Director: Werner Herzog | Rated: R | Review date: 26-Dec-2009

Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call -  New Orleans is a loose remake of 1992′s The Bad Lieutenant which starred Harvey Keitel as a junkie and gambling addicted police officer. In the update, Nicolas Cage plays detective Terrance McDonagh in post-Katrina New Orleans. On the surface, the lieutenant is a star officer: making big busts, taking heroic risks to save lives, and looking out for the good of the community. Deeper down, however, we find the lieutenant hides personal demons which slowly become more prevalent after an on the job injury.

Cage is by far the standout of this film, giving one of his best performances. His ability to capture the highs and lows of a drug and gambling addicted crooked cop is unrivaled. The film also stars the beautiful Eva Mendes as McDonagh’s prostitute companion and Val Kilmer as detective Stevie Pruit. Rap star Xzibit also makes an appearance as drug kingpin Big Fate. All stars held their own but this is really a Nicolas Cage show.

With all praise of the performances aside, the story is nothing extremely original. While it’s very illuminating to see the bad cop be portrayed as the hero, many of the plot lines were fairly predictable. The main storyline is overshadowed by McDonagh’s downward spiral into a dark and drug induced life which is really the most significant aspect of the film. This focus, however, carries the film from the otherwise typical drug and murder case scenarios.

The style of the film is kind of a throwback to cop films of the 80s. The music soundtrack fits perfectly with the scenes and the overall mood. However, there were a few bizarre pieces of the film that, to me, were intended to highlight McDonagh’s drug induced mental state. These scenes tended to drag on longer than necessary and almost made the film seem like something from the mind of Hunter S. Thompson, which is certainly not a bad thing (and did provide some entertainment) but felt out of place and overemphasized in the film.

The film is a very strong, dark (and sometimes disturbing) experimental piece that really explores personal battles in their ugliest forms. I enjoyed this film and, while some portions just felt a bit over my head, it is definitely a standout of 2009 and a highlight for Nicolas Cage.

Official site | IMDb

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