True Blue

"True Blue", just another Berenger B-flick, is a noir wannabe in which he plays a homicide detective with a past who's trying to get to the bottom of a murder mystery while trying to avoid the bottom of a blond tart involved with the case. This budget conscious flick fleshes out only half the characters in its convoluted and messy plot, relegating the other half to the backstory or endless conversation about the goings-on of a bunch of bad guys we don't get to see. "True Blue" is the kind of flick you might want to watch on late night tv when your choices are limited to vampires and old movies. (C)

TV thrillers. So many of them and they all somehow mesh together in your mind. It's sad to see Tom Berenger, a quality actor, not getting any good roles these days in movies, so this is basically what we can expect in the future. That said, True Blue gave me quite a shock; in the sense that I actually found it entertaining.

Tom stars as a broken down, physically aggressive, alcoholic detective with a past (do they come any other way?) who's investigating a crime that may uncover some police corruption. So who's really a True Blue?

This is actually a fairly well written yarn, fast paced and well acted. Tom is solid as the stereotypical detective and the rest do a good job as well. The plot is well constructed and offers a few unexpected twists in the end. It has that TV feel to it, but it does well what it sets out to do; entertain those less demanding. This is no Chinatown, but it's a solid mystery none the less.

A tough cop is taken off a major drug case because of his 'cowboy' antics and finds himself assigned to a case where all he has is a severed hand floating in the water. Luckily for him the hand still had fingers so the prints lead us to a missing city hall employee.

Exploring the girl's past leads us into involvement with a Chinese drug gang which are hero has reason to detest. Next we are led to a pedophiliac elected official, blackmail, several dancers, some murders and dirty cops.

Berenger carries the film singlehandedly and it follows a predictable course until the end. The 10 minute conclusion takes us thru more twists than most mystery writers can concoct in several novels so most viewers should come away well satisfied.

Berenger is good, the rest of the cast are adequate. The story is very predictable and somewhat incoherent. A pretty explicit s/m scene is included to spice things up a bit, but it seems out of place. Not recommended viewing, but if you have nothing better to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon, then ...

True Blue (2001) is typical standard fare for action film. A loose cannon police officer gets involved with a pretty young woman who may possibly be involved in case he's investigating.

Three young boys find a severed hand hanging to a boat in a Central Park pond. Rem Macy (Tom Berenger) is the investigation. The investigation will lead Macy into the underworlds of the city. Many of the local politicians are involved in the shady underground.

Nikki, the roommate of the murder victim asks to stay at Macy's place. He accepts figuring that it will be safe for Nikki. Now, Macy has to use his head and make sure other parts of his anatomy don't cloud his judgement.

True Blue has some nice twists and turns, as well as a fine performance from Tom Berenger (Major League). The film is decent enough for a viewing, but not a movie that I would rewatch.