Who out there wants to see a film starring Xzibit, Val Kilmer, Nicholas Cage and Eva Mendes?

— crickets —

Anyone?? How about if I told you that it will be the remake of a cult film from the ’90s?

— deafening silence —

Alright, alright. But what’s your reaction when you hear that the film — a remake of Abel Ferrera’s Bad Lieutenant from 1992 — will be directed by celebrated German filmmaker Werner Herzog? If you’re at all like us, it’s bewildered curiosity.

Herzog is much-loved here at Criticker HQ, thanks in large part to his penchant for strange material. He’s mainly been making documentaries for years now, which makes his decision to remake a 16-year old cop film intriguing. And with Bad Lieutenant, he seems to be willfully assembling the most annoying cast possible. Perhaps he just wants to enrage fans of the original, and then film their reactions for an ironic making-of? What are you playing at, Werner?

Anyway, we’re interested. I’ll even type a sentence, which I had previously assumed my mind unable to construct: “I can’t wait for that new Xzibit film”. There. It’s on record.