Cop Land MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +3 Content: -2 1/2

Fans of Sylvester Stallone will be shocked to see him play Freddy, a passive, overweight sheriff in the small town of Garrison, New Jersey. The other male citizens of Garrison are New York City cops. Corrupt, mob-backed Ray (Harvey Keitel) has created this town, nick-named Cop Land, promising his chosen policemen affordable mortgages, peace, and safety for their families. Hearing-impaired Freddy oversees the security of Garrison by ticketing speeders, settling minor disputes and just "being there" for the townspeople. Ray views Freddy as harmless, not very sharp and perfect for the job of sheriff. But when one of Ray's cops kills some teenage punks in New York, Ray and his boys fake the cop's death, and report that their coworker committed suicide in remorse. Freddy is alarmed because the supposedly heroic dead cop is hiding in Garrison, a town now suffocating with lies and deception. Moe, a New York City internal affairs detective (Robert deNiro), suspects that Freddy knows the truth, and the two risk their careers and lives to clean up the crime ring. COP LAND is an intelligent drama with an unusual twist and may even win a few more fans for Stallone.

Ray personifies evil very effectively and is finally squelched. Freddy's willingness to stand up to Ray takes courage, but forces him to participate in a violent, gory gun battle. Why is it necessary to ruin a good story with 90 obscenities, nine profanities and graphic violence? Omission of the 57 f-words and 29 s-words would not take anything away from the plot or character development. Likewise, we know heinous crimes happen every day, but having a camera linger on the charred body of a dying woman or on blood spurting from the mortally wounded isn't what makes a movie believable. Except for references to an adulterous affair between Ray's wife and another policeman and a few crude references to sex, COP LAND has no sexual content. Breast nudity is shown once briefly in a smoke-filled, dark topless bar. Predicted to be a box office hit, COP LAND will turn off folks who choose not to have their eyes and ears assaulted by graphic violence and filthy language.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Miramax Films, 375 Greenwich, NY, NY 10013