Director: Jason Cabell
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Laurence Fishburne, Leslie Bibb, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg
Running Time: 100 minutes
Synopsis: A Vancouver-based crime boss (Barry Pepper) complains to his Seattle-based supplier (Nicolas Cage) that recent cocaine shipments have been tampered with. The supplier takes a break from his day job as a cook and embarks on a trip to trace a shipment from a farmer's field in Colombia, through Mexico, and into the United States. The Cook's associate "the Man" (Laurence Fishburne) has slipped from middle-man to addict, contaminating the drugs and aiming to go into business on his own. His sidekick (Adam Goldberg) is picked up by an FBI agent (Leslie Bibb), and she is soon on the trail of the Cook and the Man.
What Works Well: Writer and director Jason Cabell invests in an informational follow-the-dots structure where one drug shipment is the centre of attention. From a farmer in Colombia to various mules and scuzzy middle-men navigating border crossings, the drugs change hands and gain in value, fueling an international industry. Meanwhile, victims of the tainted supply drop dead in the suburbs and alleyways of Seattle and Vancouver. Without stretching, Nicolas Cage and Laurence add a gloss of acting talent.
What Does Not Work As Well: The product is the story, and the people are afterthoughts. The intentional absence of names and the incessant jumping between sub-stories ensure none of the characters register as anything other than designated roles, resulting in dry soullessness. The choppy episodes include some incomprehensible distractions (including a few bewildering ambushes), and a couple of late-in-the-day twists are both implausible and unimpressive.
Key Quote:
The Cook (to his wife): The are some...administrative issues I have to attend to.
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