Product: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans [Blu-ray] (2009)
Rating: 5.0
Bad Lieutenant is Surprisingly Good
Werner Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans", starring Nicolas Cage is a crazy, way over-the-top performance that is completely entertaining. I loved the film, most people hated the film. I think a Herzog film is an acquired taste - the film will either seem brilliant, or really stupid, depending upon your liking or dis-liking for his style. One thing is for certain, with a Herzog film, you will not be getting the same stale Hollywood film that panders to the masses. It's very difficult to be neutral about a film like Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. I suspect many people will find the film some kind of bizarre parody of a cop film.The film is very, very, loosely based on the original Bad Lieutenant (1992) starring Harvey Keitel (an incredibly great film). In the new version, Nicolas Cage plays a drug-addicted, gambling-addicted, corrupt, violent, and insane cop who is the lead on a homicide case. Along the way, he endangers his prostitute girlfriend, his father's dog, and almost everyone he knows. At one point, under the influence of crack, Cage starts to hallucinate iguanas. Very funny, very bizarre, quirky, weird, and highly entertaining. This film sank without a trace financially. Some fans speculate this film is destined to become a cult classic, perhaps watched at frat parties 10 or 20 years from now.