If there are two genres it’s easy to be sniffy about it’s action films and comedies. If there is one thing it’s easier to be sniffy about it’s action films starring comedians. Metro falls into this sniffy abyss, and against all odds still comes out the other side a respectable cop movie. In 1997 amidst Face/Off, Con Air and The Fifth Element, it was a time where the action film was running out of steam and The Matrix was still 2 years away from revitalising and reinventing the genre. As such, the following may sound familiar.
Metro revolves around Insp. Scott Roper (Murphy), a wise cracking hostage negotiator in the San Franciso Police with a gambling problem. After a close friend and colleague is murdered investigating a jewel thief (Michael Wincott), Roper drags his new partner (Michael Rapaport) on a revenge mission.
It is directed by Thomas Carter of Coach Carter and Save the Last Dance and written by screenwriter of Tango & Cash and Van Damme’s Nowhere to Run, Randy Feldman, which should tell you everything you need to know; quite gritty and gnarly in it’s violence but with the corniness of the 80’s Stallone and Schwarzenegger action films.
It’s admittedly hard to adjust to Murphy as a rough-and-ready hostage negotiator and not the Prince of Zamunda, but If you can’t get over Norbit reaching for his piece it’s not Murphy’s fault. After all, he’s now an Oscar nominee for Dreamgirls. Though he has the weight of all his past roles weighing down the perception of his performance, it is still a great Hollywood performance. Nonetheless, a Hollywood performance is only as good as those supporting it.
The main support is offered by Michael Rapaport as Roper’s partner, which could have been hard to swallow, but the focus remains on his comedy talent and not his SWAT prowess. There are some fantastic villains too in Michael Wincott, an under utilised actor who brings a coldness to the part and real presence, and classic that-guy-from-that-thing Paul Ben-Victor. The love interest Carmen Ejogo isn’t great, but if you care about that I wouldn’t bother with action films at all.
As for plotting, while the pacing is a little off, it’s absolutely and utterly irrelevant. Metro is certainly the standard formulaic maverick cop film, but do we always watch these films for their originality? While it works within a very similar framework, it’s strengths are in no small part due to the quality and inventiveness of Feldman’s screenplay. These films have an audience because we all want to feel our hearts beat a little faster, and there are two fantastic central set-pieces to deliver just that, the latter of which is pure criminal brilliance.
Why should you watch this film? Simple, it’s fun as hell. I don’t care who you are, cinephiles cannot live on Tarkovsky and Bergman alone. This isn’t cinematic genius and it isn’t changing the genre. It is however a really fun 90’s cop movie with brilliant action and an odd yet strong Eddie Murphy performance. You’ll probably have problems with it and you’ll find plenty of naysayers (it currently holds 15% on Rotten Tomatoes), but you’ll be entertained from start to finish. If you want more from a cop film then, as Murphy himself would say, fuck you.
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