Copshop (2021) Open Road/Action-Thriller RT: 108 minutes Rated R (strong/bloody violence, pervasive language) Director: Joe Carnahan Screenplay: Kurt McLeod and Joe Carnahan Music: Clinton Shorter Cinematography: Juan Miguel Azpiroz Release date: September 17, 2021 (US) Cast: Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, Toby Huss, Christopher Michael Holley, Ryan O’Nan, Kaiwi Lyman, Robert Walker Branchaud, Marshall Cook, Marco Morales, Tracey Bonner, Keith Jardine. Box Office: $5.2M (US)/$6.8M (World)
Rating: ***
It won’t be long before the yearly invasion of prestigious Oscar-bait films begins. From then until January, we’ll be seeing a lot of serious-minded movies vying for recognition by the Academy’s voting board. While I’m always glad to see quality films, there’s a part of me that still hasn’t developed beyond teenage Movie Guy, the high school/community college dude who never missed a violent actioner starring any of my idols from that time- e.g. Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bronson and Norris.
Although those days are long gone, I still love a good dumb action flick with lots of violence and mayhem. That’s an apt description of Copshop, a movie that fools you by starting off somewhat low-key before shifting into action overdrive with all bloody hell breaking loose at a police station in a sleepy Nevada town. It starts when criminal on the run Teddy (Grillo, The Purge: Anarchy) punches police officer Valerie (Louder, The Tomorrow War) at the scene of a drunken wedding fight in a casino parking lot. He does it to get himself thrown in jail. It’s the only place he’s safe from all the people trying to kill him or so he thinks.
Not long after his arrest, a couple of state troopers bring in a drunk driver who nearly ran them over. Of course, that turns out not to be the case. He’s really Bob Viddick (Butler, Law Abiding Citizen), a hitman hired to rub out Teddy. Why does somebody want him dead? It has to do with stolen money or maybe his peripheral involvement with the murder of a state attorney. You see, Teddy is a fixer, a guy who gets people together, usually for shady business of some sort. None of that really matters though; it’s merely an excuse for the carnage about to follow.
For a while, we watch as Teddy and Viddick threaten each other from their separate cells while Valerie tries to figure out what’s going on with them. Then the wild card enters the game. He’s Anthony Lamb (Huss, Bad Milo), a friendly psycho killer posing as a party balloon delivery man. He proceeds to shoot every cop in sight in order to get to Teddy. That’s not all. There’s a corrupt cop in the mix too. He was trying to smuggle drugs out of the station when he got sidelined by Viddick’s failed first attempt at killing Teddy. From here on in, Copshop is total mayhem with everybody trying to kill everybody else.
Directed by Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces), Copshop is a nifty throwback to 70s/80s era action movies, the original Assault on Precinct 13 in particular. It has some choice vintage cuts on the soundtrack like “Freddie’s Dead” (from Super Fly) and the Magnum Force theme. The opening theme sounds like it was composed by Ennio Morricone for a spaghetti western. The characters aren’t developed beyond a superficial level. Teddy has a family we never meet. Valerie has a thing for old school guns as evidenced by the antique revolver she carries. Her boss is a grouchy sort who bellows loud enough to be heard to the other end of town. The dirty cop is a fat, lazy, incompetent idiot. That’s all you really need to know about these people. Copshop isn’t about character or plot; it’s all about action and boy, does it deliver!
As far as the acting goes, it’s pretty much what you’d expect. Grillo and Butler stare, growl and posture as rival criminals. The question is which one Valerie should trust when her life is on the line. Speaking of her, I do believe I’ve witnessed the birth of a new action heroine. Louder more than holds her own against the two established action movie vets. Huss is a hoot as the ironically named Lamb. He neither comes in nor goes out as one. His character is a freaking maniac!
The action scenes in Copshop are thrilling and well executed. The body count is high and there’s a fair amount of splatter. The bullets spent number in the triple digits. In other words, it does exactly what an action movie is supposed to do. Okay, so the story is a bit of a mess, but so what? Like I said, plot isn’t a primary concern in this instance. Copshop delivers the goods by giving fans what they want without a lot of extra baggage. It’s fun and entertaining, an ideal Saturday matinee picture.
