StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

SnoopyStyle Detroit undercover cop Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) accidentally shoots a pregnant woman who subsequently loses her child during a violent takedown. He is dismissed but he's reinstated 18 months later to investigate the murder of rookie cop Michael Calvess. His wife wants him to do something else. Despite Captain Cheevers (Chi McBride)'s misgivings, Tellis gets Calvess' unstable partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) reinstated on the case.This is a hard-boiled gritty cop drama. Both Patric and Liotta have that hard worn-down edge. It has the violent brutal sense of a dirty underground. It's a throwback to a 70s sensibility of a murky police investigation.

Adam Simon As other reviews have pointed out, in a sea of American cop dramas that end up on screen, Narc stands out in the overcrowded pack as one of the most under rated police films of all time. I rate the film so highly because of a superb script written by Joe Carnahan, Carnahan's unique direction, incredible cinematography by Alex Nepomniaschy, naturalistic and seemingly improvisational acting, especially by the films stars Jason Patrick and Ray Liotta, groundbreaking editing by Joh Gilroy and a relentless dedication to the project by Joe Carnahan and those involved with the project to bring it to life .The script, written by Director Joe Carnahan, has dialogue that is natural, gritty, and shows a detailed intricate knowledge of the lives of undercover Detroit police officers and the toll those lives take on the officers themselves, their families and the communities they work in. An interesting point about the film is the Directors choice, along with the actors, to stray from what Carnahan had penned and allow for the actors to improvise several sequences in the film. Without detailing every scene of the film, I will pick those that stand out to me and review the aspects of the film that I listed above.The opening scene of the film shows Jason Patrick, Detective Nick Tellis, in a park looking out at the city of Detroit. After seeing the film (God only knows how many times) Patricks "thousand yard stare" makes me wonder if this scene is actually Tellis thinking about turning over or not turning over the tape of Ray Liottas character, Detective Henry Oak's confession at the end of the film. This scene is followed by one of the most realistic, shocking and violent introductions to a film. Just in the same way Nicolas Winding Refn places you directly into the violent, ancient and primal world of Valhalla Rising, Carnahan thrusts you into the one of the worst days of an undercover officers life and makes you an active participant in that day. It is emotional, shocking, thrilling and heart wrenching as the chase involves two casualties, a male civilian who is injected with a lethal dose of of drugs, and a pregnant woman who is struck by a stray bullet fired from Tellis's gun. Tellis kills the suspect who was holding the pregnant woman's little daughter hostage but the woman loses her unborn child as a result of her injury. Hands down, this opening chase sequence is one of the memorable scenes put to film and one of the best openings to a film...ever. (Just my opinion. Feel free to disagree...even though you would be wrong.) :)This film stands alone from other films of the same genre, (Training Day, End of Watch) largely from Carnahan's unique vision and Alex Nepomniaschy incredibly raw cinematography. The two combined places you visually in the front seat. You are a partner to Tellis, a member of his family, a part of the investigation and a participant in his decisions that ultimately lead to the death of his partner at Tellis's hand. Which leads me to the other scene which is Tellis and Oak's final confrontation at the end of the movie. From the interrogation of a suspect, played surprisingly truthful and real by Busta Rhymes, to Tellis making the decision to shoot Oaks to save the suspects, the last 10 minutes of the film leaves you the same way it opened, heart pumping, out of breath and questioning your own beliefs about right and wrong.Jason Patrick and Ray Liotta deliver performances that are Oscar worthy. Tellis is the tortured undercover cop who is too close to his work. With little to no dialogue we see exactly how much he cares for his wife and child, and how fragile his family unit is. He is a man desperately trying to hold on to the life he wants to have, while struggling to survive the life he actually has.Ray Liotta's performance is exquisite. He shoulders the heavy burden of the secrets he keeps to protect the ones he loves. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders and relieves that pressure by exercising brutal police judgment on the criminals of the city. Both actors are vulnerable and haunting in their own unique way. This film is incredible and should be included as a regular study for film makers. With a record number of producers, Narc found a way to fight through budget problems, lack of funds and resources, production concerns and other issues to be brought to life and stand as one of the greatest films in its genre.

Kris Chan The opening scene made the film seem promising. But as soon as it's over the movie drops right down to lame. The dialogue is over dramatic and boring. Several of the sets used in this movie are really cheap and unbelievable. I kept waiting and waiting for the movie to pick up but it maintained a steady slow boring pace. I want to watch a movie with constant substance throughout. These lame drama movies filled with emotional over dramatic dialogue conveying over dramatic "blah blah blah' are just so bloody lame. One scene with a crying baby was so hard to watch because it was clear that this was a prop baby crying and pulling away from the actor reaching for it's real parent off set. 80% of the movie is just emotional glut with the actors moaning on over slow depressing background music. I dredged through 50 long painful minutes of this B-grade waste of time waiting for something to happen to make up for all the lameness of it, but it never happened. I stopped watching it. Terrible.

Vincent This film has a lot of clichés but it uses them quite well.The pace is quick, there is plenty of action and violence.The acting is good; Patric and Liotta deliver excellent performances are are convincing and believable.There is a very annoying and completely unnecessary three minute section where we are subjected to a baby screaming, and although this is believable in terms of the plot and it wasn't required, I am glad I didn't have to sit through that in a cinema. The relationship side of things isn't very convincing in general but it isn't very important to the plot either.The ending is good, it has a some predictable bits but also a little twist.