Officer Downe

OFFICER DOWNE tells the story of the tough and hypermasculine eponymous L. A. police officer who is able to be resurrected each time he is killed, and a rookie officer who eventually finds out his secret while they confront a variety of colorful villains.

At least since SIN CITY (2005) there has been a relatively new subgenre of movies one might call "live-action adult graphic novels": live-action films which are based on adult graphic novels or at least emulate that form. The form can be recognized by the cartoon representation of reality both in style and content, flashy visuals, hyperkinetic action, frequently over-the-top hyperviolence and gore, frank sexual representations, and a story which is generally some variation of the fight between good and evil.

Even if the protagonists may seem to possess superhuman abilities, they are usually not superheros as those in the Marvel Universe, which I consider a distinct but closely related subgenre (perhaps live-action graphic novels without the "adult" part).

Unfortunately, SIN CITY is also by far the best example in this subcategory, as other movies which followed it consistently turned out to be inferior in one way or another.

DOWNE is technically more accomplished than films like ADAM CHAPLIN (2011) and HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (2011), but shares a common problem, which is that these films almost invariably suffer from a lack of tension due to the protagonist's overwhelming dominance over his enemies.

What elevates this film relative to the others is that the focus for much of the film is not on Downe, but a rookie officer who wants to be conscientious in an environment where everybody seems to have lost their conscience, and his effect on the former.

On the other hand, the cop fetishization of this film seems anachronistic in an age in which it has become evident that police brutality in real life is much more common than we imagined.

The cop fetish on display is actually multi-dimensional: on a social level, it will no doubt appeal to the "blue lives matter" crowd, but it also has a sexual dimension: Downe looks like an 80s S&M gay porn character, he literally has the biggest guns, other cops envy how freely he gets to metaphorically f*** over the criminals, and in one scene, Downe even says that bashing the criminals' heads makes his "dick hard", an organ he curiously fails to utilize when pleasuring his flame to literally dozens of orgasms. The absurdly high number of orgasms, complete with counter, seems almost like a fig leaf for the homoerotic undertones between the rookie and Downe.

Personally, I found the cop fetishization off-putting, but the biggest problem with the movie is that the caricature of the world it presents is so extreme that it becomes uninteresting. I put the blame for this squarely on the author of the graphic novel on which the film is based, and who also wrote the screenplay. I was able to see the first few pages on Amazon preview, and it seems the movie is very faithful to the graphic novel, which would mean that the shortcoming lies in the source material.

"I've got the badge and I've got the will. I am LAPD, so let me show you how it's done." Office Downe (Coates) is the best cop in the force. He has no fear and is relentless in his pursuit of justice. After a new recruit (Ross) discovers his secret he isn't sure what to think. Now Gable is stuck between doing what he thinks is right, or what he thinks is best. This is a very stylized movie that is exciting, but not for everyone. The movie is based off of a graphic novel and is filmed and edited to really have the feel of that one. This movie has flashes of Sin City, Bunraku and and even Scott Pilgrim. The way it is filmed and the over the top acting and action really fit in a movie like this and actually adds to the enjoyment. This is not a movie that will make you think but it will entertain you for the entire time and that is what a movie is ultimately supposed to do. I laughed and was entertained. Do not however, expect to watch an award winning movie. Overall, the movie is essentially a live-action graphic novel a la Sin City and pulls off its intention perfectly. I give this a B.

The dialog, the aesthetics, the zany characters, the acting is all so brilliantly bad. The thing is, the movie leans into the horrible qualities of the film so heavily that it stops acting as a film and acts more as a performance art piece, and creates a masterclass of entertaining yet unwatchably stupid action, mental story lines and an overall shockingly great movie.

first off, this is way better than 4.6 average score. if you're into grind-house, over-the-top-violence, b-movies and/or heavy metal music, this is right up your alley. and yeah, there is some stuff which is really silly, but hey, it works within the film and for me, so, I'm okay with that. for sure, it's not for everyone, hence the bad score, but if you enjoy "Hobo with a Shotgun" or "Fathers Day" or any Troma release, go for this one. (on Netflix US now, April 2017)

Very weird, but it seemed all purposeful and coherent. Maybe except the way how the tension was handled: wasn't much different from most movies, but something felt off. Somewhat anticlimactic, despite many climaxes indeed. It's a very healthy mixture of cliché behavior leading to deconstructive results. I like when a movie can surprise me. This was disruptive of what other movies trained me to expect. It was stupid and gory, but not grim. One more surprise here, as recent productions just have to be dark and gritty. This is like Dredd (2012), except that it's not some of the characters being on drugs, it's the movie makers. Really reminds me of Planet Terror (2007).