The movie is filled with meaningless profanity that insults the intelligence of the average viewer. There was no reason for the director or the actors to spoil a potentially good movie with this type of dialogue.

Sylvester Stalone's performance is one of a sheriff who is indifferent to most everything that is going on around him until the very end. It appears that he may have spent most of his time either napping or daydreaming during the movie.

If slow motion and profanity are two things you enjoy, then by all means GO!!

Sylvester Stallone. Harvey Keitel. Ray Liotta. Robert De Niro. A strong group of supporting actors, including Janeane Garofalo, Michael Rapaport, Malik Yoba, Annabella Sciorra, and the like. When you put them all together, you get, surprisingly, a very empty and meaningless movie.

Directed by James Mangold, "Cop Land" never really scores any interest in the viewer, since we have seen corrupt cop movies far too many times before. I am surprised Miramax Films snagged this movie with this many big names, since that was never really their forte. Up until now, they have always marketed the story of their movies, and now, like other big corporations, they are marketing the stars now.

The whole 106 minute film is about a fat and bored sheriff named Freddy Heflin (Stallone), who is after some really bad cops who have crossed the New York City Limits and into his property, Garrison, New Jersey. That's really the plot, and for a while Mangold has a good time revving up the characters, including De Niro as a loud cop, and Liotta as another nuts cop in Garrison.

It all goes flat after about 40 minutes. But Cop Land isn't exactly a terrible movie, there are some nice moments and the film's edgy climax is noticeable. And Ray Liotta gives one of his most personal and dynamic performances yet.

Stallone, who took a massive pay cut and gained forty pounds for this role, had no reason to put on all this blubber. (Hey, this is a case for Richard Simmonds to handle!) At no point does his Freddy talk about his gut, or anyone else mention it. His normal, muscular self would have been just fine here. As for his performance, it's flat and boring. Anyone looking for great Stallone, check out "Demolition Man", or a "Rocky" movie.

Grade: C-

Technical Review

Picture: 4 A solid looking picture with healthy colors. Black level is excellent, but the picture is too fuzzy sometimes. Still, a very good picture.

Sound: 5 In Dolby Digital, Cop Land sounds real, like we are in the streets, or in the bar, right along with the movie. Some surprising surrounds, as well.

Photography: 2 Mangold made a mistake by shooting in 1.85:1 and too many tripod shots. He needs to know that De Niro looks better in Panavision and so does Stallone.

By Jason Whyte

I admit I had no idea what this movie was all about when I went to see Copland. But since this movie had Stallone in it, I expected a slam-bang action flick from the word go, but in this movie, only the climax had any real action scenes. I enjoyed this movie nonetheless, mainly due to the movie's slow but gradual buildup. I also thought Stallone gave a very credible and excellent acting. The best part of the movie was the climax part. Seeing this movie was certainly satisfying.

The bad points of this movie are few; the biggest is probably the movie does not clearly explain why Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel) and his gang would go to that much trouble in covering up Ray's nephew's death.

I suspect this movie is not for everyone, especially for those who are uncomfortable with Stallone's back-to-roots acting (as in Rocky I). If you enjoy movies with slow but gradual buildups, then this movie may be for you.

This movie could have been a lot better. It took way to long to get to the plot, and when it did you already figured out what was going to transpire. Sylvester Stallone's gaining 40lbs or better was a complete waste. It stereotypes the larger crowd with its condescending tones "fat people are slow, and are to be scoffed at".

I don't think this movie, is a must see, but if you must see it for yourself, do so at your own risk. You were warned!

Being a huge Sylvester Stallone fan I was really looking forward to him acting in his first drama in a long time. I was not dissapointed. Stallone gives his best performance since his Oscar nominated performance in Rocky. It gets very close to beating it, Stallone does not have a flashy role, but his performance is perfectly subtle. His eye movements and body gestures are exactly what the role calls for and his face perfectly demonstrates what he's feeling. This story is about a small town sheriff Sylvester Stallone (Demolition Man, Cliffhanger, Rocky) who's town is filled with cops from New York who live there. He's always wanted to be one of them, but because of being deaf in one ear he can't get in. Little does he know but most of these cops are crooked led by Harvey Keitel (From Dusk Till Dawn, The Piano, Pulp Fiction) and when a big city investigator, Robert DeNiro (The Fan, Casino, Goodfellas), comes in to ask for his help in catching them, he realises that he's been worshiping bad people. This hurts him and he trys to figure out what to do. Ray Liotta (Turbulence, Goodfellas, No Escape) does a wonderful job co-starring as one of the cops who's having second thoughts about his life. No surprise that DeNiro and Keitel do great jobs. But in the rest of the supporting cast Michael Rappaport (Metro, Beautiful Girls) does the best job.
Grade: A

Syvester Stallone gave one of the best performances of his career in \"Cop Land.\" That is the good news. The bad news is that there\'s nothing else going on. The film runs on a bad soap opera plot.