A lot of fun.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

In 1999, in Los Angeles, the brutal, racist and womanizer Police Officer David "Dave" Douglas Brown (Woody Harrelson) works at the Rampart Division. He lives with his dysfunctional family composed by the ex- wives Catherine (Anne Heche) and Barbara (Cynthia Nixon) and his two daughters Margaret (Sammy Boyarsky) and Helen (Brie Larson) in the same house. Dave frequently goes to single bars to have one night stand with lonely women. He was accused in the past of executing a rapist but was considered not-guilty. When his police car is crashed by a Mexican driver, the man runs and Dave brutally beats him but is filmed on video. Now the Rampart Division is being prosecuted while the Internal Affairs is investigating Dave. He spends his savings with the lawyers and needs to raise money. What will Dave do?"Rampart" is a pointless and messy film with a senseless story that goes no where. What is the intention of the director and writer is the great question about this terrible movie. The cynical character performed by Woody Harrelsonoes not seem to feel bad with his behavior; but when her confesses his misconduct in a tape to the Internal Affairs agent the viewer realizes that he is aware of everything he did wrong. There are several inconclusive subplots along the story and the viewer gets lost about where the story goes. My vote is three.Title (Brazil): "Um Tira Acima da Lei" ("A Cop above the Law")

It doesn't sound too promising -- Woody Harrelson as a veteran of the LAPD who once shot a date rapist and now, years later, seems to be scapegoated by the division because of an unfolding scandal. Somebody has to go and Internal Affairs is out to see that somebody does.It sounds like another LAPD shoot-'em-up with a bloodbath every ten minutes but it's not. No shots have been fired, and no explosions have occurred. There's not even a high speed pursuit by cars, planes, boats, trains, or bicycles.Instead Harrelson, in a very nicely textured performance, his head stylishly shaved bald, is presented as a tough and embittered cop whose social life is a fetid swamp of pathos. He appears to have two wives (or girl friends or sisters) or maybe three. Each makes an occasional appearance in his life but he screws up the bond one way or another.One of the ways is that he extorts over-the-counter leapers and sleepers from a pharmacist. Another way is that he seems to sip from a pint of booze as he drives around the city alone in his black-and-white. He makes absurd demands of people and when they don't play his game he becomes furious.All of the performances are good, particularly those whose relationship with Harrelson is ambivalent, and who find themselves trapped in an approach/avoidance conflict.But Harrelson, hung over, sweaty, falling down drunk, could probably carry the film by himself.He's given a great deal of help by the director Oren Moverman who lends the images a slightly arty effect, sometimes a little too arty. Woody drives in despair through the night and the camera gives us a nice close up of his ear, silhouetted by the headlights of the cars behind him. Oh, yes -- his left ear. But at other time he trusts the viewer enough to figure out what's happening off screen. The location shooting is fine too, capturing the shimmering heat of Los Angeles' streets, the sunshine and smog.There is no redemption at the end, either, and I kind of liked that. It's a good evocation of despair. The screenplay originated with James Ellroy, whose values you may or may not like. I don't. He's said in interviews that the police should be given free rein on the streets and not interfered with by the suits. His sympathies probably lay with this Dirty Harry character rather than with the division's attempt to clean itself up.

This is a seriously awful film. Pointless, depressing, self indulgent. Well over an hour of my life that I will never get back. Compelling drama? Yes of course because I was dying to see if the film actually got any better! And when it was over guess what? It never got better than the first 10 minutes. You can watch this movie on fast forward and know the plot line, guess the script (i still can;t believe there was a script involved) and might make it marginally more entertaining. No idea why Sigourney Weaver got involved in this as the cast list looked like it might have been worth while. Never been so deflated. Glad we didn't pay to watch this!

Los Angeles, 1999.At lunch, David and Dan give the new rookie Jane a pep talk of sorts about being in the LAPD. Jane asks about the scandal. Something's gone wrong, the DA is pressured to prosecute someone in LAPD, but he would rather not. More details later; this is central to the movie. Then David and Jane go on routine maneuvers. Much of the detail is about different nationalities of illegal aliens, together with the Siamese twin issue of the massive illegal drug industry.David's home life is a bit different. He married one woman, Barbara. They broke up, then he married her sister, Catherine. He sired a daughter with each, Helen and Margaret. Both families live with him. Just to top things off, when both wives deny him, he's quite comfortable with picking up hot women at bars.After an incident with a man who rammed his car, Dave is asked to retire. He makes it clear that he has not intention of doing this. The pressures against him mount. He retains counsel. He uses his contacts to try to find out the real motivations behind what's hitting him. One of the chief of these contacts is Hartshorn, who finally gives up on him.His wives and daughters all desert him, kick him out of the house he pays for, send him their rivers of hate. Internal affairs is closing in.Will Dave find a reasonable way through the mess he is in? -----Scores------Cinematography: 9/10 Usually excellent.Sound: 9/10 No problems.Acting: 10/10 Well done to: Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Woody Harrelson, and Ned Beatty.Screenplay: 7/10 Looked like it needed another 30 minutes to close the loops, but decided to leave things hanging. What happens to Dave and the rookie, or Dave and Dan, or the larger corruption investigation? Did Hart recover? There were lots of loose ends. Still, the story of Dave moved forward relentlessly.