Third World Cop

Dirty Harry in the mean, dusty streets of Jaimaica. After shooting two men dead for interrupting his opening love scene, trigger-happy cop Capone (Paul Campbell) is transferred to his hometown Kingston to deal with gun runners and drug dealers. This guy gets results, too! He manages to shoot several people on his first day back.

He also hooks up with some old friends, like his buddy Ratty (Mark Danvers). The two men were best friends and are glad to see each other again. Things would be great if Ratty weren't the right-hand man of the local crime lord. It doesn’t take Capone all that long to find out that Ratty is running guns, setting the two friends on a collision course.

Friendship is important to Capone, though, and while he’s militant about taking down criminals he’s not very keen on killing his friends. What’s a badass cop stuck between a rock and a hard place supposed to do?

Third World Cop is shot on video and while it looks pretty good it's evident that it's a low budget affair.  The plot is well-worn material and not all the acting in the film is good. It's still a surprisingly entertaining film, for several reasons.

Paul Campbell gives a strong and charismatic performance as Capone, and after the first act he doesn't just run around shooting people. He shows concern for his friend and community, dresses up in drag to get information, and shoots people. In all seriousness, he's quite good and makes the film worth watching.

The locations are generally shabby-looking, but it's because they're actual Kingston ghetto areas; shacks and outhouses, rundown churches and clubs. Roosters crow constantly in the background because chickens are literally everywhere. The film has an immense Jaimaican flavor; the setting, the dialect and slang (I had to look up one word on Urbandictionary), the Reggae soundtrack, and the people. It's a strong point in the movie's favor.

The action is as ghetto as the setting; Jaimacan cops leave their posts to take a leak when they’re supposed to be guarding a door, people can’t figure out how to load their guns in the middle of a firefight, inept cops almost shoot kids by accident. No one looks like an action hero.

Third World Cop is not a great film; it wants to be more than just a cheap action flick but the tired plot holds it back, and it tries a little too hard. In spite of those things I enjoyed it. Recommended for action fans who want to see something with a Jaimacan flair.