Audiences game for a nasty, turbulent ride, which is mercifully relieved by some neat performances and jaunty pacing, will strap in their seatbelts.
Dark Blue (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:127
Fresh:73
Rotten:54
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Kurt Russell gives a good performance. Too bad there’s nothing here that you haven’t seen before.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, language and brief sexuality
Runtime: 3 hrs 56 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Feb 21, 2003 Wide
Box Office: $9,059,588
Synopsis: There aren't many cops left like Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell). A member of the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Investigations Squad (SIS), veteran Perry is no stranger to the violence of the... There aren't many cops left like Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell). A member of the Los Angeles Police Department's Special Investigations Squad (SIS), veteran Perry is no stranger to the violence of the streets and the tough decisions that come with the job. He rarely questions the orders given by his powerful boss, Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson). When Van Meter's nephew, Bobby Keogh (Scott Speedman) joins SIS and becomes Perry's partner, the stakes are raised. Keogh, who idolizes both his uncle and Perry, is eager to prove himself. But the naïve rookie has no idea how deep the corruption in the department runs. Set during the racially charged days before the Rodney King verdict and the ensuing L.A. riots, DARK BLUE also looks at racism within the department through its focus on Assistant Chief Arthur Holland (Ving Rhames), who questions the SIS brotherhood and is determined to be the first black chief of the LAPD. Russell is a powerhouse as Perry, a man who has made some difficult decisions in the name of justice. Directed by Ron Shelton (BULL DURHAM, TIN CUP) and based on a story by James Ellroy, the film also stars Michael Michele, Lolita Davidovitch, and rapper Kurupt. [More]
Starring: Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman, Ving Rhames, Brendan Gleeson
Starring: Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman, Ving Rhames, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Michele, Lolita Davidovich, Kurupt
Director: Ron Shelton
Director: Ron Shelton
Screenwriter: David Ayer
Story: James Ellroy
Producer: Caldecot Chubb, David Blocker, James Jacks, Sean Daniel
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Studio: MGM/UA
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Release:
Jun 2, 2009
Reviews for Dark Blue
Effectively gritty when need be, but for most of its running time meanders as it tries to find its central story arc.
Until it dissolves into conventional melodrama during a climactic fracas, this fast-paced story is never less than watchable.
While David Ayer's script lacks the deft plotting of L.A. Confidential, it has something most thrillers sorely lack: a conscience.
A flawed and melodramatic affair with echoes of Training Day and L.A. Confidential that nevertheless has the whiff of truth.
Dark Blue is similar to Training Day, but it's a better movie because the issues aren't as clear-cut.
Dark Blue has its moments, but also too many nagging problems that undermine the effort.
While Dark Blue may not be easy to watch, it's exceptionally well made.
Russell is campaigning to get back into acting shape after such goof-arounds as 3000 Miles to Graceland and Escape From L.A. But shoving him through the grinder of cop cliches, then giving him a Frank Capra climax, invites defeat.
Shelton tackles every New York cop-film cliche here and gives them a bracing West Coast spin, capturing L.A. with the same breathless rapture others have brought to New York.
Dark Blue takes the premise of Denzel Washington's recent Training Day and plants it in a more realistic world.
While much of the action rings true in Dark Blue, and the events leading up to the riots make for a tense, eerie framework, the movie heads in a disastrous direction ...
After an hour of not much, Dark Blue stumbles onto a terrific scene, the sort that makes the whole movie worthwhile.
Dark Blue is a bit of a mess, but like the Rodney King mess, it makes you think. Any film that accomplishes that can never be out-of-date.
Director Ron Shelton, like Russell, is working outside his normal range. ... And, like Russell, Shelton adapts well to the new surroundings.
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