It’s one thing to remake films because of their difficulty of language (i.e., making an English adaptation of a French film to open it up to a new audience), but to remake an American film for the sake of seems a bit redundant. Thus explaining the existence of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, a remake of sorts of the Harvey Keitel vehicle Bad Lieutenant, is hard to do because there’s no real reason to watch it.
In this case the lieutenant in question is New Orleans police officer Terrance McDonagh (Nicolas Cage). After injuring his back saving a prisoner during a flood caused by Hurricane Katrina, he’s addicted to anything that’ll ease his “moderate to severe” back pain. When a young family of immigrants is brutally murdered, McDonagh sets out to solve it and bring down the drug kingpin (Xzhibit) behind the crime. On top of this he has to manage his relationship with his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mendes). It makes for an interesting premise, at least, but ultimately this world is so dirty that the end isn’t the catharsis it ought to be.
It’s an acting vehicle for Cage, who does his best to chew as much scenery as possible. McDonagh is a character right in his acting wheelhouse, as Werner Herzog is adept at using Cage’s limited range in a focused way. Cage plays him as if he’s an old Universal monster, oddly enough, with a hunched over manner of walking (as many people with severe back injuries are known to) and altering his voice and facial mannerisms to match. It’s interesting to watch him physically; the way he throws himself into it, making McDonagh as slimy and scummy as he is. There’s no hint of him trying to make the character likeable; he wants to do his job but he has no problem breaking the law for his own gain, either.
And that’s the inherent problem with film; Herzog has made his lead character such a deplorable scumbag that the film’s finale doesn’t feel right. We want McDonagh to have some sort of justice done on him, as he’s a bad police officer, yet he’s given the hero’s finale. It’s off-kilter and leads to a mediocre film.
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby digital presentation, the transfer is nice and crisp. The film’s audio is where it really shines; this isn’t a film of scoring, more dialogue based, but everything on the disc comes through exceptionally sharp and clear.
The Making of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a rambling 30 minute feature focusing on the film’s making but never really has a narrative to it. It’s a series of moments throughout the film-making process cobbled together.
There’s a relatively interesting Photo Gallery as well as both of the film’s Trailers.
There isn’t much to this release, either in extras or in content. Mild recommendation.
First Look pictures presents Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans . Directed by: Werner Herzog. Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer. Written by: William Finkelstein. Running time: 121 minutes. Rated R. Released on Blu-ray Disc: April 6, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.
