Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call= New Orleans (2009) ***1/2

When Bad Lieutenant begins we find New Orleans going through the cleansing that was Katrina and a young con with water up to his neck begging for help in his cell. In walks two cops (Nicholas Cage and Val Kilmer) who banter a bit and, we assume, are going to leave the poor con to die. But at the last minute Terrence (Cage) decides to hope in the murky water and save the prisoner. In the process of saving Terrence wrecks his back permanently, which leads to the main plot of the film- his dependence on drugs and how his hunt for the next fix coincides with his job as a detective.

Scratching the surface you may feel that the main plot is Terrence's investigation of a slain family of immigrants who were selling dope on someones turf. A basic crime story where the flawed cop is going to catch the bastards that did the deed. But that's not what Bad Lieutenant is about. Basically, it's about Terrence's addiction. The entire film is about him trying to score his next hit, with the murder case either taking a back seat to the action or being used as leverage in getting more drugs. In a nutshell, the movie is about scoring drugs and how over the edge or cop hero has jumped.

Cage is a borderline psychopath in this role, giving a performance that isn't the best of his career, but it's not the worst either. At times it feels like he's trying to hard, almost as if he's trying to resurrect his Leaving Las Vegas karma of self destruction. "Hey! Remember me! You gave me an Oscar once!". Eva Mendes continues being the bad guy's gal, building on the role she played in We Own the Night, that forgettable crime drama. What I found amusing was that the person that stuck out for me was an actor that wasn't in the film to long, Val Kilmer. He actually wasn't too bad in the role and will be my next pick for a Travolta like come back. Sure, he's difficult to work with, but director Werner Herzog dealt with Klaus Kinski so Kilmer had to be a cakewalk.

Overall the film is a little above ok. I haven't seen the original so a comparison isn't available but knowing that Harvey Keitel starred in that film it's going to be a toss up. The film does drag a bit, but Herzog helps us maintain a little interest as the story progresses. It's one of those one time films that you'll watch once and never have the inclination to watch again, not because it's bad, but because it's kind of forgettable. I will predict that a drinking game could develop where you take a shot whenever Cage's character ingests an illegal substance. Mark my words.