The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)

I watched this film thanks to Roger Ebert, who is not afraid to go outside of the box when picking his top 10 of the year. I've been very hesitant to watch anything with Nicolas Cage lately, because it seems it will agree to anything that fits his schedule to pay off all the taxes he owes. However, when you look past Cage there are a number of reasons for giving this one a chance. Directed by Werner Herzog who has both some good [Rescue Dawn] and strange [Aguirre: The Wrath of God] films. It co-stars Eva Mendes and has supporting roles by Val Kilmer and Jennifer Coolidge [American Pie, Stiffler's Mom].

There is actually another film titled Bad Lieutenant that came out in 1992, the director Abel Ferrara was outraged to hear that this film was coming out. The studio pushed it as if it were a remake or sequel, but from what I can tell Herzog had never seen the original and never intended for the two to be compared. All I know is that they have very similar plots, the exact same imdb average, and month/day releases.

The film is about a police sergeant who hurts himself through a stupid act during Katrina, regardless he was awarded and promoted to the position of Lieutenant. The injury, which gives him a permanent limp, becomes an excuse from his rampant drug usage. He begins stealing drugs from the police evidence room, gambles and threatens football players to throw games. Just don't expect a happy Hollywood ending from Herzog.

There are strange scenes where we see iguanas, which might be some sort of drug hallucination, I don't know and didn't get it. That is Herzog for you. A 7/10 is a little generous, it was different, and not an easy film to watch, and I applaud Cage for doing something a little different. I don't think many people who read this blog will like this film.


Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1095217/

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