Product: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans [Blu-ray] (2009)
Rating: 4.0
(3.5 STARS) Alligator, Iguana and Dancing Soul: Very Unique Crime Drama ... Maybe Too Unique
If you are looking for something really different, watch Werner Herzog's "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans." A film noir-ish crime story set in post-Katrina New Orleans follows the "bad lieutenant" Terence McDonagh (Nicholas Cage), whose situation is getting wildly out of control; who is spiraling into deeper trouble while investigating the brutal murder case of a Senegalese family."The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans" is actually the director's workshop for experimental creativity and innovativeness within the framework of crime drama. So don't expect car action or shoot-outs. What you get here is an anti-hero Terence McDonagh and he is a complicated character, a law-breaking cop addicted to illegal drug and gambling, but tries to protect Frankie (Eva Mendes), a prostitute and his girlfriend from violence. Cage's over-the-top acting style is perfect for the role, and some scenes are darkly funny.Supporting actors are all very good, and Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner is impressive as "Big Fate," but Val Kilmer doesn't have much to do, especially in the second half of the film.We should not consider the 2009 crime drama as sequel or remake of the 1992 cult film "Bad Lieutenant" (starring Harvey Keitel and directed by Abel Ferrara). Religious overtone in Abel Ferrara version is mostly removed. The setting is changed from New York to New Orleans and Werner Herzog shoots the city in the most unflattering way. He never misses a chance to show the contrast between the haves and the have-nots, and he does it blatantly. It often looks as if the "Fitzcarraldo" director follows where his instinct leads. MacDonagh's back pain is forgotten in the second half. There are bizarre alligator and iguana sequences and a dancing soul that is certainly unique. Give it a try.