Bad Lieutenant : Escale à la Nouvelle-Orléans

This movie is filled with humor and turns, it's jazzy and entertaining but not that similar to Abel Ferrara's 1992 story, in spite of the title. It features a wonderful and very much involved performance from Nicholas Cage, a lot of very black humor and gets to develop a strong pessimism. The story is appropriately set in New Orleans (during the Hurricane Katrina's aftermath) and mainly shows what occurs to good people when bad people prosper. Nicholas Cage aside, Val Kilmer doesn't probably manages to do much, but Mendes and Dourif deliver convincing performances. Abel Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant" was a dirty depiction of a strongly damaged detective (played by Harvey Keitel), where, leaving from the illusions of a drug-induced cop, ended up involving a lot of Catholic guilt. Here there's more action and humor than that stuff, not that the movie is shallow but probably it's just a bit more unpretentious.

I just watched this at London Film Festival & went in expecting to hate it as I loved the original. But I have to say, the film is excellent, certainly Cage's best film & best performance since Leaving Las Vegas. Herzog has done a brilliant job & the film stands on it's own, apart from the Ferrara film. I won't spoil bits by mentioning them, but the film has several stand-out memorable scenes worth the price of admission alone. Herzog has always said that training for making films is 'life' not a stuffy film studies class etc. If you're familiar with his work or sensibilities, you'll get even more insight into how cool this guy is after watching this film. I look fwd to watching it again when it releases and getting the DVD!!

Excellent movie which could have gone so horribly bad, in the wrong hands. Brilliant direction from Herzog, and skillfully let's Nick Cage, loose in his character (only previously seen in 'Face Off') and in exactly the same way Keitel, was used in the original (Abel Ferrara) 'Bad Lieutenant' film. Thankfully though 'Port of Call' has a completely different story and enough fresh ideas to make it a very worthy companion piece. This one turned out way, way better than expected.

One thing you can always count on when you go into a Werner Herzog movie is that you can always expect to find a story surrounding a very bizarre individual. With Bad Lieutenant, I saw both Herzog and Nicholas Cage in a new light, or rather a new darkness. Labeled as a black comedy, there should be more emphasis on 'black' than on 'comedy'. The film bears a strong resemblance to the thematically surreal and contrived nature of a Coen Brothers film, but the difference is that this one is more character driven than plot driven. More specifically, this is a film that lives on one performance. Nicholas Cage for the first time in a while has done something worthy of recognition, possibly even award worthy.

He plays New Orleans cop Terence McDonagh, recently promoted to Lieutenant. The film follows his latest homicide investigation. Due to a back problem and a drug addiction he is grumpy and unstable. He is sort of an anti- American hero, and the film concludes on a very bizarre note but clever anti- conventional/Hollywood manner.

Though not Herzog's best, it is certainly one worth watching. With each film I see from him, past or present he continues to intrigue me, but I think in this case, it might be Nicholas Cage who deserves the most credit.

This film is not at all what I expected from Herzog - I haven't laughed so much in a long time during a movie. What we've got here is an over-the-top, crazy ride with the best Nic Cage in years. Funny little anecdote on the side (as told by the director, Werner Herzog): when Cage asked for advice on how to best approach his role, Herzog told him to go with "evil is bliss". Cage obviously obliged - and the result is hilarious.

This film got a lot of negativity because apparently, people expected a serious, dark drama (knowing the original, I did, too). Well, Herzog had other plans: this is a wickedly funny black comedy that borders on satire. Fantastic acting by all involved, inventive camera and just one hell of a ride. Herzog's most entertaining film to date and Cage's best performance in ages. 9 stars out of 10.

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