Copshop

We have seen assassin type films and police/crime films, but "Copshop" places both genres within one location--a police station, where every situation that occurs subsequently affects all who are involved to where it becomes a blur where the good guys end and the bad guys start. 

Screaming through the Nevada desert in a bullet-ridden Crown Vic, wily con artist Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) hatches a desperate plan to hide out from lethal hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler). He decides to sucker-punch rookie officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) to get himself arrested and locked up in a small town police station. But jail can't protect Murretto for long. Viddick schemes his own way into detention, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can complete his mission. When the arrival of a competing psychotic assassin Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss) ignites all-out mayhem, mounting threats force Viddick to get creative if he wants to finish the job and escape the explosive situation.

Others to round out the cast are Ryan O'Nan as Huber, Jose Pablo-Cantillo as Officer Pena, Kaiwi Lyman as Barnes, Robert Walker Branchaud as Kimble and Keith Jardine as Trooper Faulkner.

This was directed with amazing grit and explosiveness by seasoned Joe Carnahan ("Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane" '98, "Narc" '02, "Smokin' Aces" '06, "Faceless" (TV movie) '06, "The A-Team" '10, "The Grey" '11, "Stretch" '14, "Battle Ready" (TV movie) '20, "Boss Level" '21) plus TV and shorts. As one can observe by this filmmaker's resume, this is certainly familiar territory. His ability to bring the intensity and grit to his characters using his actors to fulfill the embodiment of the development of these characters is amazing. If you like his brand of directing, his "The Raid" and "Leo from Toledo" are both in pre production. It was very effectively written by Kurt McLeod ("Audrey" (short) '10) and Carnahan ("Karate Raider" '95, Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane" '98, "Narc" '02, "Smokin' Aces" '06, "Pride and Glory" '08, "The A-Team" '10, "The Grey" '11, "Stretch" '14, "Death Wish" '18, "El Chicano" '18, "Bad Boys for Life" '20, "Battle Ready" (TV movie) '20) plus TV, shorts and a video, based on a story by Mark Williams and McLeod. Again, Carnahan is a seasoned, accomplished writer with an impressive resume and undoubtedly had the lion's share of the experience on this screenplay. Surely McLeod had pivotal input in this story, this being partially based on his story, however Carnahan was the truly talented one behind this script. Other than a couple of very small, subtle places of choppiness in the story, this simply shined. If you like the writing style of Carnahan, his script for "The Raid" is in pre production. This film certainly had some surprises that you just don't see coming, but it is one of those films that each scene causes the plot to thicken as the minutes tick by.

The cat and mouse game between Murretto and Viddick actually carries this story, and while the others, especially Officer Young and Anthony Lamb, are compelling characters, the meat here is that of Murretto and Viddick. The stunts are almost as captivating as the story, and with this mix, it certainly is worth the price of admission. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                        Rated: R                                            108mins.