The New Centurions

I love the nuances that Stacey Keach brings to every role he takes. He doesn't have a moustache so hes obviously a fresh faced rookie character but then he grows his moustache to show he is not a rookie no more. This gets totally thrown out the window when he shaves his moustache near the end.

It's very performance and character driven, rather than plot driven....not a lot actually happens, just a lot of episodic driving around, going out on calls and boozing it up. The police stuff that was probably cool in 1972 is really dated now, especially after having TV shows like COPS on the air for the last 20 years. Well acted, but kinda pointless. Novelty cameo from Erik Estrada as the token Mexican cop in East LA.

Viewed January 9, 2022. Fleischer's distant, perceptive style is perfect for the episodic screenplay, shifting from carnivalesque comedy to blunt drama through a series of loosely linked scenes. The cool, composed rhythm enables Fleischer to highlight both his protagonists' existential woes and the parallel political commentary without losing the immediacy that makes each scene so striking.

While nowadays we've seen depictions of police officers a dozen times, this one still holds up as a very decent example of the genre. It gives a very honest realistic depiction of cops in LA in the 70s. (Although I've my doubts if the movie itself is aware about how racist and sexist they are). The movie displays the passage of time excellent. It covers many decades, but with just a little bit of information it's made clear what happened during another big time jump.

My ★★★★ review of The New Centurions on Letterboxd https://boxd.it/35WzzZ

Presented as a series of dramatic vignettes in the life of two LAPD cops, THE NEW CENTURIONS is, at its heart, a movie about unraveling lives and lost identities. It's also a conflicted film, torn between the disillusionment of so many contemporary '70s dramas and the lurid melodrama of street busts and vice squads. Despite its unevenness, CENTURIONS is held together by the chemistry of its two leads, as well as a sense of immediacy that must have been even more startling in its time.