Rampart

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Rampart

R

Released Feb 10, 2012

1h 43m

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

146 Reviews

35%

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10,000+ Ratings

In 1999, Officer Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson), a 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, tends to follow his own code of rough justice. A number of years earlier, he was implicated in the death of a serial rapist. Brown's violent tendencies once again land him in hot water when a video of him beating up a suspect plays all over local TV. An assistant DA (Sigourney Weaver) pressures him to retire, but Brown edges closer and closer to a meltdown.

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Critics Consensus

Rampart sends viewers plummeting into a nihilistic hell of its protagonist's creation, yet Woody Harrelson's performance in the central role is too magnetic to dismiss.

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Tom Long

Detroit News

Where's it all go? Nowhere, really, just down a dirty, disappointing hole. Harrelson deserved better.

Rated: C

Mar 9, 2012

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Moira MacDonald

Seattle Times

It's a remarkably compelling film.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 1, 2012

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Bill Goodykoontz

Arizona Republic

Brown is a sick man, but Harrelson makes him so interesting, so charismatic, so ... watchable, that you can't look away, even if his actions make you want to (and they will).

Rated: 4/5

Mar 1, 2012

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D.M. Palmer

Vague Visages

What really distinguishes Rampart from the standard police corruption film, and prevents it from sliding into outright misanthropy, is its focus on the emotional stakes.

Nov 9, 2023

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Rampart is more of a character study than any sort of crime procedural, and it’s all the better for it.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 27, 2023

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Allen Almachar

The MacGuffin

Officer Brown is such a terrible person that he becomes almost a caricature ... by the end of the movie, nothing about him left any kind of resonance.

Rated: C+

Aug 4, 2020

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Tom S

A very different style of directing & camerawork. This has thrown people off since they are so used to the standard Hollywood style. Very unnerving & brilliantly played. Not something that can be fully absorbed with just one viewing. The ending to it is that there is no ending with this sort of person, just a gradual horrifying decline.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/25

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Jim B

Great acting, fantastic sets, no plot at all, movie is about 40 minutes too long.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/02/25

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Martin B

I can see why critics would love it. It’s uniquely complex on every level from family to his cop related entanglements with no phony good guy, uplifting theme or redemption to be had. But my God it’s long, a series of unpleasant interactions punctuated with violence with nothing to show for it at the end except perhaps reality I suppose or at least the critics thought that. For movie watchers it’s more a test of will to see if you can get through a marathon of dysfunction and people constantly on defense with not an aspiration to be found anywhere. Particularly annoying is the fixation on smoking. Another reality I suppose but so distractingly annoying via repetition.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

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Jelisije J

A movie about a bad corrupt cop recognizing he is a bad person and must reconcile with himself and his family and thats the story folks.......possibly the worst cop movie that you will see that is hold together by the great actor that is Woody Harrelson.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/31/24

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Chris P

"Rampart" is a gritty, intense drama set against the backdrop of the Rampart scandal in the LAPD during the late 1990s. The film delves deep into the life of Dave Brown, a corrupt and brutal cop struggling with his own demons and the systemic corruption around him. “Rampart” is a complex, thought-provoking film that challenges viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about morality, corruption, and the human condition. Its strength lies in its nuanced portrayal of a deeply flawed protagonist and the unforgiving world he navigates.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/16/24

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Jeffrey P

Similar to Bad Lieutenant, an unlikable but amusing character trapped in a mess of police corruption revolving around him and his life as it swirls around the drain. Gets repetitive, whether you think he is right or wrong... and by the end you don't care.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/25/24

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1999, Officer Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson), a 24-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, tends to follow his own code of rough justice. A number of years earlier, he was implicated in the death of a serial rapist. Brown's violent tendencies once again land him in hot water when a video of him beating up a suspect plays all over local TV. An assistant DA (Sigourney Weaver) pressures him to retire, but Brown edges closer and closer to a meltdown.

Director: Oren Moverman
Producer: Ben Foster, Lawrence Inglee, Ken Kao, Clark Peterson
Screenwriter: Oren Moverman, James Ellroy
Distributor: Millennium Films
Production Co: Amalgam Features, Lightstream Entertainment, Third Mind Pictures, Waypoint Entertainment
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Pervasive Language|Some Violence)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 10, 2012, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 8, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $969.2K
Runtime: 1h 43m

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