Imagine you’re a dirty cop. And as long as we’re there, imagine you’re dirty by reason of personal gain, not political posturing. Further imagine you’ve never seen a movie before (after all, the cinematic lifespan of your average dirty cop is about 53 minutes). Given that, how do you live? What do you prioritize? How do you know where to score your ill-gotten gains? Ok, throw in a twist: suppose you’re not necessarily dirty, but just bored and trying to make ends meet. How easily can you be nudged to the dark side … and what lines won’t you cross once there?
Stone (Nicolas Cage) and Waters (Elijah Wood) are evidence cops in Las Vegas. This fulfills Cage’s contract stating that every other film of his must be set in Vegas. I’m not quite sure which set of bad cops are the worst, but evidence has got to be right up there. If a beat cop or a detective goes bad, there will be immediate oversight, but an evidence cop? If you can eyeball a stack of bills or a small hill of coke and know exactly much is there, well, you’re a better man than I. Both men are single and bored with their jobs and lives. Being that the film was set in Vegas and Rated R, I fully assumed Stone would explore the “strip” part of The Strip, so I was surprised when he threw himself into his work, investigating a drug dealer released on $200,000 cold cash.
Now, who has $200,000 to spring a dealer? The Trust asked the very same question and Stone starts tailing undercover. Hmmmm. There’s a small warehouse below a set of apartments, a very unassuming building. Merchandise goes in the front door to the warehouse and it doesn’t come out. It gets better — there seems to be a vault somewhere within the warehouse – not just a safe, a vault. A good investigator immediately recognizes the possible wealth within. A corrupt cop immediately recognizes the inability of the owners to complain should it go missing. Do Stone and Waters have the brains, guts and lack of morals for this operation?
Elijah Wood makes a good wet blanket 
for all hijinks. While he’s never quite leaping atop the moral horse and riding into battle, he remains that guy constantly plagued by the One Ring – is he seduced by the shiny trinkets or not? What will it take for him to tell Stone, “that’s too far?” In a personal decade of crap, this is one of FYNC’s better roles – the anger and crazy are subdued in favor of lawless and playful. It’s insane that this man is still getting starring roles, even in Netflix-only films, but, to be perfectly honest, there still remain far worse choices for your protagonist – Elijah Wood, for instance.
Lord knows were this a film anybody, and I do mean anybody, hyped, I would have dismissed it. This is a simple tale of two insignificant guys in over their heads. There is no platform upon which this movie would or should “wow” you. But as somebody who has seen FYNC squared, believe me, this is the good stuff.
Frodo, you’re in for some pains
For the treasure you seek still remains
But your partner in crime
Is not Sam this time
This Gollum wears gold chains
Rated R, 92 Minutes
D: Alex Brewer, Benjamin Brewer
W: Benjamin Brewer, Adam Hirsch
Genre: Impish FYNC
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Hobbits
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Not-so-dirty cops
