TV Reviews : Diverting, Derivative ‘Nails’ Stars Hopper

Dennis Hopper is “Nails,” as in “tough as,” in the made-for-cable movie of the same name (premiering tonight at 9 on Showtime). He’s a veteran cop who’s--yes--out to avenge the death of his partner. He’s the kind of rugged renegade who’s--yes--always insulting his superiors in the department, taking pride in their calling him a loose cannon. And he’s the sort of maverick who--yes--likes to spice up the Miranda rule by slugging a suspect around while reading him his rights.

A real original, in other words.

This “character” is the creation, loosely speaking, of screenwriter Larry Ferguson (“Beverly Hills Cop II”) and director John Flynn (“Out for Justice”)--who at times manage to make “Nails” almost as slickly diverting as it is astoundingly derivative. Needless to add, perhaps, there are lotsa laugh lines between gaping bullet wounds.

In their complicated but rarely compelling scenario (which improbably takes place in Los Angeles), Hopper’s fallen comrade is the target of assassins hired by Cuban drug kingpins, all cartoonishly nasty. Hot on their trail, even after--yes--being forced to turn in his badge, Hopper cracks jokes and heads at every stop along the way. He also picks up a new, Spanish-speaking partner and rescues his estranged wife at appropriate intervals.

Hopper is a lot more fun than the action-hero actors who usually fill out this stock role; he at least has the moxie to look scared when 15 guys with automatic weapons are staring him down, and to deliver the requisite tough-guy lines with his trademark maniacal smirk instead of a stoic straight face. But, as much as he doles out cynical justice, this by-the-numbers cop movie doesn’t really do him any.