This movie is better than it deserves to be, probably because it has two cool customers in the lead roles (Liotta and LaPaglia). Witty dialogue and shades of Taratino bring this a couple notches above the Direct-to-Video drek.

There's no denying that this film is at least semi-formulaic, but the thing is that the writers and the director know how to USE the formula to the advantage of the viewer. That's the difference. Sure you got your obvious good guys and bad guys, but the acting is solid, the pacing is flawless, the characters are juicy, the plotting is strong, and the camerawork is spot on. So what's not to like?

Ray Liotta reins in his often cynically smirky-nasty persona thing to project the character of Harry Collins, a gambling-addicted cop who actually has feelings. Anthony LaPaglia is the bad cop, Mike Henshaw, and, formulaically, all bad--but very very good at being all bad. The babes are not just one-dimensionally hot, but instead, thanks to the presence of Angelica Huston, have substance and character as well as a tough veneer that hides some tenderness underneath. And yes, that's kinda formulaic too, but she's a world class actress who knows how to do this better than a whole lot of others out there.

Harry's gambiling and Mike's debt to Louie--played to smarmy perfection by Giancarlo Esposito (one of the best character actors acround)--results in the gang of four cops (Liotta, LaPaglia, Jeremy Piven and Daniel Baldwin) engaging in some illegal activity to net a lot of fast cash. But since the illegal activity is commited against a guy who himself does a lot of illegal stuff, it's OK, right?

Well, sort of. The main neo-noir plot convention--that things never turn out the way they're supposed to--is followed but again, it's fun to see how they play out in this punchy little flick.

I liked this a lot. This one you watch. Liotta's other neo-noir, Inferno, starts off great and then totally collapses. So that one you don't. But Phoenix works. Yeah.

This 1998 cop flick has no surprises. There's a good cop (Ray Liotta) who has a gambling problem which causes him lots of grief. There's a bad cop (Anthony LaPaglia) who is totally bad. There are gangsters and gamblers and corruption and action. There's a double cross and flying bullets and even a tender moment or two that Ray Liotta has with Anjelica Huston who is supposed to be the mother of seductive underage young woman.The other assorted bad guys fit all the stereotypes.

Ray Liotta might have a gambling problem but underneath we all know he has a good heart. We also sense, from the very first frame, what the plot of this film will be. There's just enough action to keep it from being boring. And of course there are gun battles and blood. But the film is convoluted and trite. That's why I found myself laughing out loud a lot at all the clichés. This is definitely a Grade B or C film that was never supposed to be taken seriously. Once that is understood I find nothing wrong in just watching it for the escape and entertainment. That's one of the reasons I watch films. And that's why I give it a mild recommendation for gangster genre film buffs only.

What happens when all the cops are bad, but in different degrees. Liotta is as corrupt as they come, but he's got a soft spot. Good action, good flick.

I'm so happy I have this in my dvd collection. Ray Liotta is a great actor of our time. We should all appreciate his presence onscreen. Want to watch another incredible performance by Ray: Watch "NARC".