Midnight Cop (1988)

Perfect cast and a good story

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

"Inspector Alex Glass" (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is in charge of an investigation into the murder of several young women and the only suspect he has so far is a drug-dealer named "Jack Miskowski" (Frank Stallone). But Jack Miskowski is a hard man to find so in order to apprehend him Alex has to dig deep into the shady nightlife of Berlin. It's here that he meets a beautiful prostitute name "Lisa" (Morgan Fairchild) and falls in love with her. What he doesn't realize is that Lisa has a connection to Jack Miskowski and the deeper the investigation takes him the more dangerous it is to her. Now rather than reveal any more of the plot and risk ruining it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this movie starts off in a rather confusing manner. Throw in the murky scenery and weak character development and it gets even more bewildering. Even so I liked the sardonic wit of Armin Mueller-Stahl who managed to keep things interesting. Likewise, Morgan Fairchild looked quite fabulous as well. All things considered then I rate this movie as about average.

This is the story of a police inspector who is carrying the weight of inadvertently injuring a little girl in the process of apprehending a drug dealer. A young woman is killed. He gets together with a prostitute in order to get more information and pursue the evildoer. In the process there is a series of encounters with Morgan Fairchild. It's all eye candy and voyeurism. There is little to recommend this movie. It is frenetic and wanders around all over the place. Of course, Morgan Fairchild, being the great Shakespearean actress that she is, puts forth a masterful performance. Armin Mueller-Stah, a German actor, and Michael York don't fair much better in their roles. It just didn't seem like it was worth the time.

**SPOILERS** Just too hard to follow with too many sub-plots makes "Killing Blue" fall apart long before the movies unsurprising conclusion. That's about as exciting as an attack of insomnia. Berlin homicide inspector Alex Glass is having a bad time with his conscience after he mistakenly shot and injured a little girl in a blotched attempt to arrest a fugitive in a Berlin apartment house. Upset with himself and his work Glass starts to drink and goes into a deep depression over his actions that crippled the girl for life. Glass secretly buys her gifts and presents to make up for what he mistakenly did to her. Even his new assistant Shirley May notices Glass' ugly demeanor with him treating her worse the the criminals that he deals with every day. It's then that something happens that changes Glass' attitude when he becomes involved with the drug death of Ennis Warner. That leads right to Berlin District Attorney Michael Karstens doorstep who's daughter Monica was Ennis' best friend. Being very close to Karstens as both a friend of the lawman Glass took a personal interest in Ennis's death. Finding that Ennis was a street hooker and druggie Glass tracked down her supplier lover and possibly murderer a small-time thug named Jack Miskowski. It turns out that Miskowski was with Ennis the night that she overdosed.The movie then takes a left-turn when high-priced hooker Lisa comes on the scene and Glass, after saving her from a over demanding customer, starts getting it on with her. Only to later find out, from a photo in Lisa's hotel room, that she and Miskowski are lovers as well as being involved in his drug and prostitution racket. It also comes to both Glass and Karsten' attention that Karstens' teenage daughter Monica is a junkie and is also getting her drugs from Miskowski just like her late friend Ennis did. Michael in trying to get Monica away from Miskowski's clutches tries to stop her from meeting him but loses track of her only to find Monica the next day at a construction site strangled to death. Miskowski now Monica's suspected killer gets away from Glass and the Berlin police in a sting operation they set up for him. It's then when the movie really turns upside down with Michael secretly meeting with Miskowski at an empty train station. With what at first looks like an exchange is about to be made between the two Miskowski gets a knife in his gut killing him with Michael taking off with a briefcase that the drug dealer had on him. In his car Michael finds out that he was doubled-crossed by the conning Miskowski but it's now too late for him to make things right for himself. Since Miskowski is no longer around to tell him where the "real deal" really is. Murder blackmail and a major plot twist are the main ingredients to this convoluted police crime drama. That has the victim change into the real villain in the film as we see that he's not the goody goody two shoes that we thought that he was a the start of the movie. Michael Karstens had very serious mental and emotional problems that he acted out some time ago and Miskowski somehow got a hold of a number of photos, or took them himself,that he was blackmailing him with. It also came out, unknowingly at the time to the audience,that Monica also knew about her step-father's secret life that in the end lead to her murder.It was Inspector Glass who had an idea of what was the real reason for Miskowski's death. By him keeping it from the public is what brought Michael out in the open and thus expose his reasons for not only killing Miskowski but the real and unnerving reason to why he did it.

and it must be the director of this so-called movie. How he got actors on the caliber of Armin Mueller-Stahl and Michael York to make this one I have absolutely no idea. I'm not even sure who Stahl and York are supposed to be. I guess they're cops.