Dark Blue

DARK BLUE (2003) ***1/2 Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman, Ving Rhames, Michael Michele, Lola Davidovich, Brendan Gleeson, Jonathan Banks. Russell gives the performance of his career as morally corrupt LA cop Eldin Perry, assigned to a special forces unit, who uses his power to put the screws to the animals he patrols by any means necessary , instructing his rookie partner Speedman , until things come to a bloody head in the shadow of the Rodney King trial. Rhames as the deputy chief of police determined to bring Perry down provides the missing social backbone to this insightfully gritty look at bad cops gone wild. Filmmaker Ron Shelton affectively uses the historic time setting perfectly in capturing the tempest in a teacup that acts as a perfect metaphor for the screenplay written by David Ayer based on James Ellroy's story.

Here's a decent corrupt cop thriller that has two exceptional things going for it. The first is an at-the-top-of-his-game Kurt Russell giving the kind of subtle, layered performance you only get from a pro; it would be so easy for his dark-hearted cop to be a caricature, but thanks to Russell he's far from it. Russell is one of those actors who make a lot of lightweight fare (BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, etc.) and whose genuine talents are sometimes forgotten about, which is a shame. Check out the monologue he gets to himself here - excellent.

The second thing going for this is the backdrop of the L.A. race riots in 1992. A simmering undercurrent of violence runs throughout the movie, from the casual violence of the opening robbery to the bravura climax. The atmosphere is frightening, a perfect match for the ruthlessness of the cops who think they're above the law, and perfectly realised.

Add in a taut script, a seasoned round of pros (Brendan Gleeson, Ving Rhames) and a fairly good performance from newcomer Scott Speedman and you have a solid, highly watchable drama.

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")

Kurt Russel and Scott Speedman star in this this thriller about an elderly cop, named Eldon (Russel) who is corrupt, yet thinks what he does is for the greater good. His younger partner, named Bobby(Speedman) is new on the force, and he's taking on his partners way of being a cop. While Eldon and Bobby are out doing their 'thing', a robbery occurs. Several people are left dead, and its up to Eldon and Bobby to solve the case, in their own way.

The story goes on from there, and takes several unexpected turns, and proves to be highly entertaining, just like the rest of the movie. Kurt Russel's acting is top-notch, but unfortunetly Scott Speedman doesn't really deliver a very striking performance. But other than Speedman's lacking acting skills, the movie is very good. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, and there are several subplots that all come together in the end, giving us an ending which leaves us all satisfied.

Now, this is definetly not an action movie. Instead it relies on its story and the characters, and that's a very good move by the director. But there are still moments where we are in awe of the movie, such as the riot scenes. Scenes of absolute anarchy.

All in all, a very good movie. Recommended to all who wants a good story to sit back and enjoy. 8/10

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