The acting ranks at a superb level rarely seen these days. Jane is simply unrecognizable in his role as Ray, while Kleintank’s Nick perfectly balances wide-eyed naivety with a strong sense of right and wrong. Perhaps most surprising, though is David Krumholtz as Stroke, the enabling partner of Jack, a psychopathic cop impeccably played by Josh Hopkins. In his role, Kromholtz blends the laughing thing on Jabba the Hutt’s shoulder with a bit of Tom Savini’s brutality in his biker role in Dawn of the Dead, showing a range that he’s only now revealing.
“A truly astounding work from beginning to end…”
Issues? Well, the only complaint, and this is a very minor one, is that some of the revelations made throughout the course of the story don’t exactly come as surprises. Maybe they’re not meant to be, either, though usually, these things should make you slap your forehead in astonishment. Instead, you see them coming, and people can actually be walking cliches, which adds to the realism.
Joel Souza hasn’t reinvented the wheel with Crown Vic, but he has definitely sent it down a different road. Most of us go about our daily lives never even considering the sacrifices people make to keep us safe. This film puts that reality in our faces and forces us to question all our preconceived notions about who lives behind the uniform and shield. When it comes to police, there are definitely issues that need to be addressed and an internal culture that needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, but respect is also a two-way street. Crown Vic reminds us that there are people in those uniforms.
Crown Vic (2019) Directed by Joel Souza. Written by Joel Souza. Starring Thomas Jane, Luke Kleintank, Gregg Bello, Josh Hopkins, David Krumholtz and Bridget Moynahan.
9 out of 10 stars
Looks interesting reminiscent of Training Day. I’ll have to check this out!