I just saw this movie the other day to get inspiration for a buddy cop script I had to write. The movie took me by surprise because all the choices made really built up the movie’s cohesive and constant, gritty atmosphere. The cinematography choices like using shaky documentary-like handheld shots, and even down to the focus pull in some shots, the art direction, color grade, all built up the atmosphere that the world the cops exist in is an unforgiving, cruel place, and they are the last line on defence between all this grit, and regular civilians. You can feel, throughout the movie, the burden and guilt the cops carry, taking on such a responsibility. It makes the volatile and explosive third act between the two cops all the more inherent, something which had to happen given the strain they both are under.

You can tell from the way the movie’s themes aren’t just expressed through the dialogue or the script, but every single filmmaking choice made, that it’s written and directed by the same person, Joe Carnahan, who did an amazing job with both roles, especially since the movie’s budget is probably the catering money for most other films. What makes this movie fresh is that even though the script would probably read like a buddy cop film, the chemistry between the leads doesn’t come from their clash of personalities, but from the immense pressure they both face on the job, which is beautifully depicted throughout the film.