Review of Cop Land (1997) by Patrick S — 31 Dec 2013

Sheriff Freddy Heflin: I look at this town, and I don't like what I see.

"No One Is Above The Law".

Cop Land is a solid, suspenseful, and thrilling cop/crime drama. It has a large and great cast, including Sylvester Stallone(in one of his best roles ever), Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, and Michael Rapaport. This is also one of the first films from director James Mangold, and his writing, while slightly messy at times, is what manages to make the movie more than just a star driven vehicle and into a truly good film.

Cop Land is about a city in New Jersey, where most of the residents and NYPD officers that live there despite working in New York City. The reason they live there, they say, is to get away from a city that calls them the filth. Early on, a young officer nicknamed Superboy is driving home when a car sideswipes him and rushes off. He gives chase and mistakes something in the passengers hand for a gun, after his tire blows. He ends up shooting at the vehicle and killing both black passengers. His uncle is a big name cop in New York, who started the cop movement into Garrison, New Jersey. When no gun is found in the car of the deceased, Superboy is claimed to have jumped from the bridge to his death to avoid the investigation that was to come. But there's a lot more at work here than that. Soon a internal affairs officer shows up in Garrison to talk to the sheriff, and tells him he believes Superboy is still alive and that there's a lot more going on Garrison then meets the eye.

When I see movies that have such a large and great cast, I expect them to be character driven all the way. But characters don't drive this film, Mangold's story does. The story is well thought out and executed, and I enjoyed all the elements of it. It was as satisfying of a film of this genre type that I've seen.

I can't recommend this one enough, especially if you are into crime, cop, or mob films. It's a film that is extremely underrated and never really talked about, but one that definitely packs a punch and is engrossing and entertaining throughout. Do yourself a favor and give this one a look.