| Director | John Michael McDonagh |
|---|---|
| Genre | action film, comedy film, crime film, drama film |
| Runtime | 98 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Box office | $698,036 |
Terry Monroe and Bob Bolaño, two corrupt cops, return to the Albuquerque police force after being suspended for assaulting a racist coworker. Bolaño and Monroe regularly assault, rob and extort criminals, accept bribes, and take drugs. While surveilling small time thieves, the two come to believe Jimmy Harris, a local criminal, is planning a heist. They contact one of Harris' former associates, Reggie, and coerce him into revealing information by threatening to falsely arrest him. Reggie and his friend, Irishman Pádraic Power, identify Clifford Reynard, a getaway driver, and tell them Harris' girlfriend, Jackie Hollis, used to dance at a strip club owned by Russell Birdwell. Birdwell, though suspicious, reveals Hollis' address. After bursting into Harris' house and knocking him out, they extort several expensive possessions.
Meanwhile, Birdwell tells his boss, James Mangan, a knighted British businessman who is in charge of the heist, that the cops have been asking about Hollis. Mangan tells Birdwell to intimidate both Hollis and the cops. Monroe returns to Hollis and gives her a replacement television. After flirting with each other, they have sex and begin seeing each other. While staking out Reynard's house to extort him, too, they hear a scream. In the house, they find that Reynard's wife has murdered him, though she is too hysterical to explain why. Irritated, the cops attempt to quiet her while they consider their next step. Reynard's teenage son flees, but they are unable to catch him. After a nightmare, Monroe becomes concerned and searches the city for the missing boy. As he does this, Birdwell scares Bolaño's wife by smashing the window of her shop as she talks to Hollis.
With Reynard dead, Reggie takes his place as the getaway driver, though he misleads Bolaño and Monroe into believing it will be taking place elsewhere. When the cops finally catch on to him, they discover Harris and his cohorts dead. Not knowing Mangan's involvement, they assume Reggie is responsible. Before going after Reggie, they learn about Birdwell's harassment and beat him so badly that he loses an eye. Knowing they have numerous enemies and believing themselves untouchable anyway, they do not bother asking who sent him, remaining blind to Mangan's involvement. Reggie's friend Power, when offered a bribe, tells them Reggie fled to Iceland. Though they know nothing more than that, they leave for Iceland, reasoning that an African American man will stick out. To Monroe's amazement, the plan works, and they spontaneously find him in a crowd. Under pressure, Reggie reveals Mangan's involvement and agrees to split his take from the heist with them.
Back in Albuquerque, Lieutenant Stanton says Birdwell has filed charges against them. Monroe and Bolaño assure him that their investigation is nearing completion and will implicate Birdwell. As Monroe and Bolaño search for Mangan, they chance upon Reynard's child, who is living homeless on the streets. Monroe insists on becoming the boy's foster parent over the protests of Bolaño, who, as a parent, believes Monroe unprepared for the responsibility. Hollis, who has temporarily moved in with Monroe after Birdwell's attack, also voices her skepticism, but the three eventually come to care for each other. Although Mangan's thugs kidnap and beat Monroe, he laughs off their attempt to intimidate him, saying he has already been raped. Not wanting to kill a cop, they release him. However, after Monroe and Bolaño harass Mangan during a business meeting, Lieutenant Stanton finally fires them.
Mangan beheads Power and contacts the cops, hoping to entrap them with an offer of sharing the money. Reynard's son, however, tells Monroe that his mother killed Reynard because she found out he was part of a child pornography ring run by Mangan. Enraged, Monroe enlists Bolaño to help kill Mangan, having lost interest in the money. In the resulting shootout, Bolaño is apparently killed but reveals he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Monroe shoots Birdwell as he begs for his life. Bolaño then kills Mangan as he attempts to bribe them. Monroe, Hollis, Reynard's son, Bolaño and his family, Reggie and Reggie's transgender girlfriend are all shown together on holiday in Iceland at the Blue Lagoon.