Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans Review

• 9th Sep 2010

Nic Cage has his good years and his bad years – this year he has been in no less that 3 releases (and there is still the Season of the Witch to come) with only The Sorcerer’s Apprentice being a dip in quality.  Kick-Ass delivered and here Bad Lieutenant (call it remake, reimagining, cousin to) started the ball rolling with Cage putting in one of his most demented personas to date.

Everything about his performance says over the top, everything about his performance should not work and yet somehow it becomes a work of highly enjoyable art – complete with iguanas!

Quite how this film manages to hold so well together and be so thoroughly entertaining will probably be something that is hard to answer for a while.  But a large part of this is Cage and director Werner Herzog.

Comparisons to the original film pretty much seem to have quietened down since this film was released as it is all in all a pretty pointless exercise.  It is worth noting though, that if all remake/sequels were made in a fashion like this that are so very different in tone, whilst covering similar ground then Hollywood would be a lot more fun and exciting a place to visit at your local theatre.

Cage starts the movie managing to damage his back causing him an injury that will no doubt cause him pain for the rest of his life. This then is the catalyst that leads him (or so we are mean to believe) to taking lots of painkillers as well as working up quite the drug habit.

There is a case he works in this film, but it’s the excursions he takes off to the side that really show us the nature of his character.  Laying down bets, shaking down celebrities and even club goers in order to get his hands on drugs. The trouble is he still has a lot of good intention in him when it comes to innocent people being wronged.  He takes the murder of several people very seriously as well as the mistreatment of his high-rolling prostitute girlfriend. However, his severe actions of course only bring more trouble back and so he finds himself digging a hole for himself.

Cage may be the man of the moment here, but Herzog’s off beat choices must also be applauded.  The film visual is stimulating, and then of course there are those nature documentary moments that will have you reeling with laughter. Imaginary iguanas, break-dancing souls! Obscure, yet tonal brilliant choices. Not to be missed

On the DVD there is a range of interviews with Herzog, Cage, Mendes, the cinematographer, writer and others.  Herzog’s is the longest at 15 minutes, the rest all come in pretty much under 5 mins. There is also a half hour ‘making of’ which looks better and is shot differently from your average doc.

Steven Hurst