Director: Werner Herzog
Writer: William M. Finkelstein, Victor Argo
DVD and Blu-ray release date: September 27 2010
Studio: Lions Gate Home Entertainment
Number of discs: 1
Price: From £9.99-£15.93
Certificate: 18
DVD and blu-ray running time: 118/122 minutes
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Coolidge, Tom Bower, William M. Finkelstein, Victor Argo, Werner Herzog

After his ingenious portrayal of the controversial Big Daddy in Kick-Ass earlier in the year, Nick Cage returns in The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans, suggesting the old grittier Cage is here to stay.

In the opening sequence the “Bad Lieutenant” is presented with a valour award but is then shown sixth months later snorting a white powder, stealing confiscated drugs and smoking marijuana with a suspect while questioning him. Terence McDonagh is an old-skool second generation city cop who believes “a man without a gun – that’s not a man” and is warned he “can’t get away with that cowboy shit anymore”. A workaholic operating on one and a half hours sleep in three days, McDonagh still prefers his less conventional methods and corrupt antics like arresting a couple to then smoke crack with them and have sex with the girl. Despite his girlfriend, Frankie, being a whore (Eva Mendes) and his drug addiction, he gets results.

A stooping extremely tall wonky-looking Cage plays McDonagh with the perfect balance of dry humour and humanity. McDonagh is a lawless impatient man with a temper who gets the job done his own way, helping himself to his prescription drugs, rather than waste police time waiting. Even after he loses his temper questioning the grandmother of a witness, he manages to beat the system and cameras in the “property room” to restock his narcotics supplies.

Structured neatly with a vaguely uplifting end that amusingly mirrors the start, The Bad Lieutenant borders on the absurd as a drug induced McDonagh tries to solve a brutal multiple murder case. McDonagh is preoccupied by all things lizard, as an accident scene is filmed from a croc’s perspective, two Iguanas appear that only he can see and a long sequence involving close-ups of various lizards is rather puzzling. The script at times is just as surreal with beautifully memorable lines like: “Shoot him again – his soul is still dancing”.

Set in a dark and seedy underworld with a surprisingly low-key performance from Val Kilmer as Stevie Pruit, although possessing a slightly overly long running-time, The Bad Lieutenant is a thoroughly enjoyable gritty no-nonsense crime film with a highly original and strangely endearing protagonist.

***

Special Features:

  • Trailers.
  • Digital Photography Book.
  • The Making Of Featurette.