Cop Car

When two boys take an abandoned cop car for a joyride, a sheriff, played by Kevin Bacon, desperately attempts to get his car back by any means necessary. Jon Watts directed this indie thriller which is just now getting a wider release after receiving positive buzz at Sundance. Cop Car is a fun, intriguing ride that left me wishing there was more gas in this tank.

Cop Car has a simple premise that is executed very effectively. The story is interesting and raises fascinating questions early on. Once you begin connecting some of the dots, Cop Car turns into a more stereotypical thriller. However, the director Jon Watts has very unique visual style which distances Cop Car from the rest of the pack. There's beautiful cinematography and great suspense throughout the film. I'm very interested to see how Watts does with the upcoming Spider-Man movie.

James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford play the two boys who steal the cop car. The two kids are fine; they aren't great, but they aren't 'Episode I Anakin Skywalker' bad. The best part about these two kids is they act exactly how 10-year-olds would act while on this joyride. They play with guns found in the car and roll each other up with police tape. Seeing the kids' innocent mindsets juxtaposed with the sheriff's dark actions make for an interesting dynamic.

Speaking of the sheriff, Kevin Bacon is great in Cop Car. Bacon and his disgusting mustache take the story in dark directions in his attempt to get his car back. His presence adds the star power that the film deserves.

While the story is dark, there are some subtle moments of comedy sprinkled here and there. The dark comedy works well in breaking up the suspense just long enough for you to catch your breath.

Cop Car ends rather abruptly, which some might find uneasy. While I can appreciate the creative decision to end where it did and not have a 'Hollywood ending,' there were just too many questions left unanswered for my taste. This is one of the few movies I wish were longer than its current 90 minute runtime.

Cop Car is a very solid edition to the thriller genre due in large part to Bacon's performance, and Watts' direction. While slightly too ambiguous, there is enough suspense and intrigue to warrant a ride for yourself.

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I guess you would have to describe Cop Car as a high concept movie, i.e. a film whose story can succinctly be described in one sentence. This is essentially about a couple of kids who steal a cop car belonging to a sheriff who it soon transpires is a very bad man. Do not let the simplicity of the set-up put you off though, as this is a lean film with a lot of good things about it. Firstly, we have the two young boys who are a great central pairing; they really act like genuine kids and are very sympathetic and humorous throughout. Secondly, we have Kevin Bacon giving yet another good performance as the bad cop. Thirdly, this is well-paced and builds quite a bit of tension as events escalate to an ending that is a little surprising. Fourthly, it's a rather well photographed and scored affair, with the sparse Colorado plains scenery shot nicely in widescreen.

This is a very good example of a film that keeps things simple while never forgetting to entertain and surprise. It's well acted, photographed and directed. It has well-handled suspense and characters you actually care about. Can't say fairer than that really.

Great characters. Their back stories are hinted at and your imagination fills in the gaps.

Great writing. The dialogue has weight and sounds natural.

Great scenery. It's on the outskirts of an old dusty town, way out in the back-roads of somewhere and it looks beautiful.

Great storyline and a great score all at a nice pace and under a one and half hour running time. It has no need for flashy, gimmicky explosions or a convoluted and overly-complicated plot.

This is the best film I saw this summer.

It's a simple original story that keeps you wondering what will happen next. I don't know how a film like this can get made any more.

Kevin Bacon was pretty great too.

You know, for a little indie film, this is pretty good. It was a plot that I would describe as quite narrow, but it kept my attention from start to finish.

Before I jump into what I think wasn't the best, I want to mention the good stuff. Because as I mentioned, for an indie, low budget film. It's absolutely one of the better ones! So, the film starts relatively slow, but the more it goes on, the more interesting it gets. It's a narrow storyline, but that's all it needs to be. It was written good enough, where it didn't need to go out of its way to surprise you. The acting from Kevin Bacon I thought was really good as well and sold his role to me well. The movie was shot well in terms of it following 2 storylines essentially, never followed one character too long and split the difference well.

There was one big issue for me which stops this movie being above a 6 rating and that's that the characters were just very unlikeable. As you'd probably figured out from the bio, it's basically 2 kids vs a cop. The 2 kids, I thought were so annoying and I found it very difficult to "back them". The aim of the plot towards the back end is to feel empathy for them, but it was very difficult to do so as they were just so damn frustrating. The cop was more unlikeable, but that makes more sense as Kevin Bacon is playing this psycho cop (he played the role pretty damn well).

This leads to my other issue which is that I thought the suspense during the course of the movie wasn't working for me as I wasn't too bothered about what happened to the characters? Am I supposed to feel empathy towards 2 kids that steal a cop car and start messing about with guns etc?

So yeah, it's an interesting film, but needs just a little more to surpass the 6/10 rating. However, it's a good little watch and I would recommend to anyone who's debating this one.

Some people forget their bags, luggage or whatever, others lose their car. Though that wouldn't make this justice. It's a what would happen if situation. It feels like the movie might have sprung out of the idea, what if two boys found a cop car and started messing around with it. The movie feels like this was the starting point and also the point where the viewer is not exactly sure what's going to happen next.

Which is a good thing. You keep guessing what is up next, where the movie will be heading (pun intended). The boys are perfectly cast and they really don't seem like they're acting at all. Kevin Bacon is hard to read as always, as is the situation in general. Just when you thought you figured it out, something else happens that you didn't see coming