Very disappointing...

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

A Masterpiece!

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Bad Country, or Whiskey Bay as it was originally titled, is an overlooked tale of pulpy bayou set crime moodiness, with an exceptional cast, and despite being a direct to video, anonymous addition to the stream of films of its ilk that nobody gives a chance because they're not garnering any buzz, it's a really committed, well made flick, and based on a true story as well (how closely, I couldn't tell ya). Willem Dafoe gives zest and enthusiasm, playing Louisiana detective Bud Carter, a roughneck who makes an undercover arrest which leads to Aryan hard ass criminal Jesse Weiland (Matt Dillon), who might just be the key in bringing down an entire crime syndicate based in the area. Dillon, who's been keeping a low profile as of late, is excellent as Weiland, a nasty ex con with a violent streak who's informing for Bud to protect his wife (Amy Smart) and newborn son. Up against him and Bud is psychopathic southern dandy crime lord Lutin Adams (Tom Berenger). Berenger is an old pro and plays Adams to the hilt, giving us an evil Colonel Sanders with an unsettling Cajun accent and simmering nastiness. Neal McDonough is a slimy lawyer, and Bill Duke, and Don Yesso provide solid support. Dafoe and Berenger have a nice Platoon reunion moment in a bloody fistfight. It's a dirty, unglamorous look at the sad life of criminals and the men pursuing them. It's got a bleak, unrelenting tone of misery, but sticks to its guns, follows through with its story and provides solid entertainment.

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

Make no bones about it, if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had an award for Best Picture a la straight to DVD, Bad Country would surely take the prize. Matt Dillon, who seems to love appearing in movies that hardly anyone bothers to see, gives a revealing and rather appealing performance as "Country's" revenge-minded lead role. With this turn, a stint in 2004's Employee of the Month, and the part of Patton Dubois in 2006's Nothing But the Truth, Dillon is for a better word, the Redbox king. To each his own I guess (for the record, I've got no problem paying $1.20 to rent a DVD at a Redbox kiosk, that's for sure).With a working title labeled Whiskey Bay (I almost like that one better) and a promising director who died way too soon (the taskful Chris Brinker), Bad Country goes back to the early 80's with contract killer Jesse Weiland (Dillon) getting caught by an intense police detective named Bud Carter (the forever cool Willem Dafoe). Weiland gets busted on a handful of serious charges. He's looking at life in prison unless he can become an informant by giving up every name on a list of people he works with (other contract killers who inhabit a nasty, dutiful crime ring). Now Weiland is about as laid-back as anyone. He doesn't give a hoot about his well being. But he's got a wife/newborn on the outside and is willing to cooperate in order to avoid going to the perennial slammer.Bad Country harks back to stuff like 1991's Rush, 1982's 48 Hrs, and even Matt Dillon's own earlier work, the critically acclaimed Drugstore Cowboy. Call it a narc flick, a broken down character study, a stylistic mob farce, and mustache abundant (almost every character seems to channel the facial hair of actor Sam Elliott for unabashed inspiration). What you don't want to call "Country" is something that lacks for trying. This thing wants to detour you from knowing that it probably got rejected from numerous theater screenings. Could the generic title be the culprit? I can't be sure. Does it matter at this point? Not really. The original release date was months ago so it's obvious that too much time has passed.Nevertheless, we get the pleasure of seeing a formed dynamic and an unlikely partnership between the characters played by Dafoe and Dillon. It's hard to believe it but they have never been on screen together before the release of "Country". Here they've got great chemistry as opposites who are at large, the same. Watching them trade dialogue in various scenes made me think that they've been working side by side for years. Throw in Tom Berenger (where's he been) as ruthless crime boss Lutin and you've got a cast that makes this thing rise above the ordinary. Yeah, Bad Country does at certain intervals, feel like a full-on rental with carbon copy shootouts and accents used by its actors that don't sound like anybody who lives in Louisiana (the flick's setting and on-site location). But for most of the time, there is plenty of crackling dialogue, a sense of urgency, and smooth, conventional storytelling tactics that make you think otherwise.In retrospect, "Country's" ending and its opening twenty minutes resonate with a lot of police protocol. You know, where if a felon (of any kind) is caught, they have a chance to make a deal, give up a name, and rat out someone higher up on the criminalised food chain. If you've seen anything law and order related, this is a premise that's as old as dirt. Thankfully, this little seen crime drama supplies enough energy, surmised wit, and tough guy machismo to garner my recommendation regardless of all its familiarity. Bottom line: Bad Country ain't so "bad".Of note: Bad Country's setting is in 1983. You wouldn't know it though because its sense of time and place is sort of lacking in detail. Case in point: I didn't really figure out that the film wasn't in present day mode until a handful of scenes involved characters talking on payphones. Anyway, this insight is merely an oversight and shouldn't keep you from enjoying what's on screen.

Matt Dillon seems to be catching a breath here in more than one way. While the movie is being promoted (in some countries) as being a movie by the man behind the Boondock Saints, it is not Troy Duffy that is directing here. It's the directorial debut of one of the producers. But he seems to have learned a few things from Mr. Duffy (hopefully only the good things).Casting Dafoe was great, bringing Matt Dillon as said before also a good choice. The movie itself is not as great as some other police vs. mafia movies we've come to know, but it is more than decent. The movie has some nice action scenes, but lives more of the tension and the suspense it builds up, especially between the characters.