good.

It wasn't that this was a bad movie. It's that it took the easy way out in many cases, which is something Law and Order never does. It was a paint-by-numbers cop drama, and didn't try to be anything else.

I won't spoil the plot by pointing out the various pointless twists--let's just say that anyone with a nodding familiarity with the genre will see the ending a mile away. What really struck me was how hard the writers were trying to make this a "one-lone-cop-against-the-bureaucracy" story.

That might have worked with brand new characters, but we've all watched Mike Logan, Lennie Briscoe, Anita Van Buren, and Jack McCoy for years. We know how they're going to react to situations and to each other. Logan's difficulties with McCoy in this film are plausible--they were never all that friendly during their one year together. But his confrontation with Briscoe seems forced, and the mutual animosity with Van Buren is way out of left field. Logan risked his career for her at one point--over Briscoe's objections. So how exactly does she label him "self-absorbed"?

All in all, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The characters and the actors both deserved better.

My wife and I are rabid Law and Order fans, so when they reran this the other week on my day off, I was excited to see it for the first time. I think the series is generally as good as ever overall (some ups and downs), but I agree with several other reviewers here that the classic years were those with Chris Noth and Jill Hennessy.

I have to say, having skipped it when it premiered, I really enjoyed the film. I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to see the familiar settings with a new pair of eyes (Noth's), to the point that I could forgive it some character inconsistencies (e.g., I had a hard time recognizing Lenny Briscoe). It also explained for me where Profaci went (other than over to the Sopranos).

Some remarks on comments by other viewers:

1) The latina maid

The numerous cast changes this series has undergone has given ample opportunity to show that cops don't like having to work with new partners. Logan didn't know there would be a spanish-speaking maid, and he didn't know Rey, so why would he bring him along?

Also, I can't speak for New York, which I wouldn't be surprised to find has a realistic policy for dealing with multilingualism, but we must remember that the L&O franchise is overseen by Dick Wolf from Los Angeles. Here in Occupied Mexico, a shocking number of the non-latino minority (particularly cops) display what I can only describe as clueless pride in knowing NO spanish whatsoever.

2) Staten Island

Having never been there, I can't speak to the endless disdain other New Yorkers express toward S.I. as a boring backwater. It's immaterial to the plot, however. From early on in the movie, it's made clear that the reason Logan is working petty crimes is that in his banishment, HE WAS NOT ASSIGNED TO HOMICIDE. 'Kay?

If you are a huge Law & Order fan, I recommend catching this film when it comes around again. Otherwise, I don't know what your interest would be.

For those of you who are offended that this movie insinuates nothing happens on Staten Island--get over it-nothing does. I'm a NYC paramedic and I know of what I speak. Chris Noth played this character very realistically. I think Dick Wolf made good use of a great character and an excellent actor. I would also like to give kudos to the 34th Avenue Bowl in my old neighborhood. Chris, why didn't you tell me? We could have hung out! Jeanine

I've been a Chris Noth Fan for a long time, and was very upset when he left LAW & ORDER. Mike Logan was a quirky, individualistic character who always left you wanting more. What a treat that Mr. Noth and co-writer Charles Kipps finally told us what happened to Logan after he was banished to Staten Island. In addition to being an enjoyable, fast moving mystery, there was always the underlying angst of Logan's boredom. I'm reminded of the phrase "Be Careful What You Wish For...You May Get It." Logan got what he wished for: He returned to the 2-7, and the Homicide work that he loved, only to find out that you can't go back again.

I'd enjoy seeing a sequel, to find out how the character resolves this.

Good Work, Chris Noth!

I admit, having two hours to kill on a winter afternoon puts you in the mood to curl up with a blanket and watch a good crime drama. "Exiled" has its high points, but unless you're an enormous fan of Mike Logan (and I know lots of people that are) this one isn't going to tempt your taste buds much. It follows his "exile" from Manhattan to the outer district, and his attempt through a homicide case to get back into the big leagues, with run-ins with former associates along the way.

Having seen many, many L&O episodes, enough to know the characters pretty well, I felt a lot of them were spot on. Logan's relationship with Lennie seemed plausible after the time the two spent together. I also wasn't nearly as disapproving of his scene with McCoy as others have been -- I felt Jack was the same as usual, a little frustrated with being bullied and not terribly pleased to see Logan again. The hatred Van Buren seemed to have for him was off, but I have to say the bright moments in the script are woven between the regular L&O gang (namely Lennie and Jack's three and a half minute appearance in a mental arm wrestle against Logan's demands that a task force be put into place to solve a crime) and the sadder situations ... a scene close to the end dealing with the crooked cop angle.

It wasn't a total waste of time, but nothing I would go to any lengths to see again.