Valerie (Alexis Louder) is a rookie cop having a bad night.
A mystery man (Frank Grillo) is sitting in her cell block with a price on his head, with a hitman (Gerard Butler) who got himself locked up so he could claim the head.
If that wasn’t bad enough, other parties are on their way to kill all of them.
This movie starts the way all movies should - with Lalo Schifrin’s main title from Magnum Force.
It is a callback to the action flicks of the past, particularly the early seventies when the western gave way to urban action film.
This one splits the difference by taking place in Nevada, so we get some western-style settings and some old-fashioned fast draws.
A siege movie, Copshop is pleasingly small-scale. I am a fan of action and thriller movies set in one place I was impressed with Kimi for similar reasons.
I wish I liked this movie more.
There is something about Joe Carnahan’s movies that I can never quite buy into.
He is never boring - I generally enjoy picking over his movies like a vulture. If the movie does not work, he always has some clever plot turn or weird character that makes it memorable.
With this movie, it feels like he wants to operate between earnest genre piece and self-aware homage, but never figures out where he wants it to land.
But in doing so, he ends up with something that feels just a little bland.
The interplay between the cast is good, but about halfway through it felt like the distrust and conflict was neutered.
This movie is totally fine, but it is elevated by a breakout performance by Alexis Louder.
Cop heroes are a dime a dozen but I cannot remember an action movie where the cop protagonist is not burned out and traumatised.
Valerie actually seems to enjoy her job, and has a good rapport with her colleagues.
Once the action starts, she shifts into action hero mode and the plot starts to follow a familiar line. Which is no bad thing.
Valerie is a throwback to the action heroes of the late 80s, like John McClane - she is even in a white tank top for the third act.
Valerie might be inexperienced but she knows what she’s doing and is a good improviser. She also feels like she is constantly under the gun. The character wins because like all action heroes she is driven to overcome any obstacle in the pursuit of justice.
It is not a new archetype but Louder and the script makes the confection feel fresh.
One element I loved was that while Valerie is a good shot, but she does end up injuring herself during a hectic moment. It’s a moment of originality that prevents it from feeling entirely predictable.
The script gives Valerie a familial military background through her male line (a familiar trope with action women). However the filmmakers twist this backstory by having her great grandfather be a soldier for the Third Riech.
Are the filmmakers trying to make a comment on the fascism underpinning action movies? Or the US police?
Probably not. It feels like a serve for the sake of a serve, a way to show that Louder’s character does not fit the boxes the men are try to put her in.
Copshop is a little rote on its own terms but hopefully it serves as a launching pad for Alexis Louder to bigger things.
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