Narc

Nick Tellis is a Detroit narcotics officer on leave after a traumatic undercover operation. When a fellow undercover officer named Michael Calvess is found beaten to death, Tellis is offered a way back to the job on the condition that he take on the stalled murder case. He is paired with Henry Oak, the dead man's former partner, a lieutenant known for his uncompromising methods. Working Detroit's back alleys and drug houses, the two men pursue the circumstances of Calvess's death, and Tellis comes to suspect that the answers are not as straightforward as the department assumes.

Joe Carnahan wrote and directed Narc, his first feature, and the film sits at the start of a run that continued with Smokin' Aces, The A-Team, The Grey, Stretch, Boss Level and Copshop, among later titles. Jason Patric plays Tellis and Ray Liotta plays Oak; both also produced alongside Diane Nabatoff and Julius R. Nasso. Chi McBride, Krista Bridges, John Ortiz and Busta Rhymes appear in supporting roles.

Made for about 7 million dollars, the film took in roughly 13 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 7.1 rating from around 45,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.8 from a much smaller pool of voters, a gap that reflects how limited that second sample is. A critics' rating of 7.4 from 156 reviews puts professional assessment somewhat above the broader audience scores.