The widely acclaimed opening scene of Narc, director Joe Carnahan's second film, is a cinematic shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. The audience is thrust directly into a high speed foot chase, with undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) frantically pursuing a drug dealer through the backstreets of Detroit. Carnahan makes some of the best ever use of the shaky-cam technique that was subsequently popularised by the Bourne movies, as it is clear that the cameraman is using a handheld camera and sprinting not far behind Patric. This lends the scene a breathless intensity and immediacy, pulling the audience into the world of Narc and refusing to let go. The film features career best performances from Patric and Ray Liotta, who is a revelation as the overweight and haunted detective Henry Oak. The two men begin an investigation into the death of undercover officer Michael Calvess, and the murky, seedy nature of undercover work is exposed to the audience. Carnahan plays the mounting suspicion directed towards Oak brilliantly, as the audience is shown telling glimpses of both detective's personal lives and therefore is disgusted when the plot reveals that Oak may be at the very least corrupt, and potentially even worse. Carnahan has helmed several good films since Narc, notably directing Liam Neeson in The Grey, but we believe it may still be his best work.
