Copshop

Joe Carnahan is a fine director, he's done The A-Team, The Grey, Boss Level, Smokin' Aces and Stretch, he's even planning a remake of The Raid, but Copshop is the least interesting of his work to me. The whole film takes place in a police station with few characters and although it stars Butler and Grillo, it drags at times. I didn’t like the dialogue too much, the script isn't very imaginative and there’s no action the last half hour, which makes it all the more frustrating. A standard average that probably won't offend anyone, but at the same time you won't lose much by skipping it. Carnahan can definitely do better and hopefully his remake of The Raid won't be too much of a flop. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humour 1/5, Violence 2/5, Entertainment 3/5 Music 2/5, Visuals 3/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Suspense 2/5, Emotion 1/5, Actors 3/5. 5/10. (19.10.2021)

A special conversation thriller with an almost absurd multiple ending. The grandson of a Nazi against all sorts of swines... It’s as if Carnahan is paying a twisted homage to Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13. Buttler is excellent, Grillo slightly outside his comfort zone and the awesome Toby Huss as a twisted psychopath balloon vendor, Antony Lamb. It has its moments, but overall it’s only got enough to score a high average. (19.10.2021)

It’ll do as an action flick for a lazy afternoon. You can even catch up on some chores while you’re watching, as it’s not very demanding. I couldn’t help feeling that the film was trying to pretend it was better than it actually was. I’m sure Potemkin would be proud. All those supersmart and cool dialogues were actually about nothing, the amazing twists were hardly surprising, and the whole thing was just plain mediocre. The lesson I took away from the film is: "If you can't shoot, don't invest in a revolver, buy a shotgun instead. Preferably a semi-automatic." My other takeaway was that I learned to tell the difference between a professional killer and a psychopath. (14.01.2022)

The impressive cast ended up in a rather mediocre film that, after a while, will barely be remembered. Joe Carnahan knows how to make quality films, as he has proven many times before, but Copshop simply won't fit into the category of successful action comedies. While Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo did put in solid performances and their dialogues were enjoyable, the film’s pacing was a major letdown. The first half of the movie was essentially a void, with nothing happening at all. I didn’t expect such a slow start. When the "balloon guy" showed up, things started to pick up reasonably well (and the humor worked!), but by the time the audience could appreciate this nice change, the film was already over. The ending was confusing, leaving a lot of unanswered questions. Boss Level from last year was better. For me, it’s 4.5/10. (31.10.2021)