Why this movie didn't work... let me count the ways...

Before I add remarks to that posting, let me say that I enjoyed
the movie. It was a 20 Million shoot-out, nothing too fancy but
with good characters.

Now to the remarks:
1. The excuse that no one nearby will call the cops

It's not uncommon in the US that really nobody cares what
happens in a dark business district on new years eve in
a stormy weather night. Especially on a Precinct that should
be "clear" next day anyway. (See my notes at the end)

2. .. His comrades are practically Navy Seals

Not really. Most of them are "normal cops" in Special Ops
wear. If they were real "Navy Seals" this operation wouldn't
have taken them 5 minutes. The guy who didn't want to kill
that whining Maria Bello in the first moment was a clear
show of that. A seal would have killed here walking past
that room. The guy in the bus was just an idiot and the
scene albeit a little bit too hollywood-esque.

3. Entire precinct in the city completely cut off

If some high rank police officer on new years eve say on the
phone "we are on it" - why should you bother? This guy had
40 people behind him on his payroll. Some of them should
be able to defer any further analysis for one stupid night?

4. When the girls make a run for it in the SUV

See my note below about that overall scene. But you don't
need to fly around on the backseat, if you EXPECT the crash.
You can take a hold of yourself. I'm more interested why
nobody looked on the backseats?

5. AT LEAST 20 bad guys, all decked out in full riot gear

As said: high ranking police officer. You should get that
6hours before anybody is investigating. Otherwise your stupid
rank is worthless in serious operations, if always some superior
"checks by" to watch you.

6. More of the typical 1000 rounds

Ask guys in real wars in urban fighting. Look on lifeleak.com for
recordings about that. They shoot 10000 of bullets between two
blocks for hours until someone gets shot. Concrete is a good
bullet stopper, you know?

7. JUST HAPPENS to be an underground tunnel

It was a last minute setup planned, if everything goes wrong.
Since the old guy was into that plan, he said nothing until it
was the last way to kill them all. Why do you watch movies if
you DON'T UNDERSTAND the plot??

8. Letting Bishop out of his cell was faulty logic

Getting Bishop in stupid low-security Precinct was the primary
failure from the start on. As the Assault started, there was
no way, understaffed and in a bad position, that he or anyone
else could be controlled. As seen by this cheap-try-to-run
by this idiots of lowlife.

We are talking about surviving. Concepts like "law" or "morale"
doesn't count any more. You saw that when Bishop helped Iris and
that ops guy tried to kill them both, and Hawke point blank give
him a head shot. He could also shot him in the shoulder or something.

But he didn't. Survival mode trumps Cop. Cop kills Anti-Cop.

9. Bishop went away

You can't be that stupid? He said HE (not any other cop) will hunt
him down. And to start that "Game", Bishop took the gun he shot the
main bad guy.

Overall, it was a somehow streaky-made movie with clearly too many
plot-shortcuts. Maybe you can reason that with the low budget.

I have different remarks to say about it:

I can't see Fishburne and Hawke anymore. He is just always
Morpheus. And Hawke always that *beep* up guy. They are so
typecast...and I don't liked Maria Bello in the role. She
was not only useless, they wasted her way too easy. It would
have been enough to send one girl with the car, not both.

Another wondering, how the other policemen had no problems
to go in when 5 of their other comrades where already dead.
They must fear prison so much to gave up their lives for that?

The biggest loophole in the plot was, that they managed to
jam their cell-phones. That's probably possible in an
area of some 100 yards, but not for a mile or something. Those
jammers would _surely_ be noticed on new years eve (one of
the most cell phone talked days of the YEAR!) But maybe not
in that conveniently dark useless empty industrial area.

My question is: WHY THEY DIDN'T START A STUPID FIRE just
from the beginning? A burning roof would have brought in
the firemen early in ,) But then we wouldn't have a story,
don't we? ;)

Michael

It is just a film, not real life

You've got to be the slowest person ever.

They let Bishop out and gave him a gun because they know they have no chance without him and the other inmates helping. They help because they know they will be killed if they don't, especially Bishop.

When Bishop is getting away, he's armed. I could see after an ordeal like this he doesn't want to put the lives of the other police officers in danger, but the reason he let him go was compassion. Bishop saved him.

Get over yourself dude. It's a movie. Plus, you trying to point out the flaws only points out your ignorance.

my main question is how did they go from an industrial deserted area to suddenly being the woods at the end??? That was the part that annoyed me the most.

As for Hawke letting Bishop go - umm to the poster who replied to the bounty comment - I dont think he meant literally a bountyhunt. Hawke made it clear that it was between the 2 of them and therefore he would be going after him as a cop, on his own not sending out a city wide man hunt for him. there are sooo many of these types of 1:1 vendetta movies I dont get how people are missing it...

You only need to count ONE way it didn't work:

It was a cheesy, cliched, generic action film.