Copshop

Aware that hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler) is on his tail, con man Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) pulls a fast one to get to safety – he sucker punches rookie cop Valerie Young (Alexis Louder, "The Tomorrow War").  But Viddick’s ready to do whatever it takes to complete his mission and so ‘drunkenly’ careens into a couple of squad cars and is quickly ensconced in the cell opposite Murretto’s in “Copshop.”

Laura's Review: C+

Writer/director Joe Carnahan ("Smokin' Aces") keeps us engaged with his what at first seems like an intriguing cat and mouse premise, but when the personalities at Young’s station come into play (here’s looking at you, Huber (Ryan O'Nan)) followed by the arrival of second, more psychopathic hitman Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss, "The Rental"), we know we’re experiencing Carnahan’s same old formula all over again.  Just as in “Smokin’ Aces,” he sets one too many protagonists on either side of the law into play in a Las Vegas setting all with the objective of a chaotic climactic shootout.  By the time he’s hit his third act, he’s ground us down with so much overkill it’s hard to care anymore.

This film’s linchpin is Young, the rookie cop Sgt. Duane Mitchell (Chad L. Coleman) trusts more than his more seasoned cops.  It’s easy to see why, even if Louder never fully convinces in the role.  As the bad guys try to outwit one another, they’ll each lean on Young in one way or another to gain an advantage.  Meanwhile she’s researching their backgrounds while keeping an eye on her colleagues, at least while they remain alive.

There’s some amount of fun to be had watching a man bun-sporting Grillo spar with Butler, whose performance, thankfully, is more “Den of Thieves” than “Olympus Has Fallen” here.  But when the chess moves turn into explosions and mayhem, it’s just more of the same from Carnahan, the Cheesewhiz Tarantino.

Open Road opens "Copshop" in theaters on 9/17/21.