Cop Land
Miramax Films | Release Date: August 15, 1997 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
12
Mixed:
8
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesElvis Mitchell
Everywhere the camera turns in this tense and volatile drama, it finds enough interest for a truckload of conventional Hollywood fare. Whatever its limitations, Cop Land has talent to burn. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Casting is everything, and the casting of Stallone -- playing way against type -- as the powerless hayseed sheriff in Cop Land is nothing short of inspired. Read full review
80
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Cop Land emerges as a first-rate morality play in the form of an effective, if occasionally unwieldy, crime drama. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The movie's no roller-coaster ride, but there isn't a boring moment either. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
While this is probably the actor's best turn since Rocky, and he does a credible job that may earn him the opportunity to do more "serious" work in the future, Stallone's performance is outshone on all sides. That's not a knock against him; it's an acknowledgment that the supporting cast is about the best that it can be. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Branching out in a bold new direction, Stallone is quietly devastating. James Mangold has directed Cop Land from his own ardent, audacious script, and despite some draggy, overdeliberate moments, it's the strongest piece of material to come Stallone's way since he invented himself as Rocky 21 years ago. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Cop Land isn't a perfect piece, but it's sober, wise and adult. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
A good film prevented from being a great film by an act of well-intentioned but misguided casting. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
James Mangold follows up the promise of his excellent "Heavy" with this smartly written, superbly acted melodrama. Read full review
70
SlateDavid Edelstein
It's formulaic, but it sticks to a classic Western formula instead of a cartoonish blockbuster one. Read full review
70
VarietyTodd McCarthy
The increasingly broad strokes with which the story is painted serve to simplify rather than deepen it, and to make it seem more artificially constructed than need be. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Dense, meandering, ambitious yet jarringly pulpy, this tale of big-city corruption in small-town America has competence without mood or power -- a design but not a vision. Read full review
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