Review of King of New York (1990) by Jacob F — 02 Jun 2008

Maybe I made a mistake in seeing Bad Lieutenant first because it set the bar so high. King of New York is a fun film, of course, but it didn't grab me the same way Lieutenant did. Chris Walken plays Chris Walken, although at this point in his career it wasn't a self-parody yet. Laurence Fishburne (Larry in this film, hah) turns in a good performance as one of Robin Hood's merry men with swagger. David Caruso was also in this before he became a self-parody.

As for the story itself, I enjoyed the portrayal of the police as the bad guys (or at least the line was blurred between who was supposed to be righteous) and once again Ferrara is able to turn the city into its own character. I also noticed what seems to be a recurring aspect in his films (at least Lieutenant and this one): The protagonist is fated to his downfall from the beginning. This isn't a bad thing, just an observation of mine.