Review of Narc (2002) by Sterling H — 25 Feb 2008

Henry Oak: I remember one night. I went with the sheriffs on a warrant raid. This dipshit was selling meth out of his apartment. Just a stop-and-pop. Broke down the door, rousted the guy. I was in one of the back rooms looking for junk when I hear something. I turn around and see these... eyes staring at me from a closet. It was a little girl. A little ten year old girl. Naked. Shaking like a leaf; she was scared to death. Her stepfather was pimping her out for rent. I wrapped her in my coat, carried her out to the squad car. I went back... and I beat that motherfucker half to death.

Following an incident flushing an undercover narcotics cop out of his cover, he is put on to a murder case of another officer where the trail has gone cold.

This officer teams up with the murdered cops partner, who is a big bear of a man who will do what he has to to get the job done.

These two move around Detroit together, going after drug dealers/users, trying to find answers, with some twists along the way.

Ray Liotta gained a lot of weight to put himself in the role of this big hulking cop who wants to find the killer of his partner.

Jason Patric is also really good as the fellow narc. There are also good scenes involving his personal life with his wife and newborn son to further expand on his character.

There is also some good supporting work from the always reliable Chi McBride as a police captain and Busta Rhymes of all people, as a shady drug figure.

The movie starts off great with some shaky camera work during a chase scene and then continues on a dark gritty path where everything seems to be saturated in blues and dark themes.

The various transitions, split screen actions, and flashback scenes that all work well for a low budget cop flick like this one.

This is a very gritty cop movie, with good performances, and a good looking, dark visual style.

Latroy Steeds: I wanna see my lawyer!

Henry Oak: What did you say?

Latroy Steeds: I wanna see my lawyer.

Henry Oak: There are no lawyers, dumb fuck! It's just me and you, and I am in your shit for the duration!