Um Policial Acima da Lei

Well, if you're a James Woods fan (which to me is the real reason to rent this) then you will love him in this movie. I haven't read the novel but I liked both this movie & Ellroy's L.A. Confidential. It is rare indeed to take a novel & translate it to the screen without losing something. Perhaps I'm lucky because I never read either novel before seeing the film.

One of the reasons I watch this movie over & over again is that it IS funny yet disturbingly dark at times. In one scene where Woods is trying to get laid by an uptight bisexual poetess, you can just see the boredom & apathy on his face as she drones on & on about her " knight in shining armor." This ties in with an opening scene when he's trying to convince his soon to be estranged wife that it's better NOT to delude their daughter with fairy tales that is just AWESOME writing. I cannot paraphrase it all, but he basically says that innocence kills. The idea that some man will come along to make it perfect is what kills deluded women. Which ties into the story because he ends up on a case that turns out to be a serial killer who specializes in killing innocent women.

There are some parts that are slow but over all this movie is well paced w/great actors and great acting. This movie is just as gripping as Training Day, just less well known. Either way, give it a try, you won't be disappointed if you like James Woods.

James Woods is our hardboiled detective as he navigates the dark web of a mass murderer. Woods' wife and child have recently left him, and he is under investigation at the police department. He is unwilling to give up the case, and no one is going to stop him.

"Cop" displays Film Noir disillusionment and it's bleakest and the dark ending (not going to be spoil it) only adds to the Noir-iness. In the 1980's Film Noirs started to come out again, beginning with remakes like "D.O.A.", and new originals like "To Live and Die in LA." In this revival, "Cop" is a crown jewel, a wonderfully mysterious tale of man willing to risk and loose everything to find a killer.

As a Noir enthusiast, I highly recommend this film. It may be overacted at times, and the detective may seem a little to gung ho to be believable. But, Woods'es excellent performance is able to hold the film together. It is a thriller from start to end, and overall a very enjoyable film. Watch it, trust me.

Extremely entertaining film about a cop (Woods) who tries to hunt down a criminal who is murdering women downtown in an apparently random order. I saw this on AMC one Friday night, very late, and I was blown away. Great acting, particularly by James Woods, and just a very fine film with a good fade-to-black ending.

It's sort of dumb and predictable sometimes, but it's one of the best endings I can remember in recent years.

4/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

There are times that this feels like a TV Movie. In fact, if it were not for the presence of James Woods that is all this would be, a good TV movie. As it is, Woods acts his socks off without overdoing it. He manages to pull this up to a much higher standard, very watchable stuff, in fact. There is nothing really ground shaking in the script and, to be truthful, it kind of gets a bit lost at a couple of points. Like others have pointed out, the dark twisted aspect of the original book do not quite come across to the screen, but nevertheless is a very passable transition. In summary, not one to watch for your main film on a Saturday night, but certainly worth a look on any other night.

I thought the story line for cop was excellent, which isn't surprising given that it's based on James Elroy's Blood on the Moon. I haven't read this but I really enjoyed the actual story line itself. I feel like the execution of the movie lets the story line down in many ways. There are parts where it is brooding and tense, and then there are parts that are plain ridiculous (such as Llyod picking up a girl straight out of a murder him and his partner committed!). The moments that are a bit ridiculous detract from the overall tone and quality of what could have been an excellent movie. What keeps the movie alive and gives it credibility is James Woods. He is spectacular overall and saves this from becoming substandard. He is unpredictable and at times mesmerizing. The opening scene and closing scene are both really memorable moments of him and it's a pity the rest of the film doesn't match up to his quality. I do have to mention that some of the support acting was also strong enough to hold up and make the film more credible. Lesley Ann Warren and Charles Durning were both solid as the slightly creepy Kathleen and the stereotypical cop partner Dutch. I was going to rate this a 6 out of 10 in my mind as it approached the last few minutes. However the final scene itself was so unexpectedly clinical and enjoyable, that it merited another notch up the rating ladder. If you watch you will see for yourself.It just enhances the performance of James Woods and makes you regrettably realize that this movie could have been so much more.