Reglas de lealtad

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.

I'm unsure as to what I really think of this film. I enjoyed watching it, though it was in reality nothing special. It started rather slowly, and for the longest time you are not sure what the story is about. Are we watching Tom's character, Rem, falling in love, ruining his career, or is the film about the investigation and finding the baddy! Well neither story really worked out. The plot through out the film is complicated and about persons you don't see at all in the movie, though the ending (at least to me) was a surprise (one of this time when you think you've cracked it, but then there is one final twist!). And the love story was unbelievable and looked more like a middle aged man getting turned on by a teen. However, there was something about the film that still kept me interested, so like I say, I'm not completely clear as to how to judge it. I think what maybe kept the film both interesting and enjoyable was very good acting by Lori Heuring, playing the girl Nikki. 5/10

What could have been and should have been is not what is.

What is - is not what you expect and what you expect is not what is.

The last few minutes of this movie are just stupid.

Watch for the train scene...

If the cops were bad from the beginning, then it would all make sense...

...but I suspect it was rewritten several times and cut so much that the script was just stupid at the end.

• and on another note...why do the single/divorced /widowed police always have to fall in love with the stripper/prostitute/witness? It's a bullshi t way to write a script that was written in the eras of the 1940's and 50's and should be done with.

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", 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)