Mob Cops

They say there’s a “bad batch in everything.” For most people, that phrase might bring to mind fruit or vegetables, but for me, I think of everything. That list includes cops—and honestly, just people in general. People hold all kinds of jobs, and some of them do bad things in those roles. I imagine the list of bad cops is long, but for this purpose, we’re focusing on the ones who worked with the mob, especially in New York. Two such men were even dubbed the “Mafia Cops” because of the things they did. Inspired by those events comes Mob Cops, the new film from Danny A. Abeckaser—and when it’s over, you might think someone committed a crime just by making it.

Sammy (David Arquette) and Leo (Jeremy Luke) are cops, but while they’re employed by the city of New York, they definitely don’t work for the city. They’re what you’d call hired hands—except the hands paying them belong to the mob, especially when intel is needed on someone. At first, it’s just for money, but soon the jobs become more violent. That’s all in the past now. The stench of it still lingers, but Sammy and Leo are retired and living the good life.

Enter a new breed of cops, led by Tim Delgado (played by Abeckaser himself), who are digging through the past and uncovering things that were long thought buried. As the investigation unfolds, they learn just how deep the corruption went. With help from some old mob guys locked up, these new cops finally have enough to put the “Mafia Cops” away for the rest of their lives.

Written by Kosta Kondilopoulos, Mob Cops feels like the product of feeding an AI the prompt “write a script about corrupt cops and the mob.” There’s no coloring outside the lines, no real character development, and what we’re left with is a formulaic script. For most of its runtime, Mob Cops fumbles around trying to find a plot, and when it finally stumbles onto something worthwhile, it’s in the last ten minutes—far too late for it to make any difference.

Mob Cops simply isn’t a good movie, and frankly, it has no redeeming qualities. It feels like the budget was low—everything from the sets (which seem like they were filmed during a backlot tour), to the lighting and sound recording, reflects that. And to make things worse, the acting is painful to watch. The script offers little for the actors to work with, and the performances are flat and lifeless as a result.

Everything just feels off. And as someone who tries to find at least one redeeming quality in every movie, I came up empty with Mob Cops. What we’re left with feels like a high school production of a mob film—and I’m here to save you from having to be a witness.