The Ending: Your Thoughts? - The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009) Discussion

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Mart1138 15 years ago

The ending is a parody of the original. That's it.

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[–] willson_x 14 years ago

It's nothing to do with the original. This film only got called bad lieutenant because the distributors thought no one will know about this small time bavarian director, and wanted to make more money out of it by linking it to an older, successful film. This film is a classic in its own right. It is a slight parody of cop films i did think. At the end, usually bad cops pay for their crimes, but in this one everything resolves itself and he ends up getting high with the guy he saved at the beginning. This film is one of my favorite films because it's kind of a parody, i mean it's got xzibit as the bad guy as an obvious outlining of the role rappers give themselves in hollywood being adorable criminals, it's got everything for a parody and WAAAAAYYYYY more, i mean this film... it's just ridiculous, but on the same level as it's incredible ridiculousness, it is also genius, and it is full of emotional highs and lows, which at the end of the day is what we look for in a good movie and this is why it's just an awesome film and one of my personal favorites.

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[–] khruzek 13 years ago

I didn't really care for the movie. But I am not a fan of Cage. I know he was supposed to play a cracked out cop, but he way over acts to me. I got the impression in the end he OD'd, and was imagining all these things as he was dying. The way things all turned in his favor so quickly at the end was strange.

And I remember the dealer telling him the drugs he had were very pure, needing to be cut or it would kill someone, and he didn't need a dead cop leading to him.

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[–] willson_x 13 years ago

SPOILERS LIKE!!!!

Well m8, I'm not saying you're wrong, but that seems kind of far fetched thinking that a far fetched ending needs a far fetched answer like: He died. Nah, don't think so, I think this film is just a comedy and everything at the end was karma for finally relenting and using his powers of evil to get the real bad guy/ murderer, Xzibit/Big Fate, by placing the lucky crack pipe at the murder scene, hahahah, thinking about it now it brings back memories of ecstatic hilarity

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[–] el-disco-loco 13 years ago

"SPOILERS LIKE!!!!"

I usually hate the pretentious pr!cks who do exactly what i am about to do, but i'm in a funny mood so my appologies for stating the obvious.

If you come to a thread entitled, "The Ending: Your Thoughts?" do you really need someone to write "SPOILERS" to realise there may be some plot points discussed in said thread?

if so then insert a suitable insult here, as i am far too tired to think of one.

WAR. Teaching Americans geography since 1775...

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[–] willson_x 13 years ago

You know, it's more of a "Just in case" thing,
Better safe than sorry you cripplingly awkward twat haha

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[–] el-disco-loco 13 years ago

Cripplingly awkward? Yes.

Twat? Yes.

You know what buddy, you're alright!

WAR. Teaching Americans geography since 1775...

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[–] liambean 10 years ago

You ever see anyone on crack? It's impossible for a coked out or cracked out user to "over" anything. Hell, if they could physically fly out of a window and soar in the clouds they would.

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[–] Rick-34 13 years ago

It's not a parody of cop films. Naked Gun is a parody. Bad Lieutenant: New Orleans is just a gritty cop film.

It has its humorous moments, but it's far from a parody.

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[–] Greg-80 15 years ago

I think it's deliberately ambiguous. I see no definitive evidence to support the "it's all a dream" theory, but the way everything comes perfectly together for the Lieutenant at the end is awfully "fishy." Plus, there's the highly enigmatic epilogue, and I can't help being reminded of the similar "happy" ending to ADAPTATION, also starring Cage.

I'm comfortable with ambiguity so I don't feel the need to decide one way or the other.

Searching for the 366 weirdest movies of all time at http://366weirdmovies.com

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Greg-80 14 years ago

Sorry my friend, I edited the post so I won't spoil it for future readers, just for you.

But I could have been wrong about the ending of ADAPTATION anyway, couldn't I?

Searching for the 366 weirdest movies of all time at http://366weirdmovies.com

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[–] Profondorosso75 14 years ago

I hate it when people whine about spoilers. if you wanted to see "adaptation" so bad why haven't you already? and you cant' "ruin" a movie with a single line...well maybe except for "the sixth sense". have you seen that one? he is really dead throughout the whole movie!(but he doesn't know it)

"everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die"

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

It's real as the final of 'Taxi Driver' is real. Both movies contains a similar social commentary:
Two anti-social guys, one with a badge, the other one without it, goes wild. And by doing always the WRONG things, ends being declared as HEROES by society!

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[–] King-Grim 14 years ago

As real as the whole movie is real. I love how all his problems basically resolve themselves in one scene, it's a great Herzog parody of a happy ending.

"Killing me won't bring back your goddamn honey!"

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[–] ToonRaider 14 years ago

It didn't work for me. Whatever Herzog's intentions, it all seemed a bit much. I assumed it was a dream sequence, but then by the very end felt it didn't add up. That's not ambiguity, that's just illogical.

"I am not young enough to know everything"

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[–] scuffpuppy 14 years ago

I personally took the ending to be genuine, and rounded the viewers journey quite nicely. He is basically a good man doing bad things. The slates clean, he has a chance of a new life, but he's too weak to leave the old life behind. Thus enters the unlikely savour, a junkie that was responsible for his promotion to lieutenant in the first place. From Terence originally looking down on this guy and helping him from his cell, he's now looking down upon Terence and offering to help him out of his.Nice touch with the laughter from Terence breaking the silence in the final scene, giving (me at least) the impression Terry just had another hallucination. Funny. Anyway, I enjoyed it more than I thought (and people THIS IS NOT A REMAKE)."...and don't point your fooking tenticles at me!"

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[–] resistant3000 14 years ago

it happens all in his mind, in the end he is in a mental hospital suffering psychosis. chavez is working there. simple.
absolutely love this movie. just waw.
also this is one of the best movies against any sort of drugs that i've seen- including alcohol.

Es una vida loca pero es mi vida loca..

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[–] All_Seeing_Fly 14 years ago

From the scene where they were in the office getting all excited about the evidence on the pipe etc. I thought it was a dream, and a friend I was watching it with also commented on it being a dream. Then it just carried on in a disjointed manner as though the ending was shoe-horned in at the last minute.

I thought he lost his gun and badge, and was working in the store room anyway, but perhaps I missed something there.

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[–] SeisCinemaSeis 14 years ago

it happens all in his mind, in the end he is in a mental hospital suffering psychosis. chavez is working there. simple.
absolutely love this movie. just waw.
also this is one of the best movies against any sort of drugs that i've seen- including alcohol.

The movie is open to many interpretations. IMO what happened in the movie was real, well sort of. It was the "interpretation" of real events by a drug addict.
To me that means that probably not all those things happened or happened but not exactly as we see them. However Terence didn't imagine everything, BUT in his mind things looked different.
IMO the only 100% dream sequence is the ending, when suddenly everything changes for Terence, all his problems are solved in a "Deus ex machina" moment. I think that only happened in his imagination. The rest of the events did happen, but not exactly as we saw them. Remember the movie is told from Terence's POV. Would you trust a drug addict about everything he says or sees?
That's why Herzog gave us some hints: The iguanas who aren't really there, and the "dancing soul" that only he can see. Anyway Terence was actually present in those places.

Having said that, everything could have been a drug-induced dream, but since there are not enough evidence, that explanation is just one among many.

You know, this movie is like a twisted fairy-tale, just like Lynch's "Wild at Heart" but better.

BTW I'm agree with your last statement.

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[–] Profondorosso75 14 years ago

<<<it happens all in his mind, in the end he is in a mental hospital suffering psychosis. chavez is working there. simple.
absolutely love this movie. just waw.
also this is one of the best movies against any sort of drugs that i've seen- including alcohol.>>>

Close! Actually he is killed in the opening scene. when he dives into the water he actually BREAKS his back/neck. he is dying through out the film but he can't accept it. chavez represents an angel that has come to show him the way to heaven. But since he has given in to sin he doesn't feel he is worthy and is conflicted. the drugs are the temptations of the devil. the dealers and the mobsters are demons trying to prevent him from getting to heaven. the murdered family is his chance for redemption. His girlfriend being pregnant is a foreshadowing of a new life in heaven. it can't be literal because cage can't get an erection from being so doped up, unless it's with a total stranger and he is forcing her boyfriend to watch a gunpoint of course. BRILLIANT MOVIE! HERZOG'S BEST! Cage should get the OSCAR! I only wish it was 4 hours instead of 2. maybe they could have showed cage searching for the silver spoon in the tool shed and finally finding it after 30 years. after watching this movie I gave my girlfriend a rusty spoon and she threw it at me and called me names. I don't get it, it worked for the bad lieutenant, she was creaming her panties when she got that spoon. she was one very sensitive, loving, profound hooker. Oh wait, that was also part of cage's hallucination. see what I mean, GREAT MOVIE!

"everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die"

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[–] zee944 14 years ago

it happens all in his mind, in the end he is in a mental hospital suffering psychosis. chavez is working there. simple.

This post makes the most sense in this thread. I've just watched the movie, and was unsure about the ending (to tell the truth I was distracted by something else during the ending, so I may not have noticed every details). After the irrealistic happy part, where everything gets resolved, I expected some ironic twist where he gets killed by someone who we don't think of, but logical (for instance, a relative of someone in the movie he made damage for) or just wakes up from his dream. That didn't happen, but there was a similar scene, where he finds himself in the hotel room or something with some cocain. That doesn' fit to the happy part. Obviously one or the other is just imagination. The explanation above fits. Thanks!

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[–] andelon 14 years ago

I like to think it's real.
I'm sticking to it, it's the ending I like. Nobody's swaying me.
Like the ending to 25th hour, it's ambiguous, I've made my decision, that's how the film ends, for me.
Best new film I've seen this year.

"and I ain't never seen no Queen in her damned Undies, as the feller says..."

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[–] vaultonburg 14 years ago

I would have to say the way the director presents the events from a certain point in the movie on we can only assume it's not real. When characters break character like his boss did and suddenly become happy and cheerful when they've been stern the whole movie it's a cue things aren't real. When people who have abused themselves and should be on death's door suddenly look healthy and happy it's not real. If we assume the director was in control up to this point we also have to assume he is making a choice to tell you this isn't possible.

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