BADGE OF HONOR (2015)

Badge of Honor (2015)
Directed by: Agustin
Written by: Agustin, Anthony Thorne, Kevin Barrett, Nick Montalvo
Starring: Jesse Bradford, Lochlyn Munro, Martin Sheen, Mena Suvari, Natasha Henstridge, Patrick Muldoon

BADGE OF HONOUR (2015)
Directed by Agustin

Detective David Miles and Mike Gallo are tipped off about a drugs exchange. With no time to call back up, they bust the meeting but two of the culprits get away. Whilst on the chase down the stairwell against an armed criminal, Gallo spots his target and shoots. Unfortunately, a young teenage boy on his way home from a friend’s party is hiding on the stairwell and, mistaken by Gallo as his suspect, is killed. Panicking, Gallo tries to call for an ambulance for the boy but his colleague Miles convinces him that he’ll be banged up for murder if he tells the truth and that instead they should cover up the accidental murder as a self defence killing. With a pending investigation into the events of the drug bust, will the duo be able to keep quiet or will their true actions be revealed?

Violent, gritty crime thriller BADGE OF HONOR focuses on the corruption within the police and how a few are willing to dig deep to find out the truth, even if it means turning in their own colleagues.

After Miles covers up Gallo’s accidental shooting of 14 year old Ramon, officer Jessica Dawson joins Internal Affairs department to investigate the alleged self defence shooting. After arresting her own colleague after he nearly killed a handcuffed and subdued citizen, Jessica is just the kind of honest officer needed to unearth the truth about the case. However, it won’t be easy when the officers involved will do whatever is possible not to get caught out.

Mena Suvari puts in an excellent performance as the young officer Jessica. Having seen her fair share of police brutality by her own colleague, her disgust for the crime, especially at the hands of someone who should know and behave better, forces her to charge him. Colleague or not, Jessica isn’t afraid of rooting out the crooked cops and will take whatever is thrown at her. But then again, she hasn’t met someone like Detective David Miles, played by an intense Lochlyn Munro. Miles is a survivor and likes to play by his own rules. With a string of misconduct and various reports behind him, his testimony isn’t to be trusted but that isn’t all Jessica has to be careful of.

BADGE OF HONOR is a hard-hitting crime drama that keeps the momentum flowing right until the final scenes. Whilst it shows the American police in a bad light, it also highlights that there are good officers out there willing to do the right thing and to seek justice against their bent colleagues. The dialogue and performances from all are top notch, including supporting roles from Martin Sheen as Captain Richards, Jesse Bradford as Mike Gallo and Travis Milne as Jacob.

Shot in a traditional style rather than shaky cam or the like, the movie is very easy to watch and is slickly edited, especially in the scenes of violence. The film manages to show you enough to make you sit up straight, rather than nothing at all, making the crimes of these people much more disturbing, and the culprits dangerously frightening.

An engaging piece of cinema, BADGE OF HONOR is a solid crime thriller from start to finish.

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