Rating: 
Summary: Corrupt Cop Drama
Review: Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) is a tough veteran police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Investigation Squad who has always been blindly loyal to his boss and mentor Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson) . When 5 people are gunned down in cold blood during a convenience store robbery, Van Meter takes an unusual interest in the case and entrusts Perry and his new rookie partner, Bobby (Scott Speedman), with solving it. But when Perry discovers the identities of the culprits, he finds that his boss doesn't really want the case solved after all. Van Meter wants the crime to be pinned on someone more convenient...who will not be around to refute the accusation. So, as Perry has done many times before, he finds two convenient fall guys to take the rap. Bobby's disgust at the corruption that pervades LAPD's Special Investigation Squad and his anger at his partner for infecting him with the same depravation impel him to confess all that he knows to Assistant Police Chief Holland (Ving Rhames), who has been trying in vain to unveil corruption in the SIS for some time. Meanwhile, Perry's discovery that Van Meter has betrayed him in favor of protecting a couple of murderous thugs leads to his final disillusionment with the police force and the corrupt system that he has loyally served for so many years."Dark Blue" takes place in 1991, in the shadow of the Rodney King police brutality trial. Frequent allusions to the real-life trial are presumably intended to lend a degree a credibility to the fictional story in the movie. But the inclusion of the trial also introduces racial tension to the film, which distracts more from the film's themes than it adds to them. At times "Dark Blue" deteriorates into a battle between White cops and Black cops, which is neither interesting nor enlightening. Police corruption and the rationale that some police officers use to justify what would normally be seen as heinous and terribly unjust actions are interesting, morally complex, and very worthy subjects. But "Dark Blue" only scratches the surface of those ideas. Instead, we see inter-departmental rivalry, an Irish crime boss in the guise of a public servant, an alcoholic middle-aged burn-out cop, and a severely underwritten rookie character. The police officers in "Dark Blue" believe that it is just, feasible, and in the public's interest to assault and injure anyone who may have useful information, to fabricate evidence in order to pin crimes on people who did not commit them, and even to murder people who are convenient patsies. And in some of these instances, they actually seem to be right! Or are they? This is the sort of question "Dark Blue" raises but then never really addresses. Perhaps that is not what the movie is supposed to be about. But "Dark Blue" is not nearly focused enough to simply be about Eldon Perry. Kurt Russell's performance here is good. And "Dark Blue" introduces some interesting ideas. But it doesn't flush them out well. And the film suffers from having no sympathetic or likable characters. I give it a marginal recommendation for bringing some of the rationale behind police corruption to light and for Kurt Russell's performance. But as a whole, I find the film lacking.
Rating: 
Summary: Good potential undone by bad casting and direction
Review: Director Ron Shelton takes several compelling elements for another potentially intriguing take on police corruption. First you have Kurt Russell's blistering performance as a bad cop. Second, you have Ving Rhames (always powerful) as his straight arrow boss who's out to nail him. And finally, you have all this drawn against the backdrop of the Rodney King Riots. The potential for Russell and Rhames alone, in what surely could have been a great opportunity for both actors to stretch, to go head to head was enough to warrant this film a serious look. So what do we get instead? In what appears to be an attempt to pull in a younger audience, Russell is assigned a younger partner, played by Scott Speedman. And right away the movie goes downhill. First of all, there is simply no way you buy Speedman as a cop, or for that matter, Russell's character even beginning to take him seriously. He simply looks and comes across like some actor practicing for a role on NYPD Blue (also currently going downhill for similar reasons). Second, they put him in a completely unbelievable romance with another officer (played by Michael Michele, formerly of ER and also wasted). Beyond that, we find that the romance is part of some unnecessary triangle involving Rhames character. What does this all add up to? Nothing remotely interesting as we spend half the film anticipating the riots and the other half wondering when the hell Russell and Rhames are going to get a chance to come after each other. Instead the film wastes valuable story time on Speedman's various conflicts with corruption, already done much more effectively in Training Day. I'm not sure how faithful the script is to James Ellroy's novel, but onscreen it comes across like Shelton is so intent upon recreating the interplay we've already seen in Training Day that he loses sight of the strengths in the characters played by Russell and Rhames. The story should have focused on their conflicts and, like the riots themselves, built up to a breaking point. Still, it's worth renting just to see Russell let loose, as well as an interesting attempt to bring a slice of real-life Los Angeles history into the mix. It's too bad that with this film and the recent Hollywood Homicide, Shelton seems to be slipping. But considering the film business, I guess he's happy to still be working, even if it means compromise.
Rating:
Summary: Too Predictable and Too Slow!
Review: DARK BLUE is one of those films you go into and know the story and outcome. In this case you also know the cause and effects - so in order for this movie to work you need to rely on the characters and story to drive into a "new" point of view of the story you know the ending too. This one fell short quite a bit. I didn't understand why they didn't focus more of the causes and events that related to Kurt Russell's (Breakdown, Escape From New York & LA, The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes) character more. Kurt did give a good performance, but it just wasn't driven enough. It was sometimes hard to follow because of the action sequences were not tightly edited. The supporting characters didn't seem too interested in each other and almost every scene was predictable. Directed by Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup) the film big weakness was its predictability. It revolved around the Rodney King and LA Riots that occurred because of the jury's decisions, but that subplot was more interesting the Psychology of Kurt's character. The film was also slow moving and no energy. 5-19-03
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best Cop Dramas Since Training Day!
Review: I was taken aback by the performance of Kurt Russel and Ving Rhames. Kurt Russel in particular considering that I haven't seen him in a film of this caliber in a while and it was a great welcome back. I nearly thought that I was watching another episode of Training Day however, Kurt's anti-hero character and his villianous deeds are not as bad as Denzel Washington's character in Training Day. Not to give away the plot but at least Kurt's character comes to somekind of redemption. This film is more than a simple "dirty cops" movie. The corrupt police officers do not typify the norm. This film is more about how human beings relate to chaotic world around them. This film is highly recommended as an antidote to an increasing crop of terrible summer films!
Rating:
Summary: Weakest Product of the Conflicted Cop Genre
Review: Since "Training Day" everybody has wanted to make a "conflicted LA cop" product. Training Day was good because of the strength of the dialogue and Denzel Washington's on-screen presence. Dark Blue puts an interesting twist on the genre by setting the story during the L.A. riots, but it still fails to deliver. 1) The writing just isn't there, the dialogue is not as snappy as Training Day. 2) The movie is utterly predicable. I mean "bad cop with a good heart teamed up with a young idealistic partner", we've seen it all before. 3) The riots play a very minor role in the movie. This movie sounds and feels like an extra long episode of FX's "The Shield," and while Dark Blue would work on television it just doesn't deliver the goods on the big screen.
Rating:
Summary: Again weak third act
Review: The problem with films today doesn't seem to be actors abilities to convey the material but the material actually being strong enough to be worthy of a movie.
Russell sort of disintegrates-lite as a rogue cop and Rhames spends most of his time being righteous and trying to figure out a way to capture him. The LA riots as a backdrop was a nic etwist but this bad cop--kinda good cop who's lost his way film has played on for too long. The big suprirse of the film is that Russell's character doesn't die at the end. Generally there's a triumphant fatal ending that redeems the bad cop in some way but instead Russell admits his crimes.
Michelle Michael is very strong here as well as Khandu Alexander but the third act of the film seems to be locked in by the choice of Russell coming clean or dying. Perhaps cop movies have been segmented by so many other films that it's hard to find an original spin on the "impossible job---must become as dirty as those you hunt" premise.
Rating:
Summary: 3 1/2 Stars: The Lower Depths
Review: "Dark Blue" arrives on the screen with superior credentials: a script penned by the man who wrote "Training Day," from a story by the ultimate commentator on all things Los Angeles, James Ellroy and directed by Ron Shelton who also directed the sublime "Bull Durham." The scope of the film is daunting because it not only deals with bad police, acting badly it is also set in the days before and right after the Rodney King Trial decisions and the repercussions that they caused on the street of Los Angeles; which, by the way was not at all a 100% African American response. It was also a Latin American and Asian American response to the court decisions.
In "Training Day," our "hero" was in charge, taking orders from almost know one: able to decide who, what where he wanting to be or do. Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) does not have this leeway as he is cowered more than once by his Police Chief (Brendan Gleeson as Jack Van Meter). It is Van Meter calling the shots here and Perry and his partner, Booby Keough (Scott Speedman) are mere pawns in Van Meter's world.
Even though all the pieces of this film are intriguing, it just doesn't add up to a cohesive whole. Certainly, some of the scenes ring of truth: Perry being scolded, put down really by Van Meter is worth every penny they paid Russell especially the look of hate, disgust mixed with admiration on his face. Russell's Perry is a man who has paid the price of fitting in, being one of the boys, being a team player with the currency of his ethics and his self-esteem. Ving Rhames is way under-utilized as Deputy Chief of Police Holland. But his mere presence adds solidity and honesty to the proceedings.
"Dark Blue" does not achieve the emotional or the gut wrenching, feral heights of "Training Day" but it definitely has its moments. And it once again shows us what a really fine actor Kurt Russell is.
Rating:
Summary: A must see !
Review: I just saw this picture tonight and it jumps off the screen. It was a late show and nobody else was there.that was a huge shame because kurt russell gives his best performance ever.this isnt some tacky action flick, its a great film and should not be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Kurt Russell performance!!
Review: This is a very gritty movie, the theme of which is becoming all to familiar. TRAINING DAY and NARC most recently brought us the "corrupt cop who may be worse than the bad guys" ilk of films, but done in such a "gritty, realistic" manner so to garner loads of critical acclaim. DARK BLUE follows in that tradition, with Kurt Russell as the cop who for years has done the dirty work of some of LAPD's higher-ups. They've covered for him, and he clears high-profile cases for them, usually by implicating a random bad guy and then making sure they get offed during their arrests, so they don't have to go to trial and be found blatantly not-guilty. Throw into the mix an ambitious cop trying to bring down Russell and his handlers (Ving Rhames, who unfortunately, is starting to play every part the same), Russell's new partner, who is torn between following Russell's ways of getting things done or rebelling from them (played by Ethan Hawke...no, make that Scott Steadman, from TV's FELICITY...he's actually pretty good, but might want to watch coasting on his nice smile a bit too much), and a young, ambitious cop who works for Rhames and is having an affair with Steadman (Michael Michele, who just FLAT OUT CANNOT ACT!!!). Does this all sound confusing? Actually, the movie keeps it plot and its battles of good vs. evil pretty clear cut. We're torn between admiring Russell's willingness to kill really bad guys (he won't kill innocents, only people he knows deserve it) and our repulsion at what he's doing. We can also see that his decent into this particular hell is tearing him up inside, and destroying his marriage. In some ways, the movie is pretty simplistic, but it makes its points and stirs our emotions nonetheless. This would be an OK movie as it stands, but Russell elevates it a notch. This is most likely his best performance. He looks seedy, worn out, hyper, despairing, angry and forlorn, often all at once. He's highly charismatic, and frankly, is more believable as this corrupt cop than Denzel Washington was in TRAINING DAY. ALso, the movie takes place right smack in the middle of the Rodney King beating trial, and when the verdict comes in and the rioting starts, the climatic scenes of the movie take place during those riots. We don't really need that backdrop to get the points of the movie, yet it's a thrilling and shockingly immediate reminder of those times. Even our "Heroes" are taken aback by the violence they see all around them. I recommend this movie for adults who aren't squeamish. There are some pretty brutal killings, and lots and lots of bad language. Not for kids. It's a grim movie, but well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Not too bad at all
Review: I read some reviews before seeing this movie and didn't expect much based on them. I liked it though. The story was okay. The action and tension were pretty good. The story has taken a number of ultraliberal myths about the LAPD's SIS cops and presented them as if those myths were credible in the slightest (which they aren't). I don't know if there was an agenda there or if those myths simply provided the groundwork for an okay thriller. I can definitely say that the riots in the movie have nothing to do with story whatsoever, which is strange since they are advertised in the previews as being integral to it. Heck, I thought the riots were what the movie was supposed to be about.... But they only enter as atmosphere for the action and are separate from the storyline entirely.
|
