1992 saw the release of Abel Ferrara’s controversial film Bad Lieutenant starring Harvey Keitel. It gained a certain amount of notoriety on its release, mostly for receiving the rare, kiss of death rating of NC-17 in the US. It was about as cuddly as a razor blade.

It’s not necessarily the type of film that would normally scream out remake, but then again Werner Herzog isn’t exactly your average Hollywood director. This new version has very little in common with the original, and like a high profile divorce it’s related in name only.

Since injuring his back on the job, Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage) is a cop in freefall. Not only is he heavily medicated to control the pain, he’s dabbling with all manner of narcotics, mainly because he can. It doesn’t end there. He has a gambling problem and his girlfriend Frankie (Eva Mendez) is a prostitute, with whom he has a less than monogamous relationship with.

In the eyes of his bosses however, he gets the job done. And while the city of New Orleans is still trying to pick the pieces up from the aftermath of Katrina, McDonagh has his thumb firmly pushing his self-destruct button and he doesn’t care who he takes out with him.

I hope to God that door number one is a looker, otherwise I'm off.

Herzog appears to be in the third period of his directing career. The first comprises of the majority of his European work, include true classics such as his work with Klaus Kinski (Aguirre: Wrath of God, Nosferatu, Fitzcarraldo); over the years he has also turned his attention to making documentaries; and more recently he appears to be attracted by certain elements of Hollywood. Apparently he would only make this film with Nicolas Cage attached to the project. On this evidence they appear to the perfect match for one another.

For years now Cage has had the ability to regularly choose projects that are wasted on his considerable skills. A little like his character here, Cage has been his worst enemy when it has come to his career of late; many of them may well have made money, but they lack any artistic integrity on his part. In the hands of a director’s director such as Herzog however, Cage unleashes the freak within with aplomb.

McDonagh has something of a monster about him; in fact it would probably be more accurate to say Munster, as his back problem gives him a physical movement similar to that of Fred Munster. And then there’s a madness that is heightened by the drugs he takes that manipulates his way of thinking. Cage takes his character for a test drive for the duration of the film, with no intention of taking his foot off the gas.

At no time does Herzog ever pull the reins on Cage; he more than most is fully aware of what Cage is capable of and just lets him get on with it. But what he does do is surround him with a talented cast, including the always enigmatic Val Kilmer, as well as strong performances from Mendez and rapper Xzibit.

Herzog doesn’t allow Cage all the limelight however; the German director still manages to stamp his mark on proceedings, making audiences fully aware of exactly whose film this is. He mostly does this with iguanas. And for a man of his talent that’s pretty much all he needs.

The only real disappointment is that perhaps, rather strangely, the German director doesn’t push this film nearly enough. It’s nowhere near as dark as the original, mainly due to Cage’s entertaining hysteria. Herzog pushes it close to the edge, but it’s puzzling as to why he didn’t just shove the whole thing over it and film that.

Still, we can be grateful that he not only reminded Cage of what a truly watchable actor he can be, but also produced a blinding piece of cinema for grown-ups that is bold, brutal and beautiful.