| Posted by: Jon Cocco at February 22, 2003, 7:29 pm | | Topic: Reviews: Dark Blue Forum: JoBlo | | Synopsis - Dark Blue takes place in a racially charged L.A, right before the verdict is announced for the white officers who beat Rodney King in 1992. Two partners, Eldon Perry played by Kurt Russell, is teaching his partner the ways of the game. (a bit similar to Training Day) Both of them bend the rules to get the job done, which involves an investigation against them. While struggling to maintain his own personal problems, Eldon Perry carefully works to avoid apprehension by Chief Holland (Ving Rhames) I wanted to see this film because Kurt Russell used to be fun to watch (Stargate) before his movies became terrible. Dark Blue is written by the same people behind Training Day and L.A. Confidential. Both of those films were really good, (and they had great directors) and the fact that Kurt Russell is a very good actor really interested me. These are the facts on Dark Blue. Dark Blue is a cool cop drama / thriller. It mainly goes over the work of SIS officer Eldon Perry (Russell) and his partner. It shows the corruption of the police department, crime victims, politics, and the impact that the Rodney King case had on Los Angeles. Dark Blue is unfortunately not as balanced or effective as it could have been. It starts off really good, and the ending is pretty good and conclusive as well. The problem is that the entire middle of the film is very slow. Several events of powerful dialogue or humor do occur. However, not enough of plot and interesting story or action takes place to make this whole film good. Dark Blue attempts to be realistic and not a the least bit over-done, like Training Day became. The script is trying to create too much side plots, when the overall outline is nothing complex, deep, or original enough to merit an over-written (or lack of action involved script) Kurt Russell gives his best performance since Breakdown. He has several scenes that are quite effective and enjoyable. It is not an excellent performance, because the script seems limited to his character ... but a very realistic, believable, sincere performance nonetheless. Ving Rhamas (Chief) also gives a good performance during the few scenes he is in. Basically, Dark Blue should not be compared with Training Day because the only thing they really share is that two partners are riding around in an unmarked car, and one partner bends the rules to bring justice to the criminals. That is where all similarities end. I really enjoyed both Training Day and L.A. Confidential much more than Dark Blue for several reasons. First off, Dark Blue lacks the action and energetic directing that made the other films so enjoyable. The director here spends too much time keeping the characters in one spot, like in rooms, houses, etc... not enough movement or action besides the beginning and end. Also, Kurt Russells partner is not effective at all. Not only does this guys image look totally annoying, but they just don't seem to blend together (like Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington) Kurts partner accomplishes almost nothing by the end of the film. Unlike Ethan Hawke in Training Day, who really created structure and emotion, Russells partner is just a boring, undeveloped mess who can't live with any guilt, even if the few illegal things they do can be covered up. I am glad for Kurt Russell, that he has finally made a film that official reviewers consider above average, but the excessive dialogue, lack of action, unoriginal moments, and slow directing (during a handful of drawn-out parts) make this film less enjoyable than it should have been. Dark Blue has its moments that you will enjoy, but by the end it feels like just another piece of entertainment that could have been just as entertaining as a rental or TV movie. I hate to say that because Kurt Russell does such a good job at proving that he is a talented actor. The movie however is only decent compared to his performance. If you're a fan of Kurt Russell, you'll enjoy this. If you like a cop drama with some intense, poweful, or historical themes and scenes, you should enjoy this ... but it isn't that good. 2.3 / 4 stars or a C+ |
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