Gritty and tough, this movie has solid acting, lots of star-power (Keitel, DeNiro, Stallone, Liotta), and a good script. Set in a small town just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, Garrison, NJ is a fictional town inhabited by a large population of NYPD officers. This is no accident...Keitel's character has orchestrated this migration in order to keep a strong circle of like-minded (and crooked) cops all within close proximity of each other. The small town is aptly dubbed "Copland" and while the town has practically zero percent crime, it is also becomes a breeding ground for corrupt police activity. Stallone plays the slightly "slow" local Sheriff of Garrison, NJ, whose job it is to look like the authority in town and look the other way when cops behave badly. I won't divulge the plot-line, but it is a well-written drama with a good climax. Stallone does an excellent job, leaving his bare-chested antics to his more silly scripts, and trading them in for good, low-key confident acting. He holds your attention when it's just him on screen, and he doesn't even have to show his oiled chest to do it! In fact, he gained a substantial amount of weight just for the role. Rent it if you want a solid drama with a great ensemble cast of Hollywood heavyweights all working nicely together...you'll enjoy it.
Review of Cop Land
