ROTTEN TOMATOES: Nicolas Cage to Play Bad Lieutenant

Nicolas Cage to Play Bad Lieutenant

Werner Herzog to helm remake.

by Orlando Parfitt | May 15, 2008

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Nicolas Cage and Werner Herzog are teaming up for a re-make of Abel Ferrera's violent 1992 classic Bad Lieutenant, it was announced in Cannes today.

Cage will play the Harvey Keitel role - a twisted New York police officer with drug, gambling and sex issues who eventually finds redemption.

According to Variety, the update is penned by Billy Finkelstein - no stranger to Gotham-set drama with the likes of Murder One and NYPD Blue on his CV.

Herzog - currently in the south of France with his doc Encounters at the End of the World - earned strong reviews for his previous film Rescue Dawn, and has a string of masterpieces to his credit, including Aguirre, Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo.

We don't know in what way the plot will differ from the original, but the teaming up of Herzog and Cage has us quite excited about the project - what do you think?

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(1-20 of 24 posts) | Reply

Mungo Toadfoot writes:
on May 15 2008 08:27 AM

1992 wasn't long enough ago for a remake of anything, let alone Bad Lieutenant.

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Now it's dark writes:
on May 15 2008 08:41 AM

Herzogs' films almost always take place in the wild. And remaking a pretty recent classic? That boys done gone and lost it! Tho Cages' hairpiece might actually lend itself to the role this time.

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d-ario writes:
on May 15 2008 09:35 AM

I don't think a remake will have a performance as good as Harvey Keitel's! Can't they come up with new material to make movies with these days?

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TheMovieWhore writes:
on May 15 2008 09:38 AM

WTF?

How do you take on something that some one like Harvey Keitel was perfect in. Seriously I have seen Cage do a few good movies but this has bad idea written all over it.

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rsav1976 writes:
on May 15 2008 10:09 AM

Cage hasn't played a twisted role since Wild At Heart, and he was more comical than serious in that one. I love Herzog, but why choose a remake? There is no good reason to remake this film, none whatsoever.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on May 15 2008 10:19 AM

I'm praying Herzog is doing it for the money. . .that's the best explanation.

I don't know about Cage mentally anymore. He named his kid Kalil (Superman)? Isn't that a hell of a lot to live up to? NICE NAME JACKASS!

-Tom=

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The Tony Show writes:
on May 15 2008 02:29 PM

Oh my God! The bees!! They're in my eyes!! They're in my eyes!!!

Sorry. Wicker Man flashback.

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Dachshund96 writes:
on May 15 2008 03:38 PM

Cage already plays a bad actor, why not a bad lt.?

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jason.quiggle writes:
on May 15 2008 04:16 PM

Yeah good luck getting Cage to deliver a performance as gut wrenching and intense as Keitel's in the original...also wasn't the original NC17? somehow i think we will be getting pg-13 or a R with no balls. I'm resisting quoting from that movie in this message, so many gems could apply.

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kamikaze_CoPilot writes:
on May 15 2008 04:26 PM

No no no...This does not add up at all. Taking an already superbly acted and directed film and doing a remake of it? Worst of all, getting Nicholas Cage to play the part. This is the main reason why I don't bother with Hollywood BS and not going to the cinema anymore. In my opinion I'd have a far better time just staying home and clipping my toenails. - Bollocks to the lot!

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Mister_Prophet writes:
on May 15 2008 04:34 PM

no.

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scriptdoctor writes:
on May 15 2008 08:33 PM

If by 'quite excited' you mean 'dreading this 100%', then I agree. Like others have mentioned, there's no reason to remake a movie from the 90's, and no reason to remake this one, period. Just like "Lost Boys" and "Carrie", the original films are great in their own respect, and don't demand (nor some might say, deserve) a remake.

Let's face it, Cage long ago left the realm of "serious film" and I doubt will ever make it back. On a side note, when I read recently that he was once up for the role of Stark in Iron Man, I almost soiled myself. Can you imagine Iron Man being the great movie it is with Cage in the lead? Ugh.

I like Herzog's movies, and there's no reason to waste his talent on a remake. Might as well put Uwe Boll at the helm.

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Pilgermann writes:
on May 15 2008 11:27 PM

What the crap?! What's with all of the sudden Herzog action? First he's working with David Lynch of a horror-ish flick, now he's doing a remake of an action flick and it's starring Cage? What on Earth?!

Plus the man is preparing to make THE PIANO TUNER this year. I am happy happy happy! And hopefully I'll get to catch ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD at the theater.

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John Z. Delorean writes:
on May 16 2008 02:31 AM

No way anyone tops Keitels scumbag cop portrayal in the original. What's the purpose of a remake anyway this won't do numbers at the box office and in todays market won't be able to touch the grit and grimy look of the original.

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bsierens37 writes:
on May 16 2008 06:00 AM

This is an absolute mystery to me. We're remaking relatively contemporary movies now? I'm trying to think of one good reason that this movie should be remade, and there simply isn't one. I don't like the vast majority of Cage's performances, but I guess I see potential that he could be good in this type of role. Still, he is NO Harvey Keitel. Of course, with the current trends in Hollywood, they will probably release a PG-13 version in theaters to try and make more money...

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thejerk1126 writes:
on May 16 2008 07:32 AM

Why?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY? Hey let's remake reservoir dogs and Pulp Fiction with OMar Epps and Giovanni RIbisi

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thejerk1126 writes:
on May 16 2008 07:33 AM

Why?WHY?WHY?WHY?WHY? Hey let's remake reservoir dogs and Pulp Fiction with OMar Epps and Giovanni RIbisi

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ThinPhantom writes:
on May 16 2008 08:16 AM

Just when you thought the party was over. The movie that made it cool to hammer in the house. House Party! July 2009. Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky.

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boomstick8283 writes:
on May 16 2008 08:17 AM

This guy, Herzog, is good. After "Rescue Dawn" and "Grizzly Man", I think I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this interesting choice.

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arendr writes:
on May 16 2008 08:37 AM

It's a strange choice, but strange choices are always where Nick Cage shines. I'd rather have him do this than some lame action/adventure movie that he's not at all suited for.

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