Dark Blue

About halfway through this movie, I realized I hadn't blinked once. That's when I knew that I was watching a really good film. Kurt Russell is no slouch of an actor. He was riveting. This was a well crafted cop flick where everyone seems to have dirt on someone else, and meanwhile, there are crimes being committed, and L.A. is about to erupt in rioting.

The great thing about this flick is that it doesn't try to be more than it is. Which is just a very entertaining, suspenseful cop movie.

Well worth a watch.

Or two.

LAPD. For many years, Eldon Perry(Russell, giving a great deal of charm to a scumbag) has handled the streets the old-fashioned way, like he prefers to. But things might be changing soon. Arthur(Rhames, refreshingly not seeming like he could explode into violence at any point) wants to clean up the force. And it seems like it's just a matter of time.

This is pretty good as a companion piece to Training Day. In a few ways it is superior to that, in most ways, it is slightly inferior to it. The acting tends to be great. This is not an action movie. It's currently listed as being a crime-drama-thriller, which I agree with. With that said, there are a handful of tense and suspenseful scenes, and the climax is decent. It's cliched. The pacing is overall too slow, and is perhaps the main place where you can really see that Ron Shelton is not used to this kind of film. The fact that, despite fitting with the movies themes of corruption in law enforcement, ultimately the LA riots are background only, and that some of the depiction of the riots is problematic, is one element of this being exploitative.

This contains a little nudity and sexuality, and a bit of strong, bloody violence. I recommend it to big fans of Movies about crooked cops. 7/10

1st watched 8/21/2003 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Ron Shelton): Well done good cop/bad cop movie that works because the good & the bad are basically caught in the same trap and some of the characters change from one to the other during the film. Kurt Russell's character is one of them that changes. He is bad with a capital `B' in the beginning. He's foul-mouthed, racist and doesn't care much for justice but wants to cover the good guys' behind whenever possible. He is totally believable as this redneck character. His partner is being taught to lie in what they call a `shooting trial' where they question the cop on a convict-shooting to make sure it was the `only' option. The setting for the film is a few days before the `non-guilty' Rodney King verdict in L.A., but this is only a backdrop to the movie's story. There is typical corruption in the police ranks but in this one, the star is involved in the corruption. Without giving away too much of the story, basically the cops are involved in another shooting and the partner decides to tell the truth which leads to other events that bring about the much-hoped-for ending. It's neat the way the filmmaker uses the Rodney King fiasco to blend in with the action of the story which kind of adds a separate element that everyone is quietly following as they do their jobs. The acting, the direction and the story blend together for a very satisfying and watchable movie despite the typical bad cop/good cop genre that the story is based on. Hooray for all involved on this one!!

Dark Blue was one of those movies I saw the trailer for back when it was first coming out in theaters that I had always wanted to see. For one reason or another I put it off and I eventually forgot about it. Over time some fellow film fans said this was worth watching and deserves a look. Kurt Russell's character is mean and lovable. He's a dirty cop, but we're with him every step of the way. There is a little bit of Training Day in this but one could argue Dark Blue is dirtier and angrier. This is not a typical character for Kurt Russell, and it's one of his best films from the past 10 years. I was surprised I hadn't seen this back when it came out. If you love Kurt, action films, and cop stories than Dark Blue is for you. Overall a good movie.

In 1992, in Los Angeles, Homicide Detective Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) is a member of the third generation of detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department. His partner is the rookie Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman), the nephew of the Chief of the Department Jack Van Meter (Breendan Gleeson), one of the best friends of Eldon's father. Eldon follows his orders without questioning, being protected by his superior, when interrogated by the Internal Affairs. Jack and Eldon do not have ethics, using intimidation, corruption and blackmail to achieve their targets and defeat their enemies. However, Assistant Chief Holland (Ving Rhames) is a honest officer, who fights against the corruption in the department and wants to destroy Jack and Elson. Bobby does not fit well in such a corrupted environment and is in love with Sargent Beth Williamson (Michael Michele), who works with Holland and had a love affair with him five years before. When four persons are executed in a Corean store by two criminals protected by Jack, Eldon and Bobby are in charge to find two scapegoats to take the blame. Meanwhile, tension is increasing on the streets of Los Angeles due to the trial of four white officers, who spanked the black motorist Rodney King. Having the backdrop of the real case of Rodney King, and consequent violence on the streets of LA after the absolving of the four white officers responsible for his aggression, and many plot points, "Dark Blue" is a very different, realistic and dramatic police story. Themes like racism, police excessive (or brutal) use of force for intimidation, corruption, blackmail, violent crimes, redemption etc. are presented in this film. The corruption in all levels of the police department and the justice system is explored in this movie. Although being in Los Angeles, it could be in most of the police departments of different nations. The performance of Kurt Russell is once again amazing, in the role of a man who goes to hell, destroying his personal and professional life in all the aspects, and looking for redemption in the end. "Dark Blue" is a highly recommended movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Face Oculta da Lei" ("The Hidden Face of the Law")