despite be base on a novel ( blood on the moon ) by prolific and acclaim crime writer james ellroy ( probably best know for write the novel l. a. confidential and which be later turn into the oscar win film of the same name ) cop be a crime thriller that just lack and well thrill and crime in large dos . it more a drama than anything else and only the drama isn not that well handle or particularly interesting . despite some good idea the script ( by james b. harris ) lack any real cohesion and be for the most part rather contrive and bad than that the dialogue be also pretty flat and uninteresting and with the character all paint a rather one dimensional . in fact be seem a though writer harris do not really have any room for any of the character except for wood central cop and with the rest all pretty much fall by the wayside . a such most of the character be lack any real . character . a for the direction and also by james b. harris and it workmanlike but hardly inspiring and the nature of the story require a certain edge and grit to the direction that harris just doesn not manage to deliver . that not to say that either the script or direction be outright bad and they aren not and it just that neither have the impact and style or strength to carry off this type of film or story and and because of this it all just come off a rather flat and unexciting . performance wise james wood be very good in the title role and which be good because it basically down to him to carry the whole film and a feat that he almost and but not quite manages to do . he do receive some assistance and with both charles durning and charles haid give good and solid performance despite their rather underwritten role . however the other actor aren not so lucky and with randi brook and raymond j. barry and steven lambert merely passable in their role and while lesley ann warren performance border on schitzophrenic and with neither her radical mood swing nor motivation ring true . jan mcgill a wood wife meanwhile be just so outright bad that it no wonder that wood character doesn not seem all that effect when she ( thankfully ) leave him not long after the film begin ( i would be relieve too ) . all in all cop isn not a bad film and it just not a particularly good one either . it have it moment and be a good showpiece role for the always entertaining ( and underrate ) wood and it just that the story and the film itself doesn not stand up to his fine performance . if it have spend more time detail the character and concentrate on the plot then it may well have be quite an effective little thriller and however a it stand it merely just a passable one with a strong central performance . positive one man opinion .