The Dispatched is a 2007 American Crime-drama cop gangster film starring Tobey Maguire, Tom Welling, Kevin Bacon, Michael Ironside, and Sam Jones III. It's rated R but don't worry adults, there's no nudity.
Summary[]
In 1947, after killing a killer, a 27-year-old cop is promoted by his captain to hunt down a mob-boss while they hire a gangster turned rookie cop to go undercover as mobster to get evidence but are being stopped by police corruption.
Plot[]
In 1927, 7-year-old Cole Phelps meets and befriends 14-year-old Jack Kelso. They both have the same interest in wanting to stop criminals. The true person they want to fight the most is Leland Monroe (Michael Ironside), Irish mob boss and C.I.A.'s most wanted gangster in history. They both agree to become cops and take down that mafia.
20 years later in 1947, 27-year-old Cole (Tom Welling) and 34-year-old Jack (Tobey Maguire) attend Police Academy and befriend Fleetwood Morgan (Sam Jones III) but dislike selfish and arrogant cadets Roy Earle (Kevin Bacon) and Vernon Mapes (Michael Rosenbaum). They later graduate with Cole being detective and Kelso being a rookie.
Later, Cole is called to help take down dangerous murderer Jimmy "Honey Boy" de Facto (Martin Starr), who is trying to kill his wife. However, Cole manages to shoot him with a shotgun but Honey Boy dies from the wound.
Also at night, he discovers Frank Morgan (Crispin Glover) is planning to sell illegal fish but Cole comes to the scene, knocking out two bad guys. A car chase gets involved but the truck crashes and Frank is arrested.
At the police station, Cole is promoted to staff sergeant and becomes loyal to Captain James Donnelly (Liam Neeson). He assigns Cole and Kelso to take down Monroe. Kelso will go undercover as a gangster while Cole will work on evidence.
At a bar, Kelso meets Monroe's henchman Harlan J. Fontaine (Kurt Russell) and gets his loyalty by assaulting a red neck. However, Fontaine randomly breaks Kelso's arm. However, when Donnelly arrives to help Kelso, Fontaine kills Donnelly by throwing him out a window. Kelso is forced to help them in a shootout but one of them is shot and injured.
At the department, Cole starts making plans on the undercover mission. However, Roy frames Cole for adultery and has him demoted. When Roy makes insult, him and Cole get into a fight but are restrained by Morgan and Vernon. Cole vows to get back at Roy.
At a bar, Kelso starts trying to heal the wounded gangster but recognizes him as Ralph Dunn (Nathan Darrow), another undercover cop. Dunn warns Kelso not to make any mistakes and to tell Cole that he said, "Dismissed soldier." Then sadly, Dunn dies of blood loss and Kelso is guilt ridden by this.
At a store, Kelso meets Bettie (Kirsten Dunst), Roy's wife. He then invites her to his apartment.
At his apartment, they talk about Roy's behavior. Bettie informs Kelso about Cole's demotion. Kelso gets revenge on Roy by having an affair with Bettie. However, they fall in love.
At the department, Cole is now partners with Herschel Biggs (Robert Downey Jr.) but is disliked by Lachlan McKelty (J.K. Simmons), the new captain. However, Herschel dislikes Roy for causing Cole's demotion.
At a bank, Cole and Herschel help each other take down robbers. Cole also stops a jumper from committing suicide. They also shoot an abusive old man (R. Lee Ermey) for trying to kill a woman. Then they help a gas station employee take down three punks. They find out that they're just taking down the mob. Cole announces that Monroe is running out of friends and they will take them down at a Bowling Lane.
At the Bowling Lane, Kelso secretly dispatches officers to go there. Once Monroe is inside, cops arrive. A shootout starts, Herschel kills Fontaine. Monroe orders Kelso to help but Kelso reveals himself as a cop and shoots Monroe in the stomach, wounding him. The wounded Monroe tries to escape from the back door but is confronted by Cole. Monroe tries to shoot but Cole guns him down and kills him. He then finds a phone but hides it and announces that Monroe is dead.
At the department, everyone cheers for Cole and he is now captain. However, Jack Kelso investigates the phone and the caller is Roy Earle, revealing Roy as the dirty cop.
At Roy's home, Bettie is sent the evidence and divorces Roy in disgust.
At a store, Jack and Fleetwood meet there. Jack gives Fleetwood evidence and tells him to go because Roy arrives. Fleetwood escapes while Jack starts running but Roy shoots Jack through the back of the shoulder, mortally wounding him. Cole finds Jack and is told to meet Fleetwood in an alley. Also, Jack's last words are, "Tell Bettie Earle that I said 'Bye, bye, black bird.'" However, Jack sadly dies from blood loss. Cole just mourns his friend's death while Herschel comforts him.
In an alley, Fleetwood is held at gunpoint by Vernon, who is also corrupt. Cole arrives but Fleetwood is shot by Vernon. Vernon tries to escape but crashes into a cop car. Once Vernon gets out, the left side of his forehead is blown off with a fatal shot to the head by Cole. Cole checks on Fleetwood, who dies from his wound. However, Cole finds evidence that Roy is corrupt and gathers a few of his friends to help out.
At the police station, Cole's group consists of Herschel, Courtney Sheldon (Nicolas Cage), Stefan Bekowsky (Brian Geraghty), and Rusty Galloway (Charlie Sheen). Cole makes a speech to the police about Kelso and reminds them that he was their brother. He then takes out evidence and exposes Roy of his corruption. He then asks if they should do something about it and the officers agree. McKelty admits he's starting to like Phelps and made an agree with the other superiors to help out. Cole declares that he wants Roy dead or alive and wants every officer or agent to know about Roy, which was agreed.
In some neighborhood, a depressed Roy just finds a man but decides to rob him. However, Cole's group encounter him and start aiming guns at him, revealing that they know everything. Enraged from being found out, he shoots the man and starts running. However, they surround him at a warehouse and point guns at him. He tries to shoot them but his gun runs out of bullets and they shoot him five times, mortally wounding him. He then hallucinates seeing the future monster Laughing Jack (voiced by Willem Dafoe) writing Roy's name on a book that kills people. He panics but Laughing Jack tells him that he can't go to Heaven nor Hell and instead gets nothing. Humiliated by his defeat, Roy dies an agonizing death as the officers look at him in disgust and hatred. Many civilians cheer at Roy's death, being glad to be free of him.
At the police station, Cole informs Bettie of Jack's death and his last words. A depressed Bettie cries for Jack as Cole comforts her.
The end credits text states that Stefan took full blame for Roy's death and is sentenced to 12 years in prison while Cole and the others retire.
Cast[]
- Tobey Maguire as Jack Kelso - One of the Main Protagonists of the film alongside Cole Phelps. He is based on John Dillinger from Public Enemies and Billy Costigan from The Departed.
- Tom Welling as Cole Phelps - One of the Main Protagonists of the film alongside Jack Kelso. He is based on Melvin Pervus from Public Enemies and Staff Sergeant Dignam from The Departed.
- Kevin Bacon as Roy Earle - The Secondary later True Main Antagonist of the film and Cole's rival. He is a corrupt cop and undercover gangster who works for Leland Monroe and kills Jack Kelso. He is based on Charles B. Winstead from Public Enemies and Colin Sullivan from The Departed.
- Michael Ironside as Leland Monroe - The Main Antagonist of the film and C.I.A.'s most-wanted mob boss. He is Roy's foster father and boss. Monroe is wanted for various crimes. He is based on Frank Costillo from The Departed.
T.V. Tropes[]
- Adaptational Heroism: Although Cole is also a hero in the game inspiration, he cheated on his wife but he doesn't do it in this film and is instead framed for it.
- A**hole Victim: Being a dirty cop and undercover gangster that murders innocent people and ruined lives, Roy Earle gets the most painful and agonizing death ever. No one mourns him and even his wife doesn't care for him. Same goes to his partner Vernon Mapes, who is also a corrupt cop.
- Hate Sink: Just like his video game namesake, Roy Earle is still a corrupt cop but now he's a sociopathic undercover gangster that works for a criminal gang and is already an unlikeable bully before this is revealed. He framed Cole Phelps for adultery, manipulates his own wife, murders Jack Kelso, and is responsible for the deaths of other good people. No one sheds a tear when he dies.
- Karmic Death: Unlike the film's inspiration, Roy Earle doesn't get away with his corruption and is killed by all the good cops that hate him.
- The Hero Dies: Jack Kelso dies near the end at the hands of Roy.