Copshop (2021)
Directed by Joe Carnahan
On the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
23 connections found
View:
23 films that influenced Copshop
What critics say influenced Copshop
It manages to evoke Leone without scanning as mere rip-off — no small feat — while also evoking that pinnacle of cops-under-siege mayhem, Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13.
We might have expected something slicker from experienced director Joe Carnahan ( The A-Team, Smokin' Aces , the excellent Narc ); if his latest tantalisingly evokes John Carpenter's mighty Assault On Precinct 13 it doesn't quite deliver.
The setup has clear John Carpenter's "Assault on Precinct 13" vibes, but where that film was lean, mean, and undeniable in its exploitation thriller excellence, "Copshop" is too tonally muddled and frustratingly paced to come close to that film in terms of quality.
Both characters reside in this grey area between good and evil which creates an enigma that keeps the audience guessing plus we’re not really sure who to root for until all hell breaks loose in a tribute to John Carpenter’s “Assault on Precinct 13” and Louder becomes the film’s heroine.
The bulk of the beats feel familiar enough, starting with its riff on John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), but Carnahan and his cast do great work making this entirely their own.
Copshop rings that 70s bell of brutal action tied into a simmering thriller, and initially felt as though it was leading into a modern-day take on John Carpenter’s classic, Assault on Precinct 13 .
Near misses, shifting alliances, and conveniently placed gasoline cans are par for the course here, with Curtis Mayfield and the Magnum Force theme song by Lalo Schifrin the cherries on top.
Carnahan drops Dirty Harry’s “Magnum Force” theme over the opening credits, a playful way of hinting that you shouldn’t take the crime thriller too seriously.
Early on in his latest, Copshop , the soundtrack blasts out the irresistible wacca-wacca of Lalo Schifrin’s Magnum Force score and Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Freddie’s Dead’ from Superfly .
Joe Carnahan's own throwback Copshop is considerably better, mainly because it chooses to rip off stuff like Assault on Precinct 13 and Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight --oh, and its vibe is Tango & Cash or The Last Boy Scout : everything I like in a small-environment thriller married to all the bombast of a '90s Shane Black vehicle--and just as inappropriate and ugly as that sounds.
Co-writer/director Joe Carnahan continues to have a solid year (having already released a take on Groundhog Day that draws inspiration from videogame shooter culture), now with Copshop, a Nevada-set thriller pitting a small-town police station crew against various fixers and assassins that use shady undercover methods to not only get inside the building but locked up in the holding cell to be closer to their targets.
Advertisement
Ultimately, however, it’s still obvious who will come out on top; while borrowing sequences from “The Terminator” and “Assault on Precinct 13” and a wealth of other cop thrillers, this film fails to introduce anything remotely fresh.
Featuring the most violent mayhem in such a setting since Assault on Precinct 13 and The Terminator , the film takes place in the Gun Creek Police Department.
We might have expected something slicker from experienced director Joe Carnahan ( The A-Team, Smokin' Aces , the excellent Narc ); if his latest tantalisingly evokes John Carpenter's mighty Assault On Precinct 13 it doesn't quite deliver.
It’s nowhere near as dramatic as Carnahan’s Narc, but the format reminded me of that title most as far as his career goes—especially when Louder makes their duo a trio.
Joe Carnahan’s Tarantino impression, the same one he’s been tweaking since Narc and Smokin’ Aces , has never been closer to the genuine article as it is in his latest, Copshop .
Joe Carnahan made a name for himself with the brutal, intense cop drama "Narc."
It’s directed with plenty of energy and gratuitous violence by Joe Carnahan (“Narc”/”The Grey”) and written by Kurt McLeod from a story by Mark Williams, as it aims to be a Tarantino-like pulp fiction piece with smart-ass dialogue.
Echoes of Quentin Tarantino, the noir B-movies of the 1950s and a couple of iconic westerns are all swirling around inside this guilty pleasure cop flick from Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces).
Joe Carnahan got his start with one of these, 1998’s Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (which was also compared to Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi).
Joe Carnahan’s Tarantino impression, the same one he’s been tweaking since Narc and Smokin’ Aces , has never been closer to the genuine article as it is in his latest, Copshop .
Odds are you didn’t know there’s a new movie starring Gerard Butler ( 300 , Greenland , Den of Thieves ) out right now costarring Frank Grillo (several Purge movies, several MCU movies) and directed by Joe Carnahan ( The Grey , Smokin’ Aces , Boss Level ).
Echoes of Quentin Tarantino, the noir B-movies of the 1950s and a couple of iconic westerns are all swirling around inside this guilty pleasure cop flick from Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces).
Writer/director Joe Carnahan ("Smokin' Aces") keeps us engaged with his what at first seems like an intriguing cat and mouse premise, but when the personalities at Young’s station come into play (here’s looking at you, Huber (Ryan O'Nan)) followed by the arrival of second, more psychopathic hitman Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss, "The Rental"), we know we’re experiencing Carnahan’s same old formula all over again.
I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s anything unique or special about the way he does it, but he’s committed to the depicting it in his film in a variety of ways, from frenetic (Smokin’ Aces) to contemplative (The Grey, perhaps the only one of his films I’d call excellent) to everything in between (The A-Team).
He followed that film up with "Smokin' Aces," a star-studded, rather messy shoot 'em up that was oozing with style, and far removed from the more serious tone of "Narc."
Joe Carnahan's own throwback Copshop is considerably better, mainly because it chooses to rip off stuff like Assault on Precinct 13 and Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight --oh, and its vibe is Tango & Cash or The Last Boy Scout : everything I like in a small-environment thriller married to all the bombast of a '90s Shane Black vehicle--and just as inappropriate and ugly as that sounds.
She even gets some classic action hero badass moments to continue the '70s vibe of the whole movie, where Dirty Harry has been a clear influence on her character.
Advertisement
I like the idea of a prison hang-out movie (“Rio Bravo” is one of my favorite films), but the defining quality here is that the characters honestly hate each other.
Taking pages out of Rio Bravo and Assault on Precinct 13 , the film is set mainly in one location.
As noted, “Copshop” is a Western — a hybrid of “3:10 to Yuma” and “Rio Bravo” that focuses on an isolated outpost in an untamed land besieged by the amoral and immoral alike.
For Butler, he looks much like his “Big Nick” persona from Den of Thieves , but adds some Mel Gibson “Martin Riggs” put-on insanity from Lethal Weapon and ices that with quiet knowing laughter that makes one think of a mischievous kid putting one over on mom.