Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - Actually not that bad

Once upon a time the word ‘Nicholas’ and ‘Cage’ were something to set the box office alight.  Nowadays, pretty much everything he does is laughed at.  The only real enjoyment found from a Nic Cage film is us trying to guess just how low he will descend this time around.  However, although Bad Lieutenant (2?) is never going to be an absolute classic, it does the job for what it is.

First of all, it didn’t entirely escape criticism.  Its full title is ‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’ and it’s actually a remake of the Harvey Keitel film of the same name (minus the bit about New Orleans).  Therefore, you naturally had all the original’s fanbase claiming how sacred the original was and how this was a travesty and a simple cash-in rip-off.  Well I guess all remakes are to a degree, but this one does its best to try and steer clear of borrowing too much from the source material.  In fact, some of the production team even go as far as to say that it’s not a remake, more a sequel that only borrows from the same principal.

And then there’s Cage himself.  He’s actually pretty good (again).  Yes, he specialises in some overacting from time to time, but anyone who’s seen him before should be used to this.  He’s propped up by a decent supporting cast, including Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer, but it’s generally Cage’s baby and he carries the film well.  As the title suggests, Cage plays the titular ‘Bad Lieutenant’ who, despite supposedly being a man of the law, is pretty broken and frequently bends the rules, especially when he’s in need of drugs (legal and otherwise). 

It’s a bit trippy, too.  You have to concentrate on what’s going on and you’re going to have to be okay with some more ‘arty’ elements, such as singing iguanas (which I loved!).  I think the more ‘out there’ parts of the film were trying to portray Cage’s slow descent into drug-induced madness.

I have to confess, I haven’t seen the original, so I can’t compare the two.  But, seeing as I haven’t watched it, I quite enjoyed it – it’s a tale of a man who’s on a slippery path to nowhere.  So, if you like your cops ‘dirty’ and films a little dark and whacky, don’t simply write it off as yet another of Cage’s ‘misfires’ and give it a go.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that