Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.
Although too simplistic in its good-guys/bad-guys approach to morally and emotionally ambiguous material, Cop Land emerges as an absorbing and dramatic yarn about exposing the evil doings of some of New York's finest.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
9 Apr 2008
rotten:
It's pretty funny, actually, that Stallone gained 40 pounds to play this role, and what the movie needs more than anything else is to eat a salad and do some sit-ups.
– Paul Tatara,
CNN.com,
9 Apr 2008
rotten:
Mangold is something of a pseudo-Scorsese.
– Jack Kroll,
Newsweek,
9 Apr 2008
fresh:
Cop Land shares its leading man's slow-wittedness, but also his likability.
– David Edelstein,
Slate,
9 Apr 2008
fresh:
Mangold certainly knew what he was doing when he cast Keitel and De Niro.