In view of all the positive reviews here I really feel the need to add a touch of balance.
As a comedy "Law and Disorder" is pretty heavy-handed and from my (British, 2022) perspective it didn't raise many laughs at all (my partner wanted to switch off after 20 mins, I watched the rest by myself out of sheer doggedness).
As a story it is completely aimless, veering from cameo to cameo without any real sense of direction.
The film had potential as a gritty drama, yet the weighty end scenes seemingly had no precursor in the silliness that occupied the other three quarters, leaving me wondering what the heck it was all about.
On the plus side it's hard not to respond to the screen presence of Borgnine and O'Connor, woefully under-used here, even though one or two of the cameo scenes were compelling. I guess that's why I wanted to like it. And consciously or otherwise, the film carries a message about respect for others, and how violence begets violence, which the would-be cops themselves seemed unable to grasp. I'd like that to have been the point of the film, but I fear ultimately it didn't have one. I wouldn't bother watching this mash again. Which is a shame.
As a comedy "Law and Disorder" is pretty heavy-handed and from my (British, 2022) perspective it didn't raise many laughs at all (my partner wanted to switch off after 20 mins, I watched the rest by myself out of sheer doggedness).
As a story it is completely aimless, veering from cameo to cameo without any real sense of direction.
The film had potential as a gritty drama, yet the weighty end scenes seemingly had no precursor in the silliness that occupied the other three quarters, leaving me wondering what the heck it was all about.
On the plus side it's hard not to respond to the screen presence of Borgnine and O'Connor, woefully under-used here, even though one or two of the cameo scenes were compelling. I guess that's why I wanted to like it. And consciously or otherwise, the film carries a message about respect for others, and how violence begets violence, which the would-be cops themselves seemed unable to grasp. I'd like that to have been the point of the film, but I fear ultimately it didn't have one. I wouldn't bother watching this mash again. Which is a shame.