Bad Country

In 1983, in Louisiana, Lieutenant Bud Carter (Willem Dafoe) and his team arrest the contract killer Jesse Weiland (Matt Dillon). He uses Jesse's love for his wife Lynn Weiland (Amy Smart) and their baby to force him to work undercover for the local police and then for the FBI to bring down a powerful Mob that employed Jesse to hit enemies. In return, Carter promises to protect Lynn and her son. But when the mobster Lutin Adams (Tom Berenger) learns that there is a snitcher in the organization, Jesse becomes his prime-suspect.

"Bad Country" is a great police story based on real events and excellent screenplay. The plot is supported by excellent veteran cast. One of the best moments of the story is when Lt. Bud Carter says that there is no family to Jesse Weiland. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Lista" ("The List")

Bad Country is watchable with some real heavyweight talent and a setting that promises great viewing. But, because of poor character development and overall production it falls far short of anything but average.

No blame to Matt Dillon or Willem Dafoe, both carrying the movie with excellent performances. In fact, Dillon's involvement in almost any project automatically guarantees reliable entertainment. And Dafoe is as gritty and pained as usual, just what you might expect.

But, the script is shallow, the sound editing amateurish, and the overall cinematography average. The final, expected scene can't be saved by the actors when all the technical facets pull together in a below average manner.

This could have been much better. So many elements are in place that Bad Country practically screams for the sort of polish and technique the cast deserves. I have no doubt that in the hands of Mann or Bay demands would have been made and ideas enforced to carry this movie to the box office with some real effect. As it is, by the end I could only wonder what could have been.

Watch it, but don't expect much.

It's 1983. Baton Rouge police detective Bud Carter (Willem Dafoe) and his team's investigation leads to a powerful white power criminal organization. He arrests hardened criminal Jesse Weiland (Matt Dillon). While in prison, Jesse agrees to cooperate and reveals a hit-list against the authorities.

This cast is amazing. Obviously, director Chris Brinker got his Boondock Saints alum Willem Dafoe in addition to a few favors being called in. It's Brinker directing debut and his death before finishing post production does not help the product. There are various issues. This is suppose to be based on a real story at a time and a place. The movie does not exude that time or place. They have the cars but the rest is not quite there. The easiest way to set up a time is the music and TV. The budget probably limits that and the songs are generic country rock. The story flow is a bit disrupted. It is ultimately saved by the veteran cast who brings a sense of menace in this crime noir B-movie. Any deficiencies are relieved by the actors' great work.

just saw the rating of 5.6 on IMDb and that is just a run of the mill rating or a little above that. myself personally i give it a 7. it was not a great movie and it was not intended to be. it is a nicely paced cops and robbers movie with some solid actors in it.

man! i think i have not seen Bill Duke since his role as a commando in the movie "commando". OK..., the two main leads in the movie are actually Willem Dafoe and Matt Dillion with a good supporting cast including Amy Smart, Neal Mcdonough and a unrecognizable Tom Berenger in a very good performance and a fine Bayou accent.

like i said, if you're looking for Oscars look somewhere else...but if you are in the mood for a well-done cops and robbers movie with action you probably will not be disappointed. the movie is not unbelievable and is base on a true story. Dafoe and Dillion did not throw out any Oscar worthy performances but still did very solid jobs. they did not just come for their paychecks and Tom Berenger actually had the best performance out of the whole cast. he was a very creepy dude and i could not recognize him and he is one of my favorites.

all in all, a good cops and robbers movie that is pretty well paced, had its share of action and the 100 minutes of this movie went by pretty fast. i would recommend this movie to cops and robbers fans and fans of Dafoe, Dillion and Berenger.

Some good acting going on here by some favorable actors such as William Defoe, Matt Dillon and Tom Berenger

Actor and director, Bill Duke also makes an impressive appearance in the movie as head of the FBI.

Not really sure if the story is all that impressive.

It was just acted impressively by character actors I had not seen in a while, so it heighten my enjoyment.

Good thinking on the filmmaker's part if that was the intention.

Overall an enjoyable crime drama. if I give credit to the filmmakers about anything, it's that they got some stunning performances out of these guys.