Detective Knight: Independence (2023) User Reviews

At this point, you have to feel sorry for Willis.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 2/10 · 22 January 2023]

You can't blame him for constantly being cast by a lousy filmmaker, a paycheck is a paycheck. This is the third, and thankfully, final entry of writer and director Edward Drake's Detective Knight trilogy of films. Of the three films, this one actually had the best story premise, but sadly, was the worst directed of them all, and the screenplay was riddled with plot holes, cringeworthy dialogue, and unrealistic nonsense sub-narratives. I'm baffled how any filmmaker can get worse with the more films they make, instead of better.

This had the usual amateur-hour Drake trademarks of blurry scenes, poorly executed color contrast effects, fade in and outs, as well as shaky cam footage. To make matters worse, Drake added annoying split-screen shots - like a five year old discovering gravity, as well at attaching GoPros to props, all of which were failed attempts at any improved filmmaking. Even at a normally comfortable 91 min runtime, this film felt never-ending, even with the fairly decent pacing, due to long dragged out and unnecessary scenes, mostly rubbish with cringeworthy dialogue. There was no coherent or cohesive fluidity to the scenes, and they seemed to clumsily appear in and out between random narratives. I sure hope Willis has fulfilled any contractual obligations to be in any more Drake dreck dumpster productions, he deserves much better.

Not the way to end a caeer

[sahlgoode · 3/10 · 20 January 2023]

For an actor that announced his retirement (for health reasons) Bruce Willis was in eleven movies released in 2022. Face it. Over the years we've all enjoyed watching Bruce chew up the scenery. Unfortunately not all of the releases for the year were stellar performances. This one being the 3rd, and final installment of the Detective Knight trilogy.was not what I would call the highlight of the three. Starting from the chase scene coming out of the bank, this movie became a giant turd. The dialogue was voiced off camera from the 1:09 mark almost to the very end. What was voiced on camera was out of sync. I can't help but think that they rushed the release for some reason. Surely they could have cleaned it up in post if they had taken more time.

It's sad to think they rushed the release just for the money. I had enjoyed the first two in the series, but this one was ruined by the bad sound editing in the latter third of the film.

Jack Kilmer gave a sparkling performance. His father would have been proud. I think he has a long career ahead of him, and I'll be looking forward to seeing more of his work. The rest of the cast carried their parts believably, which is why the ending was such a disappointment.

I love ya Bruce, so I'm hoping when Assassin is released later this year, that it'll be something we all want to remember you by. Regardless, thanks for the decades of enjoyable performances.

Bruce in last trilogy

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 24 January 2023]

This starts with a harrowing bank robbery. Detective James Knight (Bruce Willis) and Fitzgerald (Lochlyn Munro) arrive to help take them down. EMTs Dezi (Jack Kilmer) and Ally (Willow Shields) come to treat the wounded. Dezi tries to treat one of the dying robbers, but Fitzgerald redirects them to treat the bank manager. Dezi slowly spirals downward and joins the dark side.

I really like the opening, but it starts going downhill as soon as the EMTs show up. They are not good actors and they are acting more like junkies. Something is off. Maybe Dezi needs to go full loner mode. He needs to be alone for the whole movie. Of course, everybody wants to know about Bruce. He's not the lead in this last movie of the trilogy. He's fine although he's not asked to do that much. This is still not a good movie.

Just WTF. Don't waste a minute one this garbage.

[ec92009 · 1/10 · 25 January 2023]

This has it all. Lots of blood, bad characters, poorly played, poorly filmed.

That kid makes it all the way to be a proficient EMT, but somehow gets influenced to bad judgement calls at the scene of a shooting, ignoring his own ethical duty, but also hurting a victim in order to "save" him.

When confronted for his acts, his unethical behavior is not even brought up, but the fact that the patient is suing the city finally gets him fired and makes him snap. No union rep, no chance to defend himself, but somehow he keeps his badge and his gun.

The rest is horrific and completely predictable.

If you're watching this movie because Bruce Willis is in it, you have to be sorry for your time, and his fall. WTF???

No. Just no.

[Joseph-Molion · 1/10 · 19 March 2023]

Holy crap. Bruce, why did you allow yourself to go out on such a ridiculously low note?

The story was non-existent, the acting was abysmal, from EVERYBODY, Bruce included; I just finished it, and I really don't know what they were trying to say/do here.

I liked the first two installments of the trilogy. Didn't love them, but they were pretty solid low-end B movies.

This thing was slapped together because someone told someone it had to be a trilogy to sell. That's my only explanation for this crap fest I just watched.

Bruce has to pull his s**t together for one last movie, if only to erase the stain that this is going to leave on the end of his career. He's too good an actor to let this steaming pile of "WTF" be his career capper.

Please, don't waste your time watching this. It really was so bad that 1 star is about 3/4 a star too much.

Movie so bad they forget to audio sync some parts of it

[shay-67903 · 1/10 · 20 January 2023]

I mean i honestly dont know where to start

That its one of the worst if not the worst acting of bruce willis in hies career ?

That is has the worst cgi effects ive seen in years ?

That in some audio not synced or they later recorded other audio in it or whatever they did ?

I mean some guns dont even make sound when they fire...

Or in the story that makes 0 since and the absurdity of it ?

I mean its almost as if they made a movie as a parody for action movies but then took it seriusly

i dont like to give movies 1/10 but i mean... this is a 1/10.

How bruce willis has fallen... hopefully he can raise back up in hies next project.

Angel of Justice

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 21 January 2023]

This is the third in the Knight series and I suspect the last one. It is by far the worst in the series, if that is possible, and the most predictable ending. Knight (Bruce Willis) and his partner Fitzgerald (Lochlyn Munro) are back working in LA. This film is not connected to the other two, other than there is no character build up for them. The feature opens with a bank robbery gone bad and centers on Dezi (Jack Kilmer) an EMT and his partner Ally (Willow Shields) who we later discover is Knight's semi-estranged daughter. She loves her vices, but that never enters into the main plot as a good script writer would have done. Dezi gets in trouble over what he did at the Bank robbery scene and ends up getting himself fired. His dad has taken to criminals and Dezi gets involved in the evil government conspiracies ideology and starts to operate on the wrong side of the law, believing he is the good guy.

I was able to predict the ending in general. The title comes from the fact it finishes on Independence Day. Again Willis doesn't do much action wise. He did have a couple of good quips such as when the psychologists asks him why he became a cop. All three films are a waste of time.

Guide: F-word. Sex. No nudity.

Feel sorry for Willis!

[LeoJFraser · 2/10 · 30 April 2023]

Watched all 3 movies and that's time we won't ever get back. Poorly written, lack of substance and very bad editing!

Willis in all 3 movies had about two pages worth of dialogue which is no doubt due to his illness. The whole trilogy could have done without its main character as really he had no real impact on anything that happened. I will be avoiding Drakes future work if this is the standard he delivers.

The speech syncing leaves a lot to be desired and if I were a film studio I wouldn't he hiring these sound guys again.

It's a shame that Willis is ending a career with these three movies as some of his last.

bad, worse, worst the end of Willis

[tfwqmicz · 27 January 2023]

What shall I say. The first half hour what a nonsense and what a bad actors. What does this director actually want to make ? Only bad films? Who are these actors then? No I don't feel like watching any of his movies and Willis and all those other bad actors. After twenty minutes it was the end dor me and now they want me to write 266 charcters more? Would I ever pay money to watch this in a theater, the answer is no. Would I purchase or download this movie on a streaming service, again, the answer is no so what am I doing? Clearly, 'Detective Knight' doesn't make it to the top of the list of larger-than-life action adventure thrillers. Rather, Ed takes it slow and manages to give his veteran star Bruce Willis and his famed trilogy a befitting farewell.

Weak Film.

[NickGagnon942 · 3/10 · 8 March 2023]

Second to last of the films of Bruce Willis. This one has a good idea to it. A paramedic who wants to be a cop so he goes on a a vigilante style murder spree. However the film is not done well with Bruce Willis's double being far too obvious. Even the voice dubbing is really off. Plus you can tell Bruce is not even in the same room as his co stars. The whole film is really weak and pretty dumb but I have seen far worse in the Bruce Willis filmography. Its not as bad as Cosmic sin or Fortress: Snipers Eye. But this aint no Die Hard either. The second film in this Detective Knight series was easily the best.

Severely under rated. It's a B-movie allright, but quite a solid one, honest!

[imseeg · 7/10 · 27 January 2023]

Bruce Willis has only got a small supporting role, but he is still THE MAN. He is has gotta battle a group of vicious bankrobbers this time around...

Let us not forget that Bruce is suffering from a severe neurological disease which affects his voice and facial muscles. Considering all that, he still does a heck of a job.

I have seen ALL Bruce Willis' movies (and I mean literally EVERY movie he has starred in) and I would recommend this movie, but only for the true Bruce Willis fans, who wanna watch all his latest work, no matter what the quality.

This movie is actually not that bad. Seriously, I am being honest. It is a really decent action B-movie. Look upon it as a B-movie and you'll have an enjoyable watch. Expect another Die Hard and you'll be disappointed of course...

This movie has got a couple of young kid actors who really do a decent job. There is a good storyline, with a nice twist. And there is a lot of cop bashing and of course there is Bruce to save the honor of the men in blue!

All in all not bad, although the last scene (as several others have mentioned) is indeed cringeworthy because of bad sound editing. Whoever was responsible for the sound for that final scene, should be extradited to Mars.

At an (excrucially) important sidenote, let us not forget WHY we are watching Bruce Willis movies to begin with. We watch Bruce Willis movies because of DIE HARD (1988). THE ONE AND ONLY BIGGEST ACTION AMERICAN ACTION CLASSIC OF THE CENTURY.

This classic is still standing strong after more than 30 years. Millions of people still REwatch it during every Christmas holiday. Recently a petition was launched to rename Nakatomi Plaza into DIE HARD plaza.

A life time achievement award for Bruce Willis is in the making as well, so I have heard...

DIE HARD (1988) NEVER DIES but is still ALIVE AND KICKING in 2023. Let's celebrate Bruce Willis for that magnificent performance!

Terrible, no character development, boring and stupid

[CineviewUK · 1/10 · 27 January 2023]

I think this must be absolute conclusive proof that Bruce Willis doesn't really care anymore about the quality of the work, he just wants his retirement fund topping up.

Cinematography makes it look like a bad TV show shot on VHS, even crosses the line in several scenes. Split scene isn't integrated well which makes it just jarring and removes you from the picture.

What was instantly irritating when the title sequence runs, is the fact that the "Writers/Director" credit themselves as not only "STORY BY", but then also then "BASED ON CHARACTERS BY". One credit too many which is egotistical, unnecessary and makes me want to blacklist your work. The "Director the credits himself as screenplay by and directed by on separate cards. Why?

Story wise I can't imagine any cop in any country beating up an "EMT" or Ambulance paramedic in a bar for absolutely no reason. It's just ludicrous. This is the failed basis for the whole premise of this stupid, badly made, amateur class embarrassing excuse of a movie.

Awful acting, horrendously bad script, and TV cinematography, brought together by no character development, nothing intelligent in the direction at all. How these directors get to make films indicates a significant flaw and understanding of what film was meant to be.

Avoid at all costs. Don't waste your money.

Garbage movie

[rw-78236 · 1/10 · 6 April 2023]

In all of the Bruce Willis films I have watched, this is the worst. From the absolutely horrible acting to crappy visual effects and horrible story line. The director needs to stop. Stop doing any movies whatsoever. I am appalled that this even got made. I have wasted over an hour of my life I'll never get back. This movie is an example of what not to do when directing one. Seen this while scrolling through this list of moves and unfortunately decided on this one. This movie could be been so much better than it was. I am disgusted at this atrocity. I would suggest scrolling through to the end where the kid got shot. That is the only enjoyable moment.

More cop propaganda

[mcleod-191-488661 · 1/10 · 24 January 2023]

Kid poses as cop because he wants real justice. So naturally, kid does normal cop stuff - terrorizes the neighborhood, murdering who he wants.

I'm sorry, but what is this? More cop propaganda? Isn't there enough of this? Is the message behind this supposed to make us feel grateful for cops? That cops protect us (They don't and have no lawful obligation to)? And that anyone that apposes cops are complete murderous nut jobs? I don't pity Willis sinking with this ship. He ultimately signed up. It's really unfortunate about his condition, but I'm disappointed that after all these years, he chose to stick with the same old role. We don't need any more movies like this. In a time when cops are more unpopular than ever world wide, this was a risky movie. Obviously, even with Willis' name, it wasn't enough.

A very sad end to a very good career.

[lbz_1979 · 1/10 · 30 May 2023]

I knew this movie was going to suck but I wanted to see it anyways since it was Bruce's last movie.

The cheap, ketchup like blood squibs, the obvious earpiece, the terrible supporting actors, and on and on and on.

You hear stories of Willis being horrible to work with, terrible to costars, disrespectful to directors yet he still had a great career. Moonlighting, Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, and my personal favorite, the chronically underrated The Last Boy Scout.

Shame on his family members and so called friends for exploiting him in garbage like this for their own greed. They are pathetic human beings.

Negligence on duty can truly turn good people into bad ones within a system of rewards.

[noshouse · 5/10 · 9 September 2023]

Although it's part of the Bruce Willis detective movie series, you can tell that this one had a much smaller production budget. Starting with Die Hard 1, which had a budget of $28 million, it received great reviews and grossed over $80 million in the U. S. Then came Die Hard 2, with a budget of $70 million, and it also received excellent reviews, grossing over $110 million in the U. S. Die Hard 3 had a production budget of $90 million, and it set new records by grossing over $360 million in the U. S. So, after watching this film, you can really see that it didn't do well for a reason. I'd recommend checking it out on a streaming platform.