COPSHOP, (aka COP SHOP), Alexis Louder, 2021. © Briarcliff Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

Copshop  ★★½

JOE Carnahan’s recent track record hasn’t been great.

Boss Level, Bad Boys for Life and the 2018 remake of Death Wish aren’t on the same level as his early works Narc in 2002 and Smokin’ Aces (2006).

His last good film was The Grey with Liam Neeson, back in 2011 when the Irishman also appeared in decent movies.

The action thriller Copshop is Carnahan’s latest in 2022 and it falls somewhere in the middle.

Alpha-male action stars Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo play two bad guys who end up dealing with their differences in an extended shoot-out in a regional police station.

We first meet Grillo’s character, conman and thief Teddy Muretto, driving a police car riddled with bullet holes. He comes into a Nevada town, parks, walks up to a cop and punches her so he will be arrested, figuring it’s the least likely place for anyone to find him.

But his pursuer, hitman Bob Viddick (Butler) sees the ploy and does the same himself, winding up in the cell opposite.

Another eccentric hitman, interestingly played by Toby Huss, eventually shows up and there are cops who may or may not have ulterior motives.

At the centre of everything is strong rookie cop Valerie Young (Alexis Louder), who has to choose who to trust in order to survive the night.

Carnahan starts his film with a visual style, music choice and opening titles that suggest we are going to see a throw-back to 70’s exploitation cinema but strangely this approach only bookends the film with the rest reverting to a pretty standard look and sound.

The cast is all fine with the stand-out being Louder who ensures you care about her character’s fate amidst all the increasing carnage.

This is best approached as a full-on action film and the final act is certainly impressively staged.