Third World Cop
This rugged crime drama set in the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, concerns Capone (Paul Campbell), a streetwise undercover police officer who grew up in the worst part of Kingston and has become an effective lawman -- almost too effective, as his sometimes brutal methods have gotten him in trouble with his superiors. When Capone is sent back to the neighborhood where he grew up, he makes the shocking discovery that his best friend from childhood, Ratty (Mark Danvers), has taken up a life of crime as a right-hand man for local crime boss Oney (Carl Bradshaw). Capone learns that Ratty is a key man in Oney's gun-running operation, and he's torn between his loyalty to his friend and his duties as a cop; Rita (Audrey Reid), Capone's ex-girlfriend who now lives with Ratty, is caught in the middle. Shot in Jamaica using a mixture of professional actors and folks off the street, Third World Cop is scored with a pulsating reggae soundtrack, featuring Sly and Robbie, Beenie Man, the Marley Brothers, Innocent Crew, and Wally Badarou. more..
Director: Chris Browne
Starring: Paul Campbell, Mark Danvers, Carl Bradshaw, Audrey Reid, Winston Bell
Ends up about as exotic as a straight-to-cable potboiler.
Main lure is what feels like a very authentic visual sense of the nontourist side of Kingston, where the ambience of zinc-walled shacks wallpapered with old newspapers is captured by cinematographer Richard Lannaman.
The script recycles clichés that go back to 1937'S "Dead End," the performances are one-note, and the whole thing has the flat, bright look of a TV cop show.
The acting, camera work and writing are all crude and amateurish, even by the standards of student films.
A hackneyed police story, rife with clichés, implausibilities, and weak performances.
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