Others have compared this to "We Own The Night," so I will, too. I'd say it was about the same enjoyment, overall.
The story here might have been a little better, a bit more complicated and possessing more ambiguity -- but only maybe. Don't let people tell you this film has amazing shades of moral complexity. Bad cops are bad cops, and the people who are considering whether to reveal them might have all sorts of pressure heaped on them, but the point's the same. Bad cops rot the whole fruit and undermine the very pinnings of society -- no matter the reasons for their corruption.
Here, what made the movie shine was the performances, by all four main leads, but especially Ed Norton and Noah Emmerich. Colin Farrell was pretty good, as was Jon Voight, but then so were Robert Duvall and Mark Wahlberg in "We Own The Night," but neither did they shine.
It's a classic bad-cop, tangled-messy-crime-scene, one-guy-uncovers-the-truth and what-will-he-do kind of story. Well plotted and paced, and nicely directed to keep the story moving and tension building all the way through.
If you like this kind of movie, as I do, here's another one for you to enjoy. If you like Ed Norton, as I do, he won't let you down here (although I happened to see "25th Hour" for the first time a few weeks back, and I have to say, the character here was remarkably similar).
The story here might have been a little better, a bit more complicated and possessing more ambiguity -- but only maybe. Don't let people tell you this film has amazing shades of moral complexity. Bad cops are bad cops, and the people who are considering whether to reveal them might have all sorts of pressure heaped on them, but the point's the same. Bad cops rot the whole fruit and undermine the very pinnings of society -- no matter the reasons for their corruption.
Here, what made the movie shine was the performances, by all four main leads, but especially Ed Norton and Noah Emmerich. Colin Farrell was pretty good, as was Jon Voight, but then so were Robert Duvall and Mark Wahlberg in "We Own The Night," but neither did they shine.
It's a classic bad-cop, tangled-messy-crime-scene, one-guy-uncovers-the-truth and what-will-he-do kind of story. Well plotted and paced, and nicely directed to keep the story moving and tension building all the way through.
If you like this kind of movie, as I do, here's another one for you to enjoy. If you like Ed Norton, as I do, he won't let you down here (although I happened to see "25th Hour" for the first time a few weeks back, and I have to say, the character here was remarkably similar).