MovieChat Forums > Cop (1988) Discussion > I liked it. Quite a bit better than I di...

I liked it. Quite a bit better than I did LA Confidential, actually...

posted 19 years ago by sparrowtrece
11 replies | jump to latest

It was truer to James Ellroy's work, for one thing. I am a fanatical fan of JE's books and was disappointed and irritated by how very little the movie of *LAC* had to do with the source novel. I'm aware that most viewers disagree, and James Ellroy himself as well, but de gustibus non est disputandum, right? Also, I think James Woods (an excellent actor most of the time anyway) did a convincing and stylish job portraying Crazy Lloyd Hopkins.

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[–] RikkyRicardo 18 years ago

lol seriously,how can u say u prefer this movie over LA Confidential?so stupid

[–] pablo-taylor 18 years ago

I see where he's coming from actually; LA Confidential is clearly the better movie, however Cop is much closer in tone and atmosphere to Ellroys novels, despite what the author himself might think.....

[–] Mattbasterson 17 years ago

To each his own, but while I liked Cop, and am also a fan of Ellroy's work, I prefer L.A. Confidential.

[–] orsonlovespeas 17 years ago

just watched this last night. I'm a huge fan of Ellroy and I think Confidential as a film is exceptional in so many ways, even if it did deviate from the book. Cop definitely kept faith to the book but if this was REALLY true to the source it probably would have been at least a 1/2 hour longer. I also felt this film picked up steam as it went, the first 45 or so felt very campy and cheesy, and a lot of the delivery was hammed up. I love James Woods, but am not sure he was quite right for the part.

All in all, 6/10, not a bad film and certainly worth a view, but disappointing at the same time.

[–] mail-2775 15 years ago

Although it might be better in some spots, I thought L.A. Confidential was grossly overrated and a pretty dumb story.

I actually probably liked the (similar) film Mulholland Falls better than L.A. Confidential, which is worth it just for the scene that explains the nonsensical title! There is no story there, either, but the acting and production is great.

[–] filmbuff1974 15 years ago

I agree. In fact, I say it was the best movie adaptation of James Ellroy that I've seen to date.

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[–] Sunflower007 13 years ago

~ I honestly didn't like Cop. The adaptatation didn't live up to Ellroys' book Blood on the Moon. As for LA Confidential, the flick was filled with gaps.

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[–] nutsberryfarm 13 years ago

got some solid grit to it.

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[–] eadwinn 13 years ago

This is a very underrated movie (I only came here to say this), but I absolutely adore LA Confidential.

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[–] franzkabuki 12 years ago

Cop turned out to be pretty good, perhaps even surprisingly so - a tough, atmospheric movie with an excellent performance by James Woods. However, L.A.Confidential is incomparably more complex as well as without significant flaw while Cop often looks a bit shaky and the ending´s a total cop-out (oh, yeah, the PUN), really weak and disappointing.

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[–] Jones70 (6873) 4 years ago

I’d like to see all of Elroy’s work get adapted at some point.

I liked it. Quite a bit better than I did *LA Confidential*, actually...

I liked it. Quite a bit better than I did LA Confidential, actually...