|
| Narc |
|
  (7/10)
|
Runtime: 105 |
| Public Rating: 9.62 (13 votes) |
Director: Joe Carnahan |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Drama/suspense |
Year: 2002 |
| Writer(s): Joe Carnahan |
| Reviewed by: Le Apprenti |
| |
Contrary to the title, Narc has little to do with narcotics or the special police task force set apart for cases dealing with such. It does involve narcotics officers but they are not investigating a drug-related case. Instead, they are solving a homicide of a cop who is, you guessed it, a narc. This cop happens to be a good friend of narc Lieutenant Henry Oak (Ray Liotta). As such, Oak is determined to bring in his friend’s killers even if it means “breaking every point of procedure in the book”.
However, Oak is not alone in the investigation. Assigned to be his partner is Nick Tellis (Jason Patric), a former narcotics officer who received his marching orders 18 months ago for a drug bust that resulted in civilian casualties. Tellis is assigned because of his expertise in such cases, but more importantly his connections with drug dealers who may have known the murdered cop during the latter’s last assignment, in which he was killed when a drug deal went wrong. Oak is simply hell bent on finding the killers and making them pay for their actions. The murdered cop’s name is Michael Calvess.
Narc moves in two speed settings: fast and slow. The slow setting is switched on when the attention is not on the murder investigation. Tellis has a wife and toddler son to come home to. The wife does not approve of him returning to familiar territory after his last assignment – the 18-months-ago one – caused her a great deal of emotional heartache. The factors causing the heartache are implied but not substantiated. Yet an unnecessary amount of screen time is given to this when a mere few minutes is all that is needed to show that she is not happy with it. Another reason why the lengthiness is unnecessary is because nothing about Tellis’ life factors into the plot in any way. Even his interview with Calvess’ widow serves no purpose, except to illustrate that Oak can get angry and possibly go ballistic. Oak’s life is narrated by the person himself. Unlike in Tellis’ case, viewer needs to pay attention to Oak. Among the details he reveals is a case of a little girl who is allegedly pimped by her stepfather. His account makes it sound like he went ballistic in reaction to the nature of the crime and beat the stuffings out of the stepfather. However, there is more to the case that he did not reveal, and is only discovered at the very end. That also indicates the kind of character Oak is. He is more than just a rule-breaking cop with a temper.
Surprisingly, the fast speed setting helps to elevate the suspense of the murder investigation. At the same time, it also rushes this component of the story beyond the average moviegoer’s data processing level. The details of the investigation come and go in a blink of an eye. They do not reprise themselves for the viewer’s benefit. The only interesting part of the entire story is the brutal interrogation of the murder suspects, where the question of who actually killed Calvess is stretched out. As the interrogation progresses, seeds of doubt are planted regarding their alleged crime. The pace at which it plays out is neither rushed (like the entire investigation) nor too slow. It allows viewers to engage their emotions towards the suspects and the way Oak is trying to force them to fess up. After that, viewers are treated to a rapid barrage of details about Oak’s modus operandi, which can be a series of misses if your mind is not fast enough since they are not going to be repeated.
The heat of Narc is is generated by strong performances by Liotta and Patric. It is easy to see why Liotta is casted as Oak. He is fantastic playing characters that go ballistic or look like they are going ballistic. He is so intensed that you feel he can snap at any moment just looking at his eyes. Patric is pretty good as the reluctant yet often puzzled cop trying to figure everything out. He contrasts Liotta’s fire very well. In fact, all of his best scenes are playing off Liotta’s character. By the way, Busta Rhymes plays one of the suspects and looks terrifically cool in the role. If there is one thing to be learnt here, it is that rap artistes make good villains. They should all be typecasted as bad guys if they want to go into movies.
Narc offers a sufficient dose of suspense. Liotta and Patric are a fine duo. But it is hardly outstanding or memorable. There are too many distractions away from the purpose of the story. This film is recommended only for police drama buffs.
|
 Printable Version
|
Do you agree/disagree with this review of Narc? Let your opinions be heard in our forum.
|
Buy the Poster of Narc (Click Here)
|
|
|
|
