Detective Knight: Rogue- Bruce is BACK for one final trilogy

Directed by: Edward Drake

Starring: Bruce Willis, Johnny Messner, Lochlyn Munro & Beau Mirchoff

Synopsis: Bruce Willis stars as veteran Detective James Knight, dedicated to navigating the demanding streets of Los Angeles, in this thrilling first of a trilogy of films. As the city prepares for Halloween, mask-wearing armed robbers critically wound Knight’s partner in a shootout following a heist. With Knight in hot pursuit, the bandits flee L.A. for New York, where the detective’s dark past collides with his present case and threatens to tear his world apart…unless redemption can claim Knight first.

Edward Drake and Bruce Willis reunite for crime-thriller, Detective Knight: Rogue. 

I feel like I have watched Edward Drake’s career develop from movie to movie. Remember when he wrote Breach and sent Bruce Willis to space and then he wrote and directed Willis and Frank Grillo in sci-fi actioner Cosmic Sin? As soon as he was done with his sci-fi material, Drake moved on to action-thrillers, a genre that began to catch the attention of audiences. My wish is that bigger studios would take notice of Drake’s abilities to write and direct the perfect action-thriller. He reminds me of Michael Mann.

Bruce Willis’s final trilogy

Bruce Willis stars in the first of his final trilogy of action movies in Detective Knight: Rogue. Drake delivers another solid Bruce film and brings back some of the old style we know and love. 

Starts with a BANG

The opening of Rogue is exhilarating; we’re thrown straight into a heist and our attention is immediately captivated. Naturally, things go sideways and a shootout takes place, which sets the story in motion.

Drake makes things happen for a reason in his movies, something I enjoy. A scene is never placed just for the sake of having it; the man knows how to write and direct. 

Bruce gets to fire some shots and take some names and spew some choice lines throughout the movie, his character is as the title suggests, Rogue, something we get an insight into as the film progresses. 

A former football star turned bank robber, Beau Mirchoff takes centre stage in Rogue as Casey Rhodes. The story of Casey is one we can all relate to, he has a wife and a kid and is trying to make ends meet. “A 9-5 isn’t going to provide when the world is so financially tight.”. Casey is likeable and just tries to provide for his family.  

Trevor Gretzky and Keeya King who play Mike and Sykes, two trusted friends of Rhodes who help him with the heists. Corey Large (who also wrote the script) plays Mercer, an initial member of the team who Rhodes does not want to work with because he is a loose canon. There are some really exciting action sequences where Large shines as Mercer. 

A frequent collaborator of Drake’s, Johnny Messner plays the lead henchman who exudes a Don Johnson – Sonny Crockett, Miami Vice vibe. Messner is always a pleasure to see on screen.

Subtle Goodfellas homage

It may have been me reading too much into the script, but I’m convinced Drake referenced a scene in Goodfellas where Rhodes mistakenly calls Paw Patrol pigs when talking to his daughter about Paw Patrol. There is a reenactment of the classic “Hooves” scene where Rhodes cannot remember what the pigs’ feet are called. 

Verdict

Detective Knight: Rogue is a riveting action thriller that delivers on action and suspense with a great storyline. Drake once again creates a dark universe in which every character has a shade of grey and can be relatable to some degree. There are reasons for the good to be somewhat bad and there are reasons for the bad to be far worse.

In Detective Knight: Rogue, Drake once again showcases his wide range of talents and succeeds his previous film, Gasoline Alley. Bruce leads this great action thriller that serves as a great capstone to his memorable career. Let’s raise a glass 

Check our first and second interviews with Edward Drake