Night Patrol, 2025.
Directed by Ryan Prows.
Starring Jermaine Fowler, Justin Long, Phil Brooks, Dermot Mulroney, Freddie Gibbs, RJ Cyler, YG, Nicki Micheaux, Flying Lotus, Jon Oswald, Mike Ferguson, Evan Shafran, Zuri Reed, Kim Yarbrough, Nick Gillie, Dennis Boyd, Colin Young, Brionna Maria Lynch, Dartenea Bryant, Reed Shannon, Leonard Thomas, and TML.
SYNOPSIS:
An L.A. cop discovers a local task force is hiding a secret that puts the residents of his childhood neighborhood in danger.
There is a storm brewing between the Zulu gang and LAPD, particularly the titular racist night patrol comprised of officers who conspicuously only come out at night. They feed on the blood of Black people, typically poverty-stricken ones driven into gang culture under the impression that no one will care.
Within the first five minutes of co-writer/director Ryan Prows’ Night Patrol, that unit (which is spearheaded by Phil Brooks’ Deputy, better known by his wrestling name CM Punk, putting that assertive and aggressive showmanship to work even if his limitations as an actor are limited and on display) is killing unarmed Black civilians minding their own business, notably the girlfriend of RJ Cyler’s Wazi, previously seen in a flash forward opening impaled and bloodied in an interrogation room, setting the stage that, yes, all-out war is inevitable.
That’s all well and good with a tantalizing horror concept ripe for sociopolitical commentary, except Ryan Prows and his crowded team of screenwriters (Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, and Shaye Ogbonna) seemingly have no idea what to do with it or say that hasn’t already been made clear from the first 15 minutes. This is most evident in the three-act chapter structure, which switches perspectives from LAPD officers to night patrol to the project housing that becomes the battle stage, where it becomes confounding who the protagonist is supposed to be.
Justin Long’s Ethan Hawkins seems like an upstanding cop partnered with Xavier (Jermaine Fowler), the brother of Wazi, who had grown tired of the African mysticism their mother, Ayanda (Nicki Micheaux), relentlessly preaches and jumped sides to the police force. However, Ethan isn’t afraid to let out his corrupt, racist side if that’s what he has to do to get in with night patrol and bring them down from the inside.
At times, the filmmakers can’t decide how much they want the supernatural and African mysticism aspects to influence the action and the story. Although the visual effects are impressive (containing everything from exploding heads to regenerating bodies), the entire stretch of battling is bogged down by characters rambling about rules and what they are possibly dealing with, while throwing in other pointless thoughts. This is also a film that goes out of its way to make its villains damn near impossible to kill, only for the reveal of how that must be accomplished to come across flat, with the final fight specifically being a severe letdown after some otherwise serviceable violent carnage.
As mentioned, Night Patrol is aimless, sometimes too comfortable switching perspectives, even if it means killing off a main character, simply because the filmmakers have no idea what else to do with them. At one point, a character mentions culture (among other things) being the only way to fight back against these supernatural beings, but it’s yet another aspect that comes across as a thought rather than an explored concept. One of last year’s best films already did that with much more profundity, style, and absorbing entertainment. As for this disjointed and scattered genre exercise, one can get everything out of it from a rudimentary understanding of the premise and concept.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
