Crime Drama Dissipates After Strong Start

A veteran narcotics cop (Jake Kaufman) seeks the truth after his rookie partner (Pete Winfrey) is killed undercover in a film also starring Tony Todd.

Buffalo 8

A veteran narcotics cop seeks the truth after his rookie partner is killed in an undercover operation in All Gone Wrong, which has every hallmark of a gritty cop drama. There’s the tough as nails lawman who plays by his own rules, slimy drug dealers, an alluring femme fatale, and the requisite mystery to uncover who’s crooked in the department. The pieces work on an individual level but fail to come together in a compelling way. The film unfolds in a derivative manner we’ve seen before countless times. It’s akin to a paint-by-numbers plot that never deviates from the expected, and the climax especially doesn’t respect the protagonist’s intelligence and experience.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

The bearded Chris Halvorsen (Jake Kaufman) shows young Mikey (Pete Winfrey) how to search for evidence and shake down informants. They’re setting up a drug buy and need to use a trusted source. Every officer in their unit is friendly on the surface, but Captain Jim Grace (Peter Mayer) warns Mikey to always be aware of Chris — he should have been promoted a long time ago. Most people don’t like working on street-level crimes.

A Dangerous Situation

Buffalo 8

Several months later, Grace gives Mikey the opportunity he’s been waiting for. A snitch called Junkie J (Jaan Marion) has information on a stash house. Chris is surprised that Mikey’s allowed to lead such a dangerous situation. He’ll be going in alone wearing a wire, after all. Chris ultimately supports his partner, despite his heavy reservations.

Mikey enters the house with no issue. Chris watches from an unmarked car while everyone in the unit listens, at least until they lose Mikey’s signal. A concerned Chris watches their target (Law X) leave in Mikey’s vehicle. He orders an immediate raid on the house. Chris is suspended by internal affairs in the tragic aftermath, and becomes obsessed with finding the dealer and his supplier (Tony Todd).

Related: Exclusive: Tony Todd Discusses All Gone Wrong, The First Deep Breath, and His Love of Theater

All Gone Wrong gets the small details right. Chris instructing Mikey on police tactics 101 sets a good initial foundation. The newbie has to learn from the grizzled old dog; they are on the front lines, so it makes sense to spend time building their relationship. This is key exposition, but then everything goes sour. Chris had a gut instinct that something was amiss. The problems begin when Chris becomes a renegade. He puts himself in a situation that requires some serious suspension of disbelief. One scene in particular makes little sense. Chris is a smart guy who knows how to play the drug game; he wouldn’t walk into the lion’s den without expecting to be eaten.

A Costly Mistake

The gunplay starts at a rapid fire pace then slows considerably as the film progresses. The adrenaline pumped in the first act dissipates with lackluster remaining action. This is a costly mistake that deflates expectations. The big open needs to be followed by a bigger ending, but the filmmakers set themselves up for inevitable failure with less intensity over time. All Gone Wrong has a dramatic narrative but relies on violence as a hook. It needed to be sharper and more original in both cases.

All Gone Wrong is a produced by Lone Morsel Productions, Propulsion Films, and Vidzu Media. It will be released on January 27th to Apple TV+, iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, and Cable On Demand from Buffalo 8 Productions.

You can view the original article HERE.