Abel Ferrara‘s “Bad Lieutenant”, featuring Harvey Keitel in the title role, was an exercise in making the audience feel filthy. Keitel’s character was completely without remorse or redemption, and he made the viewers accomplices to his abuses. It was a bleak, unremitting film that also happened to be one of the absolute greatest film experiences of our time. You may have hated it, but it definitely got under your skin and then stayed there.
And now Werner Herzog, the filmmaker behind “Aguirre, the Wrath of God“ and “Grizzly Man” is making “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans”, which he claims is not a sequel.
First of all, what the hell? Second of all, if it’s not a sequel, then what the hell is it? How can it use the Bad Lieutenant name if it isn’t? Third, Nicolas Cage is the titular character – there goes the drama right out the window.
Oh sure, he was decent in “Leaving Las Vegas”, but Nic Cage has two faces: the serious-seeming-yet-ruined-by-his-sad-sack-voice character, and his wacky “Wild At Heart” character. It looks like he’s channeling the latter in this one.
It also looks like we’re in for another weird movie that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, with Nic Cage chewing up the scenery like some demented mutant termite, unable to pull off the gravitas that any movie with the words “Bad Lieutenant” should have in it. This flick will probably make a few cult classic lists, but to me it’s just another reason why Hollywood Must Die.
never saw Bad Lieutenant, but I dunno. can’t really get too upset when you hear Herzog is making a new movie. that guy is alwaays great