Port of Call New Orleans

Abel Ferrara the director of 1992's cult hit Bad Lieutenant reportedly blew a fuse upon hearing of this remake, but hopefully he should be able to sleep soundly at night because, aside from the shared title and subject of police corruption, that's where the similarities end.

Your enjoyment of this film is likely to depend on how you feel about Nicolas Cage, an actor whose choice of films sees as many lows as it does highs. I have always found him highly charismatic, even in the bad films, he is always watchable. Every so often he will reward your patience and loyalty with gems such as 'Face Off' or 'Adaptation'.

Night and Day

The original Bad Lieutenant was dark; a gritty and often uncomfortable to watch, Werner Herzog's film is almost breezy by comparison. Perhaps that is the Cage touch; maybe it would be a very different film with another actor.

Cage plays the titular cop (the opening scene sees him promoted to the Lieutenant role) who becomes heavily addicted to drugs, mainly cocaine, but he's not fussy. His girlfriend (Eva Mendes) is also an addict and a high-class hooker; Cage has a very relaxed attitude to her choice of career, but hey, a job's a job after all.

Terence McDonagh (Cage) is called upon to solve several murders and his methods are unorthodox to say the least; he never lets the job get in the way of his own personal interests, it's a wonder he finds time to fit it in at all. His own personal 'to do' list would read: 1. Score some drugs, 2. Get high, 3. "Borrow" some "stuff" from the office, 4. Rescue girlfriend from dodgy client, 5. Find some money to pay off bookie debts, 6. If time, solve crime.

He uses the vice squad's drug vault like his own personal stash, seduces a colleague to get a driving charge dropped as a favour to his bookmaker, blackmails a sports star, does drug deals with gangsters and threatens old ladies. We have been in addiction territory with Cage before, previously as an alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas, but this portrayal is more frenetic and mind-bending, and sometimes over-the-top, Cage's charm perhaps getting in the way of him ever feeling truly threatening or "bad".

It is however an enjoyable, if crazy, rollercoaster ride and Herzog's movie is a refreshing change from the usual Hollywood morality where illegal and immoral behaviour must always be shown to be punished: Crime doesn't pay. But Werner's amoral Lieutenant doesn't pay, the film looks upon him favourably and he comes up smelling of roses.

Aside from Cage, the film features some good performances from the supporting cast including Val Kilmer and Xzibit, and its fast pace holds your interest. There are a few surreal scenes and moments of (unintentional or not) hilarity that have to be seen to believed - the iguanas, and a soul break dancing (yes, you read me right) - are two such rub your eyes with disbelief moments. From the rumours about Cage's improvising, and the intensity of the final performance, how I wish I'd been a fly on the wall during the shoot. The end result is evidence enough of the Herzog/Cage dynamic, and the entertainment that it provides is well worth the admission price.

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is on release from 21st May 2010

By Christina Kamester