Narc

Two Detroit cops investigate the murder of an undercover officer. One (Jason Patric) seeks release from the memories of his own undercover assignments, and the other (Ray Liotta, beefed up and burly) is the dead man’s loose-cannon former partner. Writer and director Joe Carnahan’s second feature is a quantum leap from his first (Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane). He seems to have grown in confidence and moved out of the shadow of Quentin Tarantino—into the shadow of William Friedkin, perhaps; there’s more than a passing resemblance to The French Connection, with its cluttery, blue-tinged urban grit. Carnahan’s script has intelligent complications and builds to a satisfying resolution, and he draws excellent performances from Liotta (who has seldom been better) and Patric (who has never).