Review of Taxman

I caught this on HBO while channel surfing and was almost immediately pulled into it -- it was so refreshing to see a cop film that was realistic, with believable characters who weren't superheroes, the kind of cops who get winded when they chase after a suspect and manage not to kill everyone in sight (in slow motion and utilizing more moves than the entire Romanian Olympic gymnastic team). The two main characters were real human beings who screwed up, went down blind alleys, made wrong assumptions, exploded in frustration when they should have stayed silent, did the right thing for the wrong reasons, and yet, in the end, did some good. I've noted in some of the other comments that people were put off by the fact that these guys were flawed, but that was exactly what attracted me about them.

I thought the direction of the film was very understated, yet avoided the kind of studied casualness that's considered stylish these days. The story was engaging and kept me involved. The film moved along at a good clip, but took time out for the lead character to contemplate the situation as it developed. Although there may have been a few holes in the plot, I wasn't overly aware of them, and they certainly weren't as egregious as those we've grown used to in most blockbuster films.

This was not a perfect film, and the elements from which it is put together (outcast cops buck the system, persevere and triumph) border on the cliche, but it's a film I would gladly watch again, and perhaps even want to keep in my permanent collection