Rampart (2011)

Somewhere along the way I picked up the trivia that LAPD officers refer to their cruisers as "shops." This comes from the "shop number" each vehicle carries. No big message here--just a bit of trivia.Which is where I stand on Rampart, a dreary, artsy retread of Crash and a bunch of Wambaugh police stories, not to mention my favorite "burnt-out cop" movies, Madigan, Warning Shot, and, speaking of Joseph Wambaugh, The New Centurions. There's nothing new here, except, maybe the fact that the movies I mentioned all have protagonists who have some redeeming social value. Even Kurt Russell in that cops-are-racist-murderers screed (I can't remember the name) set in the Rodney King spring of 1992 had some shock and awe value.Nothing here. Just Woody Harrelson looking dyspeptic and cancerous and other-worldly. Throw in Anne Heche and Cynthia Nixon as sisters who have both been married to this wretched Harrelson character, and you've got the makings of a really Class-A cinematic disaster. I saw on the IMDb page for Rampart that the thing made about 1/12 of the cost, but it's all so earnest and true-to-life and artsy- friggin'-fartsy that only a red-state Neanderthal would mention that the movie made zilch, thereby sucking investor-dollars away from projects that may have had a chance to succeed.If you hadn't already noticed, I hate Woody Harrelson and indie- flop-piles-of-art-garbage. If Hollywood, mainstream or independent, wants to play with its collective self, then do it at home. It won't cost investors a dime, and ego-masturbation should be kept to a minimum of public viewing.If you see Rampart on a cable channel, follow the clichéd advice from many a movie cop--"Move along; nothing to see here!"

I decided to take a chance on this movie after I found a brand new DVD of it for sale at my local dollar store. Did I like the movie? For the most part, yes. There are some very good things to be found here. The acting by everybody is top notch; these actors really sell their characters. Also, the direction is very interesting, because most scenes are directed in a way that the audience feels like they are a fly on the wall, hearing secrets and other bad things that the participants don't want anyone else to hear.The movie is not perfect, however. Some viewers might object to the very slow pace. I'm not asking for a rapid pace - that would be wrong for this kind of character and dialogue-driven film - but things could have been sped up slightly. Also, I'm pretty sure that many viewers will object to the ending - that is, if it can be called an ending, because it leaves the fate of the main character (and other characters) uncertain.Still, there is some really good stuff here. If you are in a patient mood, and can accept that you won't get a cut and dried ending, you'll probably find enough to interest you.

Well-acted and well-filmed, "Rampart" is an interesting character study of a corrupt scumbag cop. Its strongest point is that Brown (Harrelson)is far from being a totally stereotypical scumbag cop. I really enjoyed hating him at the beginning, and never exactly came to like him, but this film truly shows how Brown means well, or at least thinks he does, and allows the audience to empathize and maybe even sympathize with him enough to keep "Rampart" from being totally forgettable.Otherwise, I concur with many of the other reviews here. Despite a compelling opening scene, the so-called plot of this film meanders and is very unfulfilling. It might have worked better if Brown had not been placed in semi-suspension from the police force so early in the film and we could see him in action a little more before all the politics and soap operas begin.

What is it with contemporary film makers. To disguise a lack of coherent script they try to mask this with jumps cuts, fancy camera work and contrived ie unnatural colour palettes. Through in whatever todays hip music is for the score and hey presto you have Drive - well almost. Rampart in terms of shallowness the baby bother of Drive.Set at a time when the LAPD was embroiled in controversy Harrelsons cop is a one man public relations disaster the force could do without. Thus the film title is a misnomer as it has nothing to do at all with the Rampart division. His character is an ugly amalgamation of Keitels Bad Lieutenent and Geres Dennnis Peck. Good characters to plagiarise. But what is lacking is tension , excitement or any cutting edge evident in Internal Affairs or Bad Lieutenant. Rampart is snail paced, dreary and fails to hold the viewers attention. A real struggle to stay alert until the end only to be infuriated by yet another non ending.