Movie Review: Officer Down (2013)

Review By: Rob Sibley

“Officer Down” looks like your typical direct to DVD cop thriller, this is only partially true. The script is ho-hum, it has been there, done that written all over it right down to it's sloppy cover art. But what elevates this flick above your normal cops and crooks pot boiler is the excellent cast.

Headlining the flick is the always fun and intense Stephen Dorff who plays Det. David 'Cal' Callahan. Yes you read that right, obviously the writer was a Don Siegal/Clint Eastwood fan. Well Mr. Callahan is going through a rough patch. He's pulling a Max Payne big time, popping pills and drinking like a fish like any good troubled movie cop should.

Well Detective Callahan begins investigating a case where a bunch of strippers from a local club are being assaulted and brutally killed. There is a lot more to the plot then this but to say anymore would spoil the many surprises this film has to offer.

The cast is just excellent, Stephen Dorff has always been a solid actor and he brings a lot to a cliched character. The supporting cast is just as impressive, the great Walton Goggins (The Shield, Justified) shows up for a bit, Walton plays a very important role and is the key to the central mystery of the film. 

Next up we have David Boreanaz who must have filmed his part when he had some downtime from the excellent show “Bones”. Boreanaz plays Det. Les Scanlon who is always suspicious of Dorff's character. Every great troubled detective needs another detective riding his ass (No pun intended).

James Woods shows up to class things up a bit as well as Dominic Purcell still rocking the same 1970's hair, stash and wardrobe that he had in “Killer Elite”. He plays a convincing heavy as per usual. 

For eye candy we have the hotter then fucking hell AnnaLynne McCord who must be trying to break a record for most appearances in DTV film. She can't really emote that well but she's playing a stripper and the gal can work a poll that's for sure. Sorry folks, she doesn't pop the top. 

Stephen Lang (Avatar) & Tommy Flannagin (Smokin' Aces, Sons of anarchy) also show up for some fun bit parts.It's an A-list cast stuck in a B cop movie and that's fine. It's much better then most of the direct to DVD dreck that's released every Tuesday.

The only real disappointment I had with this film is the lack of action. It focuses much more the mystery (which is great) and Stephen Dorff's journey of redemption but a few more gun battles would have been appreciated. The few that the film does contain are swift, bloody, brutal and realistic.

The film was directed by Brian A Miller who's making a name for himself in the DTV action world having done the pretty damn good cop actioner “Caught in the Crossfire” and to a lesser extent the complete failure that was “House of the rising sun” I mean come on dude, you cast Dave Bautista as your leading man and expect that man to emote? 

Anchor Bay does a fine job with this DVD release, obviously shot on HD so you can expect very fine details, contrast is spot on and the colors really pop. Now and then the film looks a bit soft... but I assume that was the directors intention.

The audio is a 5.1 track which more then gets the job done.

Sadly no extras are included on this release.

All that aside, “Officer Down” gets the job done and is a perfectly fine film for a rainy Sunday afternoon. RENT IT.