Rent Cop Land (1997)

Feel the Gap - Cop Land review by griggs

Jersey may be across the river from New York, but Cop Land is frontier country: a commuter-belt Western where the town sheriff is half-forgotten, the locals are corrupt, and the law has quietly become something the powerful lend to each other.

Freddy Heflin, deaf in one ear and dismissed by everyone, is the nominal lawman in a town that polices itself. Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, and Ray Liotta circle him like vultures with badges, and they’re magnetic. Stallone clearly wanted this to be his serious-actor moment — the pivot from franchise muscle to craft. Noble aim. The problem is that his supporting cast keep outgunning him in his own film — and Cop Land is built for a wounded-sheriff reckoning. When it reaches for its High Noon moment, you feel the gap between the myth and the man.

Still, it nearly gets away with it: enjoyable, atmospheric, loaded with potential, and just a few dusty miles short of the landmark it wanted to be. Almost rides off into the sunset. Almost.

Great Underrated Police Thriller - Cop Land review by GI

Fantastic and gritty police thriller with an absolutely stunning cast led by Sylvester Stallone playing against type. If you think of Stallone in his Rambo/Rocky, pumped up persona then he will surprise you in this cracking film. He plays overweight, partially deaf and kindly town sheriff, Freddie in the small town of Garrison, situated just over the state line from New York City. Most of the town's population are cops from the NYPD who tolerate Freddie as he's low key and doesn't interfere with them. But when Internal Affairs shows up in the guise of Robert De Niro hunting for a missing corrupt cop Freddie is forced to face the reality that his town is a mob funded front for corrupt police officers. This has a great story, some neat action and with support by Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick, Harvey Keitel, Annabella Sciorra and others this is a film that has a suspense driven plot that is very well written and superbly directed. This is great stuff, if you've missed this one then check it out you won't be disappointed.

Frustratingly slight - Cop Land review by AER

Cop Land could have been a classic. However, it looks like it's had its place in history cancelled by possible reshoots and some brutal editing. This interesting cop drama offers a tantalising prospect by telling the story of the cop the polices the cops at home. Sylvester Stallone places a sad-sack small-town cop who is pressed to act by internal affairs when some serious police corruption comes to light in his neighbourhood. Stallone has rarely been better, matching co-stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro note for note. Ray Liotta's character is a bit pointless and he overacts here slightly as Stallone's only local friend. What this needed was a longer running time to allow the interesting characters some room to breathe, but it looks to me like this got filleted in the editing room. What could have stood head-to-head with Heat, Good Fellas and other 90s classics is a forgotten also-ran due to (suspected) studio interference.

A good try but a frustrating near miss.