Copshop

Copshop
Starring Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, Toby Huss
Directed by Joe Carnahan

Being a big movie buff, there isn't many movies that've gone under the radar as far as I'm concerned. Be it seeing trailers at the theater or from online ads, I pretty much have a solid idea of every major film coming to the big screen for the foreseeable future. So when I see a film that's hit the cinema that I've never heard of, I become wary - why would such a film have little to no advertising, no trailer that I've seen, and no news about it anywhere? Typically that's because studios want to release them in silence in hopes that they'll whimper away due to their terrible nature, but "Copshop" is something else entirely - while it's nothing spectacular, it was an actually highly entertaining thriller with incredibly layered characters, a tight setting, and exciting pacing.

Rookie police officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) is tired of being a beat cop in a small town where the most exciting thing that happens to her is getting assaulted at a casino brawl by Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo), whom she thinks is just another drunk. After incarcerating Teddy, another drunk - Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler) - is brought to the small precinct and is put in a holding cell across from Teddy's. Not long after leaving the two alone, Bob cuts his drunk act and informs Teddy that he's there to kill him, and that Teddy's ex and son are also in danger due to the uncouth events Teddy put into motion. Yet he's not the only hired hitman out to kill Teddy - and Officer Young will understand the meaning of "be careful what you wish for."

Director Joe Carnahan is no stranger to big budget action shoot-em-ups, having directed the absolutely bonkers "Smokin' Aces" and "The A-Team" among others, so seeing him behind the director's chair for "Copshop" comes as no big surprise. What is surprising is the fact that he seemed to tone down the action this time around for the first half of the film, giving audiences a chance to really get to know his cast of characters before the second act insanity unfolds. More than just a typical shoot-em-up action, "Copshop" delves into the lives of the characters and gives them a real sense of humanity before the guns start blazing.

The film includes a rogues' gallery of unscrupulous characters, most notably the two biggest names on the marquee: Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo. Grillo plays Teddy Murretto, a con artist with a petulance for being a weasel and who's also being hunted down for a murder by several hitmen, one of them being Butler's Bob Viddick. Grillo plays his character as a swarmy used car dealer as he uses his words to get what he wants, and comes off as a believable person - but is he someone that can really be trusted? On the opposite end of the spectrum, Butler's Bob is a no-nonsense type of guy who's out to accomplish a job he was ordered to do, and is a completely by-the-books kind of person: what you see is what you get with him. These two men trade verbal jabs from their adjoining cells as Officer Young tries to maintain the peace and get a grasp on what's happening, but it's clear that she doesn't have all the information.

That's because there's a rat in the police force, someone who's smuggling drugs and who may or may not be associated with what's happening in the holding cells. This all comes to a head with an arrival by a second assassin - one played by Toby Huss, who's an absolute psychopath. He enters the police station with a bouquet of balloons and systematically starts shooting up the place, which is where Carnahan's trademark action comes from. Huss is a total screen chewer, and his eccentric and darkly charming personality really steals the show, as he quips about buying a lottery ticket due to his good fortune.

Set up against the multitude of baddies is Officer Valerie Young, played by Alexis Louder, who's best known for her work in "Watchmen" and "The Tomorrow War." She plays Young as a passionate new rookie who yearns for truth, justice, and the American way while also providing intelligent quips and sarcasm that makes her endearing from the moment she graces the screen. Louder knows her character and gives her a breath fresh of air as she tries to discern one of the greatest conundrums that happens in films like this: with her life on the line, does she trust Murretto's smooth talking yet possibly two-faced nature, or Viddick's reasonable intelligence yet assassin mindset? How she ends up in this predictament is darkly humorous as well, and she maintains her sense of comedy and levity even while facing almost certain death.

The film's setting is the perfect one for a film like this, or a top-notch horror film. The police station is literally in the middle of the desert, filled with dark corridors and dimly lit rooms that would be Michael Myers' plaything if given the opportunity. When Huss's Anthony enters the scene, he gleefully uses the setting to his advantage as he plays cat-and-mouse with our hapless heroes (or antiheroes as the case may be), using everything in his arsenal to complete the task at hand. It's amazing that such a small film could've been made under the radar, and one that's terribly underappreciated - while, again, it's not stellar, it's one of those great popcorn action flicks that you'll probably find on basic cable in the years to come, but needs to be seen in all its gory glory to be fully appreciated.

Combining great action with even better character development, "Copshop" is more than your typical mindless action flick and provides a fun little thrill ride with relatable and rootable characters set against a maniacal yet entertaining assassin.

The Score: A-