Copshop Review: Fans Of The Genre Will Not Be Disappointed

Copshop Review: Frank Grillo is a man locked in a police station targeted by various killers

Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, Toby Huss
Rating: 15
Running Time: 107 mins
Release Date: 10/09/2021

Gerard Butler – a man who we often associate with action-thriller movies and with good reason too. You know if you are going to watch a film with him in it, it will most likely have guns; thrilling action sequences; exciting stunts and fight scenes against the bad guy. Is that the case this time around with Copshop? Of course it is and that’s what makes it brilliant.

Butler has starred in some great action movies such as DEN OF THIEVES (we are already looking forward to the sequel) and most notably the OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN franchise in which he plays the infamous Mike Banning. Now in Copshop, he is back once more in a genre he excels in and stars as Bob Viddick, a professional hitman sent to kill Teddy Murretto played brilliantly by Frank Grillo. He is a wanted man – a con artist and there’s more than one person after him.

Having been taken in to a holding cell after hitting a young, ambitious cop Valerie (played superbly by Alexis Louder), he soon finds he has an unexpected and unwanted cell mate – yep you guessed it, Butler’s Viddick.

Luckily for Murretto, cop Valerie suspects things are not what they seem with the prisoners and keeps them separated in different holding cells in a state-of-the-art lock-up. Of course Valerie is not alone in detaining these men, but her fellow cops don’t exactly have their fingers on the pulse the way this intuitive officer does. 

Viddick is not the only person after Murretto, Toby Huss‘s Anthony Lamb is also a professional hitman – vicious, sadistic and actually quite comical. He wants to get in that holding cell which is being protected by Valerie and is prepared to do whatever it takes… 

Director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, The Grey) definitely does not hold back in this thriller, which he also penned the screenplay for alongside Kurt McLeod. Although the film may be slightly predictable and gets off to a slowish start with some lengthy verbal exchanges between the two new inmates, he has made a movie with a great cocktail of humour, action and energy towards the end. 

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What really ticks the boxes in the film is the central casting: Butler is menacing, Grillo excels playing the slimy-do-not-trust-him conman, Huss comes in at a great time in the film bringing a fresh lease of life into the movie, but the stand out performance is from Louder. Her performance is effortless as the cool, calm and collected cop and she delivers each punchline with that extra spice that makes her character so likeable.

Overall, this film is perfect for those seeking a bit of action, humour and entertainment without it being too taxing. The cast set the screenplay alight and fans of this genre will not be disappointed.

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