Lesser of two evils

The trailer for the R-rated new release Copshop makes the film look campy yet intriguing. But the movie itself, about a police officer caught between three criminals, is a disappointment.

In the opening scene, Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo) races away from unseen pursuers in the Nevada desert before scheming to get himself arrested to evade his enemies. When a drunk driver without any identification (Gerard Butler) is also locked up and suddenly tries to kill Murretto, rookie cop Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) saves her prisoner and her boss. Corruption in the police force adds to the intrigue, and soon a third villain invades the police station: mobster Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss), who is also after Murretto. Mayhem ensues.

Injured by her own bullet, Young doesn’t know whom to trust when she’s locked up in the cellblock with two of the three criminals, threatened from without by Lamb, and warned by both detainees how wicked the other is. She must choose which of these two bad eggs is the least scrambled if she is to save her own life (and theirs).

So why does the movie fail? It’s a case of “too much and too many”—too many coincidences, too many near-dead villains coming back to life, and too much unnecessary swearing and blasphemy. As it stands, Copshop is worth a skip.