Night Patrol review
Expect reviews of this one to be all over the map.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Night Patrol
Directed by Ryan Prows
Written by Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Shaye Ogboona and Ryan Prows
Starring Justin Long, Dermot Mulroney, Jermaine Fowler, CM Punk, Flying Lotus, RJ Cyler, Nicki Micheaux and Mike Ferguson
Night Patrol Review
When you write movie reviews there’s a bothersome thought that sometimes enters your mind when you sit down to begin writing. “I don’t even know where to start.” That’s not necessarily a negative thought. In fact, most often it’s an exciting one that means you’re reviewing something that in some ways defies easy characterization. The job here is to convey the purpose, and effectiveness in delivering on said purpose, of whatever it is you are reviewing. To evaluate its value…if you’ll allow the pun. Night Patrol is an “I don’t even know where to start” movie. For those exciting reasons…and for some not so exciting ones. For the purposes of closure…I chose to begin this review of Night Patrol by explaining that process. You have to start somewhere.
Night Patrol has a simple enough premise. It involves an extreme task force of the LAPD that has…let’s just say a special set of skills. Actually, let’s just say they’re vampires. I don’t really know how to continue this review without talking about it. While it does take a minute for Night Patrol to reveal it…the truth is all over the marketing anyway. What makes Night Patrol a somewhat difficult narrative to penetrate is its unique delivery system. We are watching the story unfold from multiple perspectives…with different understandings of the situation. These branching paths are constantly crossing over and, at times, rendering one side of them completely irrelevant. Long character builds can be tossed aside without resolution in favor of someone else’s story. Which may soon find the same fate anyway. It can be a bit confounding…but it’s a fit for the story itself.
As mentioned, Night Patrol has multiple main characters. Justin Long plays Officer Ethan Hawkins…a man who works his way into the famous Night Patrol without fully understanding what it is. He has a personal mission of revenge believing they are responsible for the death of his father. Hawkins partner Xavier (Jermaine Fowler) is trying to impress Night Patrol too…but he’s also trying to protect his gang member brother from their latest investigation. RJ Cyler plays Xavier’s brother Wazi. Wazi witnesses Hawkins executing his girlfriend in the opening scene of the film. It’s Hawkins initiation into Night Patrol…and the inciting incident for everything that follows.
Night Patrol presents a Bloods vs. Crips story on top of its vampire ACAB tale. Wazi was raised as a Crip. His girlfriend is a Blood. Their gangland Romeo and Juliet story doesn’t make it past the opening titles. What it does do, however, is bring the warring sides together to battle their true enemy. Wildly evil police officers. Night Patrol is full of sudden and shocking violence perpetrated by the demonic task force. While the story could simply hide behind the vampire aspect of the task force…it makes clear that even the cops that think they’re “good ones” fail to measure up to that standard too often. Hawkins thinks he’s one of the good ones. The movie opens with him shooting an unarmed woman complying with the officers. He sees a greater good in the action…because he’s not one of the good ones.
Xavier is as close to a good cop as Night Patrol offers. And his motivations to do good are steeped in his gangland background. Perhaps he’s one of the few officers to understand criminality because he was raised in it. Maybe he’s only acting with any forethought because his brother’s place in the story forces him to do things a little differently. Other (non-demon) officers we spend time with are reprehensible in their own ways. Either dismissive of human life…or happily going along knowing what Night Patrol is because backing the blue is their only way of life. No matter what they’re doing. The message in Night Patrol isn’t exactly hidden. Nor is it, unfortunately, untimely.
CM Punk plays the leader of Night Patrol. Or, at least, the boots on the ground leader. He answers to someone higher up. Sarge (Dermot Mulroney) ties into Hawkins’ story…and is the one converting the members of his unit into his vampiric family. Nicki Micheaux plays Wazi and Xavier’s mother. She has an incredibly complicated past…and her belief in Zulu mythology may be the only protection they have from Night Patrol’s planned extermination of her neighborhood. At this point it should be clear that there’s a lot going on in this story. Too much for everything to get an appropriate payoff…but again, it fits the violent nature of the story being told.
Night Patrol is split into three acts…with everything leading up to a showdown between the task force and the now united gangs. This is where the movie somehow loses steam instead of gaining traction. What should be the most exciting part of the story ends up feeling overdrawn and poorly paced.
The lead up to the showdown is far more interesting…leaving Night Patrol with a strangely unfinished feel. That said…the gritty, visceral style of the picture is a pretty stunning achievement. This is a movie that feels as dangerous as it presents itself. Anything can happen…anyone can die at any moment. I honestly can’t tell you if the good outweighs the bad here…but I can tell you it is always interesting enough to watch and find out for yourself. Night Patrol is a movie that swings big and violently. It’s reach exceeds its grasp on occasion…but when it takes hold…it really takes hold.
Scare Value
Night Patrol is a difficult movie to pin down. For every innovative choice there’s an uninspired one. For every effective moment there’s a lull. The gritty, visceral feel of the movie lends it an immediacy and danger that makes its best moments hum. Those down moments threaten to pull all the good ones down with it…but a commitment to being something different ultimately keeps its head above water.
3/5
Night Patrol Link
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