Cop (1988)

Academy Award®-nominee James Woods (Best Actor, Salvador, 1986; Best Supporting Actor, Ghosts of Mississippi, 1996) stars as a brilliant maverick police detective in this exciting, violent thriller with a hint of noir. Police detective Lloyd Hopkins (Woods) doesn't like to be told what to do, or what not to do. Stripped of his badge and gun, he pursues a killer no one thinks exists. By uncovering a secret hidden in a high-school yearbook, he will piece together seemingly unrelated clues to expose crimes dating back two decades.

Brilliant Film

James Woods and James B Harris made a brilliant film out of James Ellroy's
" Blood On The Moon". Outstanding supporting cast as well.Charles Durning once again turns in a stellar co-starring role.
This is a must see, one of James Woods very best.
July 22, 2008

Quality film-making

I've just watched this movie again having not seen it for at least 15 years. I wasn't dissapointed. Its a cracking film which relies on a good story by James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential was also by him), quality acting, and the screen presence of James Woods to keep you riveted to the screen. Unlike most modern films this is not full of CGI effects, car chases and explosions.

Woods plays a Sergeant in the LAPD who believes he is on the trail of a serial killer. Rather like Eastwoods Harry Callaghan Wood's character is a maverick who will stop at nothing to get his man. This is an 18 certificate and there is a lot of implied sexual violence and quite a lot of fake blood on display. This all done quite subtley though and the gory scenes are mostly brief.

I watched this film and The Bourne Ultimatum back to back. Whilst their film-making styles are completly different, and Cop was filmed 20 years ago, it certainly merits comparison with the latter film. I have no hestitation in recommending the film.
January 18, 2008

Interesting 80's Curiosity

The maverick cop sub-genre had been done to death in the 1970's, but this didn't stop James B. Harris and James Woods concocting this imitative thriller. There is nothing new in "Cop", but that doesn't mean it isn't worth a watch. I'm of the opinion that any film that Woods appears in is never totally a dead loss. All the elements are present, a broken family life, a pariah in his own department, a cop who works outside the rules, a psycho murderer leaving clues written in blood. Woods plays the role with his usual wisecracking intensity and is good value for money. The difference I suppose this film has is its exploration of feminist ideologies, but there are far too many ambiguities within the convoluted plot for any sense too be made of them. Ultimately like most of these cop thrillers, it is a tale of revenge, a case of the return of the repressed, as forgotten memories resurface to the top. James B. Harris is perhaps best known for his short production partnership with Stanley Kubrick in the late 1950's early 60's. From the evidence here, he should strictly stick to production. The film suffers from a visual flatness and very unimaginative direction, ultimately given the impression of a made for TV movie. With anyone else at the helm this could have become an impressive production, but too many elements jar and the film lacks a totalising cohesion. Nevertheless despite these shortcomings "Cop" is an interesting curiosity, which is worth a watch.
March 5, 2007

Some tight action scenes, but silly overall

Some good action scenes: the fight with Charles Haid, the final showdown, etc., but on the whole not at all credible.

Granted, in any cop movie, a certain amount of liberties have to be taken with reality. But this was too much. To list just one example, early in the film, Woods guns a guy down and then instead of hanging around to answer questions from the department about the shoot, promptly leaves with the prostitute who's also a witness to the shooting. That by itself would have merited termination in any ordinary police department.

One can reply that similar scenarios occur all the time in the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard films. Perhaps, but those films, in their way, acknowledge that they're more or less cartoon fantasies. The problem with "Cop" is, it wants to be taken seriously as a piece of work - "gritty" and "real" - while still maintaining the adolescent macho fantasy. Eg. the ridiculous scene with Woods and his daughter followed by the pretentious, overacted "innocence kills" argument with his wife. When you hear dialogue and you hear a writer speaking rather than a character, something's gone wrong.

William Goldman made a similar and, I thought, correct criticism of "L.A. Confidential." That is, you are not allowed to make a "serious", "gritty" police film while keeping the standard action, bubblegum movie silliness. You have to make a choice about what film you want to make. You can make "The Laughing Policeman" (great film) or you can make "Lethal Weapon" (great in a different way), but you can't make them both. Otherwise, you're demanding too much from the audience.

I'm not sure what to say about James Woods. It seems like he was a co-producer and it's clear that he exercised a great deal of control over this film. He's an actor of great talent. Eg. His performance in "The Onion Field" was outstanding. And he's obviously an intelligent man. "Cop" does him little credit, though. February 19, 2007

JAMES WOODS AT TOP OF HIS GAME!!!

A TAUGHT MURDER MYSTERY WITH THE WILD & CRAZY JAMES WOODS AS AN ON THE EDGE COP.A GRIZZLY KILLING.A TRAIL THAT LEADS THE VIEWER DOWN A DARK PATH!A MUST SEE!! RIVETING!! February 8, 2007

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