Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is one of the most surprisingly accomplished films of the year. Of course, one would have to be film illiterate to be surprised that the always-intriguing Herzog could deliver the goods but nearly every other element of this clever, dark, twisted thriller screamed "that's a really bad idea." Star Nicolas Cage has been involved in some truly bad films in the last few years, including another unnecessary remake from an interesting director (The Wicker Man). He honestly hasn't been completely effective since Adaptation (with some slight exceptions for missteps like Lord of War and The Weather Man offset by truly horrendous films like Ghost Rider and Bangkok Dangerous). A supporting cast that included several actors without the best decision-making skills (Val Kilmer, Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, Eva Mendes) didn't help. And the fact that Herzog was remaking the Abel Ferrara film at all seemed ill-advised. It wasn't that the original was sacred, but why bother? Unlike a lot of remakes, Port of Call New Orleans not only justifies its existence, it totally works as pure, unadulterated, entertainment for grown-ups. It's certainly not a film for everyone, but those who do buy a ticket to this unusual trip to the big easy are likely to be shocked at how much fun they have there.

Gleefully reveling in a blend of Herzog's almost nature-driven lunacy and Cage's more instinctual brand of crazy, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is essentially an origin story for a corrupt cop. Completely discarding the plot of the original, changing the setting, and even the thematic focus, Herzog's take on a police officer sliding off the deep end opens with the title cop, Officer Terence McDonaugh (Cage) and his partner (Kilmer) finding a prisoner stuck in a cell as the waters rise during Hurricane Katrina. After ridiculing him for awhile, McDonaugh jumps into the water, misjudges the depth, hits the concrete, and screws up his back, starting a painkiller addiction that will send him on a completely unpredictable spiral. The fact that the film opens with a Katrina-related event cleverly displays the fingerprint of a director who has often displayed awe for the forces of nature in films like Aguirre, Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, and many more. One force of nature creates another.

Years after the opening incident, McDonaugh has been made Lieutenant when he stumbles across the brutal murder of five Senegalese illegal immigrants. It's a drug world hit and it sends Terence into the path of a turf war, but that's merely a small part of the Bad Lieutenant equation. Terence also happens to be falling for a prostitute (Mendes), becoming increasingly erratic with his drug use, and crosses paths with a violent mobster. As Terence slides deeper into insanity – shaking club goers down for their drugs, cutting off an elderly woman's oxygen for information – he literally becomes hunched over due to his back pain, resembling more of a creature than a man after awhile. Cocaine, hookers, mobsters, hallucinations, murder – Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans may not be the family movie you're looking for this Thanksgiving and I would never suggest this is “a movie for everyone,” but it certainly is if you know what you’re in for.