TMG Scale 3.0
Starring Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer–-well sort of.

Bad Lieutenant. Bad Lieutenant. Bad Movie. Cage is still a gifted actor, . . .for the moment.  But he may be falling quicker than a drunk Gary Busey on a motorcycle these days.  After his pathetic work in Kick Ass, one figures this film may be more reflective of his sinking career than just a bad cop movie. TMG cannot recall this movie ever hitting the big screen and is surprised it went straight to DVD rather than directly  through straight slot on a Fellowes C series.

“After Katrina” leads almost ever movie review on this film.  Why? This movie has zero to do with New Orleans and even less to do with Hurricane Katrina or its effects. It is simply a stupid cop movie filmed in New Orleans.  This may have been done simply as a sympathy vote for the world’s largest operating septic tank of a city, or that New Orleans gave the cast and crew all the drinks and drugs they wanted to film there for a week.  TMG is admittedly being a bit hard on New Orleans.  It has great jazz, awesome food,  Pat O’Briens, terrible weather and bad coffee…and stinks worse than most septic tanks on a good day.   So does this film.  Sultry Eva Mendes cannot even save the day.

Cage plays a drug addicted police sergeant who hurt his back springing a thug form a jail cell during the flood waters after Katrina.  I must admit,  Cage plays a pretty convincing guy with a bad back and the very notion of ever ending up that way someday made me trash my popcorn and vow to lose 20 pounds.  Cage is hooked on coke to kill the pain and and takes drugs off any bust he can make. He gambles and has to cover his losses. Mixed in are scenes with his former cop Dad in rehab and his beer guzzling sister for no indicated reason. Cage needs a big score to get out of debt and keep a local drug lord from slicing up Mendes. Cage prevails but leaves you more hoping he gets shot so you can eject the DVD early.   Mendes role makes no sense other than Hollywood’s  requirement that any bad cop always has to snort up and have a beautiful, loving and thoughtful hooker on the side. Reference Richard Gere in Brooklyn’s Finest (2009). This film just rambles and tries to find an ending that never actually comes.

TMG just says if a movie title has the word “bad” in its title.  Be forewarned.