Cage acts, at times, as though his head is about to explode. And not the character's head; it's Cage himself who seems in danger of self-immolation.
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11/20/09
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Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
84
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:61
Fresh:51
Rotten:10
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: Befitting its unorthodox origins, this Bad Lieutenant benefits from Werner Herzog's typically fearless direction and a delightfully unhinged Nicolas Cage in the title role.
Theatrical Release:Nov 20, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: In Werner Herzog’s new film “The Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans,” Nicolas Cage plays a rogue detective who is as devoted to his job as he is at scoring drugs -- while playing fast and... [More]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, Fairuza Balk
Director: Werner Herzog
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Reviews for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
(The film) has a hard time settling on such simple things as characters' motivations, needs and accents (Cage's changes inexplicably midway through).
11/20/09
No quote available.
11/20/09
The new film has much in common with some of Herzog's crazed past masterworks like Aguirre, the Wrath of God.
11/20/09
Like the water snake that slithers by during the opening credits or the baby crocodile from whose point of view we observe one roadside scene, this movie is a freaky little swamp thing.
11/20/09
The film is an exasperating bore.
11/20/09
Top CriticMaking a bad movie this good is harder than it looks.
11/20/09
Top CriticHerzog's acting advice to Cage to "release the pig" (ostensibly a Bavarian saying) has resulted in perhaps the most memorable performance of Cage's career, and certainly the most over the top.
11/20/09
Add director Werner Herzog to the mix, a guy who knows a thing or a hundred about obsessive protagonists, and we're in for quite the ride -- wild and weird and blackly comic.
11/20/09
Top CriticA movie that ultimately has more cult than mass appeal, how much you enjoy Bad Lieutenant will probably come down to how much you like Werner Herzog rather than Nicolas Cage. A notoriously eccentric director, his latest film is nowhere near as mainstream
11/20/09
The pairing of Nicolas Cage, one of the world's most out-there actors, with Werner Herzog, cinema's reigning madman-visionary, is a match made in looney-tunes heaven.
11/20/09
Leave it to Werner Herzog to shoot a film in New Orleans with not one image of the French Quarter %u2013 and to harness Nicolas Cage's Razzie-worthy acting into something meaningful.
11/20/09
This time, it's not Nicolas Cage's fault: Werner Herzog has lost his mind.
11/20/09
It almost makes one angrier to think about the time Cage has wasted on crap films when he should be doing interesting ones like this every single time.
11/20/09
I'm pretty sure this would have made total sense if I was on some of the drugs that McDonagh was taking
11/20/09
If the new film commits the sin of entertainment, it's redeemed by a sense of life's contradictions and distinguished by surreal flourishes that include a pair of iguanas, slithery witnesses to Terence's mania.
11/20/09
Top CriticBecause so much of the film is 'Oh, no, he's not really going to do that OH YES HE IS!' fun, it's impressive when Herzog suddenly starts taking it all seriously.
11/20/09
It's Cage's best work in years.
11/20/09
Top CriticThere can only ever be one Bad Lieutenant: Harvey Keitel.
11/20/09
Top CriticLike a jumpy, coke-fueled Pied Piper, Cage takes viewers to the very precipice of depraved self-abasement, while preserving just enough self-conscious humor to keep from tumbling in.
11/20/09
Top CriticLatest News for Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
November 19, 2009:
Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
This week at the movies, we've got hot teen vampires (The Twilight Saga: New Moon, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson); a football family (The Blind Side, starring... More...
November 17, 2009:
Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
During his remarkable 40-year career, Werner Herzog has made some of world cinema's boldest films -- including Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Stroszek, Fitzcaraldo, and a remake of... More...
November 16, 2009:
Bad Lieutenant: When Werner Met Nicolas
The very idea of the movie prompted giggles from film fans and rage from director Abel Ferrara, but Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage's collaboration on "Bad Lieutenant: Port of... More...
October 25, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
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