Copshop, a British slang that refers to a local police station, follows a violent, lawless combat under its roof. Joe Carnahan’s action thriller film runs high on Andrelanie and fires enough bullets to cover the lack of story. At the end of the film, it’s just another action-flick that offers nothing but wild entertainment. Copshop stars Frank Grillo and Gerard Butler in the lead role, shadowed by Alexis Louder’s promising performance.
Spoiler Alert
What Is The Film About?
Gun Creek city police officer Valerie Young (Alexis Louder) arrests an unknown man, Theodore “Teddy” Murretto (Frank Grillo), for punching her outside a Nevada casino. As Valerie brings Teddy to the copshop, she finds out that Teddy has been shot. Valerie attends to Teddy’s wound, and the other two officers find Teddy’s unmarked Crown Vic not far from the casino.
While stitching up Teddy, Valerie surmises that someone may be trying to kill him, and that is why Teddy intentionally got himself arrested. Even his stolen unregistered car is full of bullet holes that support her theory. Teddy requests to make a call and quickly dials his lover, Lorraine Faith. He warns Lorraine to take their kid, Ryan, and run away, but Lorraine doesn’t pick up the call. Valerie locks up Teddy in an isolated cell and carries on with her investigation.
In the meantime, a contract killer, Robert “Bob” Viddick (Gerard Butler), acts drunk and tries to crash his car into state troopers investigating Teddy’s car. The cops arrest Bob and bring him to Gun Creek city police station. Bob leaves an incendiary device in the witness box, telling the cops that it is his insulin device.
State law requires that cops put intoxicated felons in separate quarters, and thus, Bob shares a cell with another drunken man while Teddy is confined to a separate cell. As Valerie leaves the cell, Bob informs Teddy that he has come to kill him. The plot further explores Bob’s cunning efforts to kill Teddy, while Valerie intervenes to save Teddy’s life.
Major Spoilers Ahead
Who was Teddy Murretto?
Valerie Young investigated Teddy’s files and found out that he had been arrested 22 times but still had no charges. She confronted Teddy to reveal the truth if he wanted to live. Theodore “Teddy” Murretto said that he was a high-profile fixer who managed clients running Nevada’s gaming (casino) industry.
For a client, Teddy approached Nevada attorney general William Fenton and tried to buy him off. But Fenton didn’t take the deal, and thus the casino boss killed Fenton. After Fenton’s brutal murder, Teddy found out that his conversation with Fenton was recorded and leaked. To save his life, Teddy made a deal with the Feds. The mob boss found out and tried to finish Teddy, but he survived a car explosion and went underground.
A pair of cops from Vegas drove Teddy out of the town and promised to deliver him to the Feds. However, Teddy later found out that they were bribed. They were taking Teddy to the isolated desert to bury him. Fortunately, a few Feds trailed Teddy and opened fire on the corrupt cops. In heavy combat, the law enforcers shot each other while Teddy managed to run. While running away, Teddy got a bullet wound and lots of bullet holes in the stolen Crown Vic.
A Speculative Drug Theory
A subplot focused on corrupt officer Huber (Ryan O’Nan). It was visually established that Huber was threatened by a mob boss to steal confiscated drugs from the police vault. When Bob Viddick arrived at the station, Huber recognized Bob and thought he had come to kill him. Even the second assassin, Anthony Lamb, knew Huber and his corrupt profile. It could mean that Huber worked for the same boss as Anthony and Bob.
And if that was true, then probably Nevada attorney general William Fenton waged a war against the casino bosses for selling drugs in their casinos. The mob boss/bosses clipped Fenton to save their illegal empire. The casino owners also bribed Detective Deena Schier from the Las Vegas Police Department. In the narrative, Deena buried the evidence that could have led to the drug business or its owners. Like Teddy said, the people he worked for had their hooks into everything.
How Does The Film End?
After Bob failed to finish off Teddy, Deena informed the mob boss that a rookie officer, Valerie Young, was digging up too many graves. A psycho hitman, Anthony, arrived at the station and turned the premise into a battlefield. With his snub-barreled machine gun, Anthony brutally murdered all the officers under the roof except Valerie and Huber.
Valerie locked herself in the cell with Bob and Teddy while Huber shot the sergeant and teamed up with Anthony to hunt down Teddy. Valerie had shot herself and was bleeding out. She handed over her gun and the keys to Teddy so that he could bring a trauma kit to save her life. However, before leaving, Bob triggered Teddy’s anger and revealed that Anthony had killed his wife and the kid.
To take vengeance, Teddy opened fire on Anthony. Inside the cell, Bob convinced Valerie that Teddy was a selfish con man and wouldn’t return to save her life. With little options on her side, Valerie gave the keys to Bob as well. Bob shot down Huber and Anthony and gave Teddy a chance to kill Anthony. However, Teddy tried to kill Bob and slaughtered Anthony.
Teddy started a fire inside the station and walked to the kitchen, where he found Valerie wearing a bulletproof jacket. Valerie confronted Teddy and shot his arm, but before she could finish the treacherous man, Detective Deena shot her with a shotgun. Fortunately, Bob survived the heavy fire and saved Valerie’s life. He completed his contract by killing Teddy and left the station.
While going to the hospital in an ambulance, Valerie heard a radio dispatch informing her about Bob. She quickly took charge of the steering wheel and rode it south towards Bob’s direction to arrest him.
Copshop is a 2021 Action Thriller film directed by Joe Carnahan. It stars Frank Grillo, Gerard Butler and Alexis Louder in the prominent roles.
