Cop Shop

Directed by Joe Carnahan, Cop Shop details the chaos that ensues after rival assassins (Gerard Butler’s Bob and Toby Huss’ Tony) descend on a police station housing their criminal target (Frank Grillo’s Teddy). Filmmaker Carnahan, armed with a screenplay written alongside Kurt McLeod, delivers a watchable yet erratic thriller that ultimately feels like it could (and should) have been seriously streamlined, as the movie, which runs an often palpably overlong 107 minutes, suffers from a padded-out sensibility that wreaks havoc on its forward momentum – with the hit-and-miss vibe alleviated by a smattering of engrossing sequences and several superb performances. (Butler and Grillo are as solid as ever here, in terms of the latter, although it’s Huss’ gleefully over-the-top and frequently mesmerizing turn as a seriously unhinged psychopath that remains a continuing highlight within the proceedings.) It’s not surprising to note, then, that the action-packed bent of Cop Shop‘s second half is perhaps not quite as electrifying and enervating as Carnahan has intended, which, when coupled with a somewhat anticlimactic final stretch, ultimately does confirm the picture’s place as a decent-enough endeavor that feels like it should be substantially better.

**1/2 out of ****