Rampart

Always watchable largely thanks to Harrelson--he's really quite good---but never quite believable film tracks a couple days in the life of a not exactly dirty, but not exactly clean cop. To my mind, Harrelson's character isn't exactly dirty--we never witness him taking bribes, or stealing money, or looking the other way--he's just way overzealous in his pursuit of bad guys--actually scratch that--something happens at the mid-point that actually changes part of that last statement--but he still remains a clean(ish) cop trying to do right by society, even guys he claims to hate--he tries to give a fair shake to. Its that overzealousness that lands him in trouble tho---he beats 2 people in the first ten minutes of the movie--but in both cases i think they were both understandably beatings given the circumstances. Meh whatever, film starts piling things on for Harrelson--having been caught with a cell phone cam beating up the 2nd guy (who was running away from him!) he's then put on suspension, and then he gets put under investigation which leads to...not a whole lot honestly.

Film is a very shaggy dog story---Not much really happens throughout the movie other then just watching Woody Harrelson walk around and talk tough---he tries to bond with his teenage daughter, he tries to make it right with his ex wives, he tries to figure out what Internal Affairs wants to hear so he can get his job back, and yeah that's about it really. I feel like the events of the end don't really add up to much, and the big climactic scene at the ending is well again not much of anything really. Film is basically a 70's Esq character study of this guy and his life that seems to be arbitrarily falling apart around him. That said, the film's well shot, its nicely acted and not just by Harrelson, the actress playing his teenage daughter i feel scores just as many points as Woody does in their handful of scenes together. There's enough here that you wish it was better instead of the mish-mash stew we got going on here. still its worth a look on cable should you stumble on it.

Regarded in the trailer as "one of the most corrupt cops ever on screen," Woody Harrelson's character was honestly underwhelming. The actor did an exceptional job portraying a dirty cop, but was no where near the capacity of evil as Denzel in Training Day or Damon in The Departed. His portrayal was very real which is a characteristic that Oren Moverman appears to gravitate to in his films and while Moverman, in his second theatrical film, does a good job, it is no where near what he achieved in his amazing debut The Messenger. Harrelson did a fine job but he also failed to achieve the same greatness that he displayed in The Messanger as well. Some of the talented character actors in the film like Ben Foster and Sigourney Weaver deliver solid performances but aren't on screen enough make any impact overall to the film. It's a film that due to it's original limited release will likely struggle at the box office and moviegoers aren't missing too much in the process. I enjoy dramatic movies more than any other genre, but I found this film bland and the characters for the most part only OK at best. The actors did a good job but not good enough to make the film a success. There was just no wow factor in this film, which anticipated the wow factor being Harrelson's villainous performance. I'd give it a C in large part due to a broad and bland plot which could've been much better.

All four stars are for the cast. It's not their fault this movie is awful.

Harrelson is great. He's an engaging actor, totally believable. It's a shame the script isn't.

Harrelson plays a brutal, murderous cop who is caught beating down a black guy in the street. Yet his home life is ultra liberal, he lives with two sisters, with whom he's had two kids during separate relationships. One of his daughters is pushing boundaries yet Woody doesn't seem to challenge this, one of the sisters is an artist, again not exactly fitting in with the hard-line discipline Harrelson is dishing out on the street. He's immediately defined as a sexist, racist homophobe, yet we're asked to believe that he's knocked up two intelligent, lefty sisters, who are still willing to accommodate him in their lives, and indeed home, despite his lifetime of indiscretions and violence and that he's managed to split this work and home life without a significant issue developing through the life of the girls (the eldest of who is mid teens at least). The family dynamic could have been interesting but it wasn't explored at all really, it just got crammed in and thus didn't fit with the character at all.

The supporting cast is really strong and the acting is solid throughout but not one of the plots get developed and not one aspect reaches a conclusion. Obviously, this was done on purpose but if I pay to see a film, I want to see the whole ****ing film, not just half a story! Buscemi has about three lines. Ice Cube, who I rate highly, has a handful of scenes as an internal investigator, all of which are well enough constructed but end without any resolution. Robin Wright is great, foxy as ****, but again, other than to identify Harrelson as a paranoid womaniser, we get nothing back. Anne Henche and Cynthia Nixon play his former partners and both are well played again but they're just sketches of characters, as is Sigourney Weaver, also restricted to about 3 minutes of screen time.

Basically, it feels like the first, long, episode in a made for TV series. If that was the case, I'd certainly watch more because there is a lot there and the on screen talent is superb but as a stand alone film it's a massive let down and it goes absolutely nowhere at the end of 2 hours.

Oh, and the sex club scene is particularly pointless, if any such scene can be. It just seems like a random bit of editing that has shoved a half idea into an already over-stretched concept.

I had no idea what this was based on before I went in to watch it. Everyone (well many) were raving about Woody Harrelsons performance. But the feeling I got from the movie, the vibe it has, does remind one of James Ellroy. Especially if you have read one of his novels (which conveniently enough I just had finished one).

What you have to accept (if you can), is the fact, that this is a very dark miserable, but strangely endearing person. The character Woodys playing does not feel he's doing anything wrong. And you have to admire the honesty (he doesn't pretend, he's a straight shooter). Sometimes you may admire him, sometimes you may hate him. But you cannot say that he is fake.

Having said that, this matter will decide if you like or hate the movie. It's not really an easy movie at all. I wouldn't dare calling the watching experience as pleasant, but it sure was something incredible!

"I was under attack, I went after the suspect. End of story." Dave Brown (Harrelson) is an LAPD officer that who does things his own way. After he is caught on tape brutally beating someone after they hit his car his career is in jeopardy. While trying to defend himself against the charge an old alleged crime of his comes back up. This is a really good movie. The big problem is that it is again nothing really original. He acts the way "Dirty Harry" acts but has the morals of Denzel Washington in "Training Day". The movie has an all-star cast and the acting is fantastic. Harrelson especially is great in this in a very layered performance. He covers everything in this role; brutality, being a smart-ass, father in a very dysfunctional family as well as womanizer. This is a great role for him and the movie is very much worth watching. Again, though the only problem is that it seems like this movie has been done to death. Overall, nothing new but still good. I recommend this. I give it a B+.