Copshop (2021)

Edwin Tan

Edwin Tan

— 2 min read
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Copshop (2021)

Score: 5 / 10
Category: Movie
Platform: Netflix

One-line verdict

A noisy, pulpy action thriller with a good setup and a standout Alexis Louder, but a weak story that keeps getting dumber the longer it goes.

Why I watched this

I picked this randomly because I wanted something to watch with my dad. Funny enough, he had already seen it before, but he said it didn’t leave a deep impression, so we still went ahead.

Seeing Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo in it made me think this should at least be decent.

Story & Structure

The premise is simple enough. Frank Grillo’s character Teddy is a fixer trying to buy off a judge, gets caught, agrees to work with the FBI, then gets betrayed and ends up being hunted.

At first, the movie moves well while setting itself up. It gives the impression that there’s something clever underneath. A small-town police station, multiple killers, shifting loyalties, people trapped together. Good ingredients.

But as it unfolds, the story becomes less satisfying, not more.

The biggest problem is Teddy’s whole plan. For someone who knows dangerous people are after him and have long reach, it feels hard to accept that his best move is to get himself locked up the way he did instead of disappearing properly. That already weakens the foundation.

Then Gerard Butler’s character gets involved and, honestly, he feels more like a stylish complication than a necessary one. He gets himself caught to kill Teddy, but when the opportunity comes, suddenly he wants to act like some honorable assassin. It feels like the movie trying to be cool more than the character making sense.

What worked

  • The setting is solid. A police station as the battleground is a good idea.
  • Alexis Louder was the surprise for me. She carried herself really well and ended up being the most interesting part of the movie.
  • Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo both fit this kind of pulpy action material naturally.
  • The tone has that slightly ridiculous, slightly funny violence-heavy vibe that reminded me a bit of Kill Bill.

What didn’t

  • The story doesn’t really get smarter as it goes. It just gets more crowded.
  • Teddy’s decisions are questionable from the start.
  • Gerard Butler’s role feels unnecessary for large parts of the film.
  • The CGI is rough. The blood splatter in particular looks bad.
  • It gives the impression of being simpler than it needs to be, yet somehow ends up messy.

So if you’re looking for a smart or complex thriller, this really isn’t it.

What others think

Critics were generally more positive than I was. Rotten Tomatoes has it at 82% and Metacritic at 61/100, with a lot of praise going to the cast and the old-school action-thriller energy.

I get that. The cast and the energy are the best parts. But for me, the weak story and bad logic drag it down too much.

Final thoughts

This is one of those movies where the cast and the setup are more interesting than the actual payoff.

If you just want action and shooting, it does enough.
If you want a story that really holds together, not so much.

So this lands at 5 / 10 for me.

Alexis Louder was the real win here.

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