WAR ON EVERYONE: QUIRKY COPS

It seems that everyone who’s ever seen a movie made by Quentin Tarantino has wanted to make their own crime film filled with quirky characters and strange situations. Most of them don’t work. Love him or hate him Tarantino has a certain way of making a movie that makes those things work. But on rare occasion a movie comes along that sort of feels like something he did, not quite but close, and works in spite of itself. WAR ON EVERYONE is one of those kind of movies.

Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) and Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) are two definitely quirky cops. Corrupt but with an inclination to go after criminals the pair are just back on duty and warned on day one not to use excessive force or take bribes. Of course they agree and then rush out to do just that.

Before heading into the office that morning they had gotten a lead they followed that had them surveilling two low level thugs known for armed robbery. Following yet another lead they discover that another known criminal has been hired to be a driver for a heist soon to go down. When they follow up with him they find his wife has stabbed him and his son has run off.

It seems that each lead provides them with more information as well as giving them the opportunity to encounter a number of people. There is the strip club owner who works for the brains behind the heist, a stripper who once dated one of the men in the group, an Irishman who continuously mouths off to them and the brains himself eventually. Along the way Terry continues to drink and Bob continues to tout off facts no matter what the discussion is about.

Eventually the ex-stripper moves in with Terry as does the young runaway boy. It seems that while he might spend most of his time drunk Terry does indeed have a heart of gold. So does Bob in his own way, married to a woman who understands his ways and loves him deeply and passing on his love begrudgingly to his two sons. And while they may be corrupt they’re not killers. All that may change.

As the case leads them closer to Lord James Mangan (Theo James), the brains behind the heist, things begin to get rough. Cars are blown up, Terry is beaten to within an inch of his life and threats are made. Retaliations lead to the pair losing the jobs as police detectives and with nothing to lose a final showdown is in the making.

What for all intents and purposes could have been a terrible movie I found this one possessing enough fun to offset the rest of the shortcomings the movie has. Off kilter humor is the biggest plus this film has going for it. I mean when a movie opens up with the two cops driving down an alley towards a mime carrying two bags of drugs and one says to the other “I always wondered if you hit a mime if he would make a sound?” and they then find out? My twisted sense of humor kicks in and immediately I find myself rooting for the good/bad guys.

None of this would matter if you had two incapable stars in the lead roles. The fact that these two seem to work well together and are filled with their characters makes them something to see. Pena in particular shines as Bob. His responsive quips and swipes at historical facts and tidbits of knowledge at the most random of times are timed to perfection and comedy is all about timing. Skarsgard’s Terry is a troubled soul who loves his partner and finds more than he bargained for with the people he brings into his life, all in a good way.

The production values here are top notch from lighting to cinematography to directing. The writing may not be quite up to Tarantino standards but it comes close. Even scenes that take place in Iceland (yes I said Iceland, don’t ask why or how they got there) are well done and interesting.

When I first started watching this I wasn’t sure I’d like it. Something about it said it wasn’t going to live up to my expectations. Perhaps because I set the bar low they far exceeded those. My guess is if you watch with no expectations at all except to know that the movie is a bit off the wall you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was and may even end up watching this a second time.

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