© 2013 Ray Wong
Buddy cop movies are a dime a dozen these days, but one that stars two top female comedians is something new. And if Bridesmaids has taught us anything, female-centric comedies with strong leads and good writing is hot these days.
Director: Paul Feig
Writer: Katie Dippold
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language, strong crude content and some violence
Running Time: 117 minutes
Performance - 8
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 8
Production - 8
Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a journalist who has recently been disgraced in a libel case in which his unreliable source ruins his credibility, causes him his job, and wipes out his bank account. While down in the dumps, he's recruited by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), the patriarch of a rich, famous family-owned company, to write his memoir. In reality, Vanger wants Mikael to investigate a 40-year-old murder mystery: his beloved niece, Harriet, disappeared in 1966, and Henrik believes she was murdered by one of his family members.
While Mikael interviews the family and investigates the evidences collected throughout the years, he discovers bits and pieces of the family's dark secrets. For example, their ties to the Nazi party, or how some members such as Anita Vanger (Joely Richardson) have not been in touch with the family for decades. The head of the company, Martin Vanger (Stellan Skarsgard) indulges his uncle Henrik but he doesn't believe Mikael will find anything, for they have trie to solve Harriet's murder for over forty years.
Mikael decides to hire Lisabeth (Rooney Mara) to be his assistant because of her unparalleled skills in discovering details and knack for hacking computers. However, Lisabeth is an antisocial outcast who has had a hard life. They have to build mutual trust if they want to work together to solve the mystery, when their involvement increasingly puts them in danger.
Daniel Craig (Cowboys and Aliens) sheds his tough guy image to play a bookish, sensitive journalist in this adaptation. His performance is understated and impressive, conveying resourcefulness and courage as well as vulnerability and confusion. Rooney Mara (The Social Network) totally reinvents herself in the title role. Her fearless performance is transformational and outstanding. A rising star to watch.
The large supporting cast includes the incomparable Christopher Plummer (Beginners), who plays the gentle patriarch of the Vanger family with grace and style. Stellan Skarsgard (Thor) is also excellent as Martin Vanger. Joely Richardson (Anonymous) is appropriately gaunt and sullen as Henrik's estranged niece Anita. Robin Wright (Moneyball) is at ease playing Mikael's editor and lover.
Adapted from Larsson's novel by Steven Zaillian (Moneyball), the screenplay is split between two parallel narratives that eventually merge: Mikael's arc and Lisabeth's ordeal. While the structure and the amount of information and number of characters can be confusing at first, Zaillian is successful in keeping everything straight and streamlined, and the two narratives advance smoothly with a great pace. There's always conflict, and the plot moves along with good tension -- there's hardly a dull and boring moment. Part of the fun for the audience is to put the clues together with Mikael. But the screenplay also succeeds in giving us strong characters and their backgrounds that may have nothing to do with the plot but make the story more resonant.
Director Fincher (The Social Network) is no stranger to thrillers that deal with killers or violent crimes. This movie is up his alley, and he gives us a taut mystery and drama that doesn't shy away from harsh materials such as rape and torture. In fact, some scenes are so brutal that it can be difficult to watch, but I applaud him, the filmmakers and the actors for being true to the story and characters. The film also has a strong European look and feel, appropriately, even though it's an American production.
Not having seen the Swedish original or read the novel, I'm impressed with the storytelling and performances. It's one of the best thrillers in recent years.
Detectives Jimmy Monroe (Bruce Willis) and Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan) have been partners in the NYPD for nine years. They know each other probably better than they know their respective families. They're working on a drug case and something goes very wrong, so they're suspended for thirty days. Meanwhile, Jimmy needs the money to pay for his daughter's wedding. He decides to sell his prized baseball card instead of being humiliated by her wealthy stepfather.
Then Jimmy gets robbed by a thug named Dave (Seann William Scott). After tracking down Dave, they realize the card has been sold to a drug dealer named Poh Boy (Guillermo Diaz), who happens to be behind the case Jimmy and Paul were working on. When they try to negotiate with Poh Boy, they find that the drug dealer is involved with more than drug trafficking.
Bruce Willis (Surrogates) is basically doing a funnier version of his Die Hard alter-ego. There's nothing wrong with that, since he owns that character. Willis seems to have a lot of fun playing goofy, especially with Tracy Morgan (G-Force), who is also playing a variation of his character on 30 Rock. They have great chemistry together, though, and that's what really matters in a buddy cop comedy. The friendship between Jimmy and Paul seems genuine. In fact, there are moments where Jimmy should have beaten the crap out of Paul, but he didn't. It shows us the bond between the two are closer than that of real brothers.
Seann William Scott (Role Model) has third billing but his role is a minor one. They're setting him up as the third banana (probably in future sequels), someone like Joe Pesci in Lethal Weapons. However, despite some funny moments with Willis and Morgan, his role is too peripheral and annoying. Guillermo Diaz (No Exit) plays viscous drug lord Poh Boy with flair. He's quite interesting to watch and makes the "bad guy" one of the most memorable in the film.
Mexican beauty Ana de la Reguera (Empire State) is lovely as a hostage who holds the key to capturing Poh Boy. She has a few funny lines, too, albeit in Spanish. Jason Lee (Alvin and the Chipmunks) is dutifully smug as Jimmy's daughter's stepfather, and Rashida Jones (I Love You, Man) is in great form as Paul's neglected wife. Rounding out the cast are Kevin Pollak (Tropic Thunder) and Adam Brody (The Ten) as a pair of cops who are, like, the counterpoints of Jimmy and Paul.
Written by brothers Robb and Mark Cullen (Las Vegas), the script follows pretty closely to the buddy cop formula. The plot is contrived and convoluted, only to serve as the background for the characters to bicker and fool around. However, they also seem to have written the roles specifically for Willis and Morgan -- they fit the actors perfectly. The strength of the screenplay is definitely not in story or even dialogue, but in the relationship-building and the antics between these characters. Clearly, they have "franchise" in mind when developing these characters -- the plot is secondary. The relationship is the meat.
Director Kevin Smith (Zack and Miri Make a Porno) finally gets to do a "mainstream" film. There are still traces of Smith's trademarked smugness and pervasiveness, what with the dirty jokes and perverse, potty humor. But Smith also succeeded in following the formula and not straying from the proven genre. At times, the editing and flow seem to suffer from too much wandering, but Smith is able to snap the story back to its main focus and pull the threads together.
While there's nothing original or unpredictable, it is funny -- due to its likable cast -- and will satisfy fans of the genre. It may be standard entertainment, but it's not a complete cop-out either.
Terrence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage) recently got promoted to lieutenant after a heroic act during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. His investigation of a multiple-homicide case leads him through the underbelly of New Orleans' organized crime.
McDonagh is also a drug and gambling addict. His on-and-off girlfriend, Frankie (Eva Mendes), is a high-class call girl who relies on him for her fix. But McDonagh's sources are quickly drying up, not to mention he's seriously owing his bookie, Ned (Brad Dourif).
The investigation leads McDonagh and his partner Pruit (Val Kilmer) to gangster Big Fate (Xzibit). However, they don't have any physical evidence and their only witness is a fifteen-year-old boy Daryl (Denzel Whitaker), who, due to McDonagh's negligence, promptly flees the country. At the same time, he gets tangled up with another mobster, who now demands a big payout, while trying to defend Frankie. Eventually, McDonagh makes a deal with Big Fate, to be his inside job at the NOPD, in exchange for a cut in the cocaine trade that could satisfy his drug habit and get him out of debt once and for all.
Nicolas Cage (Knowing) returns to playing antihero with great effect. As the severely flawed protagonist, Cage is both difficult and a joy to watch. Not since Leaving Las Vegas has Cage given us such a down-and-out, shady character that elicits such pity and fascination at the same time. He's very interesting when he's not playing a superhero.
Eva Mendes (The Spirit) is sexy playing the part of a fucked-up prostitute. Her character is kind of superficial but, ironically, she makes us understand McDonagh better, why he's so drawn to her in the first place -- she's always there for him, as he is for her. Val Kilmer (Hardwired), despite second billing, has a relatively small role as Detective Pruit. His character is just as corrupt as McDonagh, but seemingly without the requisite conscience.
The supporting cast is all solid, including Jennifer Coolidge (ExTerminators) as McDonagh's alcoholic stepmother; she always gives interesting performances although she's quickly becoming a parody. Fairuza Balk (Grindstone Road) plays an officer who has the hots for McDanagh; she's super hot herself. Brad Dourif (Junkyard Dog) is effectively edgy as McDonagh's bookie. And Xzibit (American Violet) is super cool as mob boss Big Fate.
Written by William M. Finkelstein (NYPD Blue), based on Victor Argo's original, the screenplay is an interesting mix of character study, crime thriller, suspense, and comedy. McDonagh is written and portrayed as a seriously flawed, corrupt crook of a cop, and there's no sugar coating. Except McDonagh is also a decent human being in that he is always polite and nice first, until he's being trampled upon or pushed. And that he never hurts, at least not intentionally, the innocent. Now, if you're a crook yourself, all bets are off. That's probably the biggest strength of the story: this unflinching, uncompromising character that is not your everyday hero, but a hero nonetheless. We end up pitying him but also wishing him well.
Finkelstein's screenplay follows multiple threads and weaves them together skillfully. At times, it's an odd experience, to see how the plot unfolds as different seemingly unrelated subplots mesh together. There's also an edge to the writing, and a taut tension through and through. At times, the characters do come across as too hardboiled, somewhat clichéd: the corrupt cop with a conscience, the prostitute with a heart of gold, the absent father, the indifferent stepmother, etc. However, Finkelstein is able to compensate with witty dialogue, wacky scenarios and interesting characterization of the protagonist, who despite all his flaws is really good at his job.