Dark Blue [2003]

Overall this is a very good film. The story is very similair to Training Day but in my opinion Kurt's performance is better. His acting is superb. He manages to make the climax emotional but doesn't over act at any point in the film. His character is completely beleivable. I also liked the rest of the cast. Ving Rhames was a great choice for the role as deputy chief. Scott Speedman also done a great job as Kurt's partner.

The pits
Review date: 2003-11-23 Rating: 4 out of 10

As a resident of the Greater Los Angeles area, I'll be the first to say that LA isn't the most salubrious place to live. But DARK BLUE paints such an unflattering portrait of the city and it's police force that even I was mildly disgusted.

Kurt Russell is LAPD Sgt. Eldon Perry serving with a special investigations unit. Both his grandfather and father were also LA cops. The family tradition is that you take a sleazeball off the streets by subduing him, shooting him in cold blood, planting a bogus weapon, then claim self defense in the subsequent Internal Affairs hearing. Perry's new partner, rookie Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman), is learning the ropes. The Perry philosophy is shared by his boss, Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson), who has crooked deals going on the side that even Eldon doesn't know about. Out to nail them all is Deputy Chief Holland (Ving Rhames), whose skeleton in the closet is that he once slept with his aide, Sgt. Beth Williamson (Michael Michelle), who herself is now bedding Keough.

This film has no engaging characters. Russell's Perry makes Denzel Washington's Alonzo Harris (TRAINING DAY) seem positively charming in comparison. Holland is the nominal good guy, but he demonstrates all the vitality and leadership qualities of a brick. Keough is so muddled that, by the time he sorts himself out, it's hard to care. Williamson is a knockout in her dark blue dress uniform, but otherwise has all the warmth of a police .38 stored in an icebox.

DARK BLUE adds insult to injury by positioning the storyline during that week in April 1992 when Rodney King's police beaters were acquitted and parts of Los Angeles were looted and torched by angry mobs. At the very end, as I gazed on a downtown panorama of flames and smoke, I wished that all Midwesterners, Southerners, Northerners, and Easterners wishing to move to overcrowded SoCal could see this film. Perhaps they'd decide to relocate to the Balkans instead.

Easily Digestable Corrupt Cops Tale
Review date: 2003-10-29 Rating: 8 out of 10

This film follows the fortunes of a pair of 'dirty' cops.
Both cops on the surface appear to be the sort of good looking, maverick, gung-ho cops we like to see in movies. This is not a 'Lethal weapon' movie. Its a gritty down to earth cops tale.

The cops have apparently drifted into a path of conduct where a certain level of institutional corruption appears to be accepted and tolerated. They don't try to profit from events themselves but are guilty of bending the rules to satisfy their superiors orders. This involves the far worse crimes of framing and murder.

The two cops very similar to the Russell Crowe character in 'L.A. Confidential'. They are uncomfortable with the morality of what they are doing but accept it as the way it has always been. You can't but help want them to come out on top but you also want them to redeem themselves or turn their backs on the corruption.

The events take place in L.A. just before and during the riots triggered by the real life equital of a group of cops who were filmed beating a black suspect in the early 90's. These events add an extra level of credibility to the film.

The film is a little gem in that I had no previous conceptions about it beforehand. It has received little or no publicity and hype. It's therefore a film you can watch without having any idea how it will end.

It is well acted and well plotted. There have been quite a few corrupt Cop films recently but with the exception of 'L.A. Confidential', I would class this as one of the best. The story is clear and well executed but conventional. It gets the message across without going to seedy or confusing like the 'Bad Lieutenant' or 'Training Day'.

Kurt Russell is one of those actors that has been making pretty good films for ages without ever quite getting into the 'A' division. In my opinion 'Dark Blue'is in the 'Tombstone' and 'Executive Decision' league of the Kurt Russell filmography.
If you liked 'L.A. Confidential', you will like this film.