*** Official "NARC" Review Thread (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now the Official Review Thread for "Narc". Please post all HTF member reviews in this thread.
Any other comments, links to other reviews, or discussion items will be deleted from this thread without warning!
If you need to discuss those type of issues then I have designated an Official Discussion Thread.
Crawdaddy

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Narc is a hard edge cop drama from writer-director Joe Carnahan. The film is very visual in its approach as it achieves a heightened level of intensity in various moments but is also not afraid to slow its pace down to build its characters and get into the psyche of these troubled cops. Carnahan’s techniques are anything but fundamental. He uses various kinds of film conventions for his narrative including a handheld camera to film a chase scene on foot and multiple split screens to highlight a police investigation.
Jason Patric and Ray Liotta play two Detroit law enforcement officers who become partners only to investigate the murder of another cop. The character that Jason Patric plays here is not a new one for him. In 1991, he played another undercover officer opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh who gets caught up in the drug culture in Rush. Here, his character is, more or less, a composite of those two undercover cops in Rush. Both Patric and Liotta are very strong here with Liotta finally given something to work with that I have not seen since 1990’s Goodfellas.
The story may have an element or two of familiarity but only because it is grounded on reality. Its final resolution is not a betrayal to any of the characters nor is one that cheats the audience. As the film is also about making choices, its ending is not at all that surprising.
Narc is a well-made cop drama that actually places a little more emphasis on the dramatic side to reveal thematic issues involving family, commitment, duty and justice. Joe Carnahan’s screenplay and direction exudes a level of confidence providing suspense and tension in its action sequences along with some quiet intensity for its more serious moments.
~Edwin

 

[Patrick Sun]

Good flick with good performances by the 2 main leads. The 3rd act is pretty good.

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.

 

[Joshua_Y]

I just got back from seeing NARC. WOW!! This has to be probably the best cop film Ive ever seen. Ray Liotta owns every frame he's in and Patric is great. The screenplay and camerawork is excellent. All in all, this is the movie that should have won Best Drama and wasnt even nominated!
:star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Robert Crawford]

I well-made gritty cop film that didn't hold anything back with some very solid performances.




Crawdaddy

 

[Scott Weinberg]

My short short review:
Compelling and brilliantly acted (Liotta's getting a lot of well-deserved praise, yet Patric is the one who really impressed me here), though the script seems like little more than a particularly gritty TV pilot...only with a lot more F-bombs than you'd find on a gritty TV pilot.
Lots of things can help a viewer overlook a screenplay's predictability, and the leads easily accomplish that. (C'mon, how many consecutive scenes of 'scream at the lowlife' can we watch in a row?)
I had a good time with Narc, mainly thanks to Liotta and Patric - though Carnahan the director may have a better future than does Carnahan the screenwriter. It's a gritty and involving flick, but were it not for these specific actors, I bet this one would have debuted on Showtime.
Solid B-
Certainly worthy of 90-some minutes, especially for fans of street-level cop procedurals.