Thanks to the other reviewers - that's the only reason I watched this.
Not a great film, but it becomes fascinating as it roller-coasts along.
First up, a lame voice over - verbose, flat, abstract. Followed by a sequence of heroic cop tales using the conceit of a poker game where each veteran has a lesson to teach the rookie. Interwoven with this is the main plot, in which the rookie is kidnapped by a serial killer and imprisoned in his lair.
The tales are uneven. The point is that each cop has to discard the system and do what he thinks is right, which results in a couple of shoot-first-ask-questions-later murders. Entertaining, but the self justification had zero irony.
The dialogue (like the VO) is not as good as it thinks it is, and there's a lot of "we're laughing because the script says LAUGHTER". Baaad writing.
But then ... we get weird humour. The serial killer explains his back story, and there are some surreal little scenes of the serial killer community. Then the rookie explains his back story, and suddenly this thing turns into an unexpected puzzle.
I thought all the cops at the poker table were already dead, reminiscing in purgatory. But no - it's a sort of Mulholland Drive trick, and the story powers on to a clear resolution.
Hectic, all over the place, but worth watching.
Not a great film, but it becomes fascinating as it roller-coasts along.
First up, a lame voice over - verbose, flat, abstract. Followed by a sequence of heroic cop tales using the conceit of a poker game where each veteran has a lesson to teach the rookie. Interwoven with this is the main plot, in which the rookie is kidnapped by a serial killer and imprisoned in his lair.
The tales are uneven. The point is that each cop has to discard the system and do what he thinks is right, which results in a couple of shoot-first-ask-questions-later murders. Entertaining, but the self justification had zero irony.
The dialogue (like the VO) is not as good as it thinks it is, and there's a lot of "we're laughing because the script says LAUGHTER". Baaad writing.
But then ... we get weird humour. The serial killer explains his back story, and there are some surreal little scenes of the serial killer community. Then the rookie explains his back story, and suddenly this thing turns into an unexpected puzzle.
I thought all the cops at the poker table were already dead, reminiscing in purgatory. But no - it's a sort of Mulholland Drive trick, and the story powers on to a clear resolution.
Hectic, all over the place, but worth watching.