Rastros de Violência

In Bridgeport, Connecticut, Detective David 'Cal' Callahan (Stephen Dorff) is a family man, married with Alexandra (Elisabeth Röhm) with the teenage daughter Lanie (Beatrice Miller). Cal has an unscrupulous past, drug and alcohol addicted, and he has reborn when he was shot by a drug dealer and saved by a stranger.

When a stranger meets Cal in a bar, he tells that he was the one who saved him and gives the journal of his deceased daughter to Cal. He tells to Cal that she committed suicide after Angel (Walton Goggins), a regular of a night-club owned by the drug dealer Royce Walker (Dominic Purcell) where she danced, beaten up on her and raped her in the parking area. Cal investigates Angel and when he sees the man in his car in front of the school where Lanie studies, he believes that Angel is a pedophile and Cal decides to take an attitude. But he finds that he is a marionette and someone is pulling the strings and watching him dance.

"Officer Down" is a good police story with a non-linear screenplay developed like a puzzle with flashbacks and plot points that keeps the truth hidden until the conclusion. Detective David 'Cal' Callahan is tailored to Stephen Dorff that has good performance and James Woods is great as usual. The conclusion with the redemption of Cal is a little disappointing and unbelievable especially considering that Cal has a family to support and certainly mortgage to pay, and spending five years in prison does not seem to be a second chance in life. He could have accepted the report offered by Captain Verona and turned into a good cop. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rastros de Violência" ("Violence Tracks")

A fabulous combo of gritty cop drama and action, with just the right amount of 'who dunnit' (or rather, 'who is it?') thrown in. There is a lot of ambiguity amongst the characters and their intentions, heightened by the use of flashback/dream sequences... which could annoy the less attentive but completely captivate problem-solving film viewers. It made it all the more enjoyable for me - putting all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Superb acting and an original story never short of a twist. I knew little about this film before going in, and I'm thankful as I was fully immersed throughout all the confusion and plot arcs. I think the title was the only thing that didn't do it justice - it is more than just another police-action-drama story.

Deep in Characters this is quite an Engaging, but Bleak and Cold, look at another Tortured Cop who seeks a Second Chance. It is a Rich Story-Line that Requires the Viewer to pay Attention with Twists and Turns and multiple Flashbacks.

It has a Crisp and Clear Look and the Performances are (except for the ever intense and intemperate Dorff) Stiff, but Credible. Police Cover-Ups and Stripper's Uncovered are Nothing New but this, based on a True Case, Fine at a Bad Cop Gone Good Story.

This Barely Released Movie is Worth a Watch for its Rich and Layered Production that Demands some Respect Despite some Indifference from the Money-Men and Critics.

"Today is the day I die." Detective Callahan (Dorff) is a good cop with a checkered past. While out protecting someone he gives chase and does what he has to do, when the person he is chasing turns out to be a cop he wonders what is going on. Things begin to become confusing to him and he is struggling to do his job and fall back into his old ways. This movie starts off very exciting and gripping and stays that way for about half the movie. Then it starts to slow down a little. I think the problem with this is that it is a really good idea for a TV show but when stretched out into a full length movie they have to drag some things out and that really hurts the pace of the movie. This is still worth watching though and keeps you interested for most of it. While not amazing this is still better then most of the movies like this that have come out. Overall, worth seeing but would have been better as a TV show like "Blue Bloods" or "NYPD Blue". I give it a B.

It's better than "Brake", and certainly more entertaining than "Somewhere".

I rented "Pawn" and "Officer Down" last night for a b-cop-double-feature. Pawn was alright, but Officer Down gets the nod out of the two for its' better acting across the board.

It marginally works as a character study.

The pacing is alright and the writing isn't half-bad.

The film needed a bit more interaction and back-story to the marriage/wife - which might have added some genuine drama. Really, that was the problem with both of these movies.

While this is a "b" movie, and I am rating it a 6(56/100), I'm not going to be adding to my "jeremy's B Movie marathon list". I don't know that I can give this my recommendation, but there are certainly worse options in the redbox.

The film has just enough surprises, and that 'better than usual' performance from the lead that makes this slightly better than average, and certainly better than most of the b-straight-to-DVD fair that's out there.