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Posted by: Puck Bond at March 8, 2003, 1:04 am

Topic: Reviews: Dark Blue Forum: JoBlo

Dark Blue is a surprisingly good cop thriller that is tense, taut and quite riveting from start to finish. This film takes police corruption to a whole different level. I really wasn't expecting much going ino this film but I was really surprised at how much it grabed me and held me interested througout. Kurt Russell gives his best performance in years (it's probably his best performance since Tombstome(1993)) as Sgt. Eldon Perry an elite detective in the L.A.P.D. who breaks procedure and bends the rules to get the job done. He doesn't do it because he can or wants to, but because he has to. To get the job done he has to falsify evidence and even take down criminals, who while they deserve what they get, don't get a fair shake. Scott Speedman plays Bobby, Eldon's young and bright partner, who ultimately wants to do the right thing and be an honest cop, but begins to fall into the same trap as his elder partner, who is in too deep as it is. Their boss is Jack Van Meter played by Brendan Gleeson, who is abolutely superb in this film as a corrupt captain who pulls the strings and has Perry and Bobby on his leash. The backdrop for this film is early 1990's Los Angeles and centers around the Rodney King beating and the subsequent riots that took place after the four officers who beat King were found not guilty. The racial tension that was so present at that time adds to this film immensely as their is also real, palpable racial tesion within the L.A.P.D. One of my favorite scenes in the entire film is when Bobby and his black girlfriend/cop played by Michael Michele are in a car when the Rodney King verdict is annouced over the police radio. The look on her face is just amazing...because she knows what is coming as all the cops do...the city is going to burn and boy does it! The always good and interesting Ving Rhames plays Dep. Chief Arthur Holland...a man who knows he is dealing with corupt cops and shady officials and is also motivated by becoming chief of the department one day. The story centers on a brutal robbery/murder of a convenience store by two young thuglike killers (one white and one black). I wont go into the reasons for the robbery, but I will say this opening scene is a startling one. It is a shockingly brutal and intense scene that it immedately grabs you at the begining of this film. From then on I was hooked. Perry and Bobby naturally take on the brutal investigation and their dilemna is fleshed out by what happens to the case and the road it takes. Kurt Russell's position as a corrupt monster of a cop with no return also has a deep affect on his wife Sally, played by Lolita Davidovich. This was handled in a very real and sad sort of way. You sort of see the signs but it is still a surprise when it happens. This film surprised and thrilled me on many levels and it really deserves to be seen. The ending is thrilling and the depiction of the chaos of the L.A. riots is expertly done as is Russell's impassioned confession and speech at the end of this film. Overall, Dark Blue is a very well done and effective cop drama about corruption and racial tension set amid the Rodney King beating and L.A. Riots. A superb performance by Kurt Russell, and much more than just an over the top caricature (Denzel Washington in Trainng Day). A very good film and the best I've seen so far this year...don't miss it.

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