Director Ron Shelton wants Dark Blue to be L.A. Confidential so badly that it's palpable.
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
Not bad, it's just that we've seen it before and we've seen it better.
(Russell's) hammy performance should come with some bread and cheese. At least we’d get a decent sandwich out of this deal.
Russell is the reason to see the movie. Like Dennis Quaid, he's creating an entire second act for his career.
Let's slap a moratorium on all 'corrupt cop' flicks that recycle the same ol' garbage.
It's about something bigger than itself, and everything -- performance, photography, a heart-of-L.A. score by Terence Blanchard -- rises to meet higher expectations.
There's not so much separation after all from this kind of testosterone-fuelled **** opera and the typical Sandra Bullock romantic comedy.
This is a hard movie to watch. "Dark Blue" paints its colors in black and white, before mixing to gray.
Its imagined grittiness is polished to a Hollywood high gloss. Its hard-edged dialogue...has had all its shock value re-written and over-rehearsed right out of it.
One of the best and most furiously paced films about the controversial LAPD since L. A. Confidential.
David Ayer's ("Training Day") adaptation of a James Ellroy story is a more believable take on the 'corrupt older cop tries to seduce trainee partner' than the incredible twenty-four fireworks of "Training Day" and its thoroughly evil protagonist
Little more than a pale contemporary version of 'L.A. Confidential'...strident and pat.
Rife with the kind of tension and betrayal that complements Kurt Russell's craggy good looks and simmering rage.
With its silly and supercilious dialog, this would-be hard hitting drama is hard to take seriously and even harder not to laugh at.
That Dark Blue’s template roughly coincides with the Rodney King race riots reeks of a pathetic attempt to over-conceptualize what is, at heart, a superficial, obvious morality play.
The rabble-rousing film takes it to a whole new level of offensive by carefully painting every white cop as evil and corrupt, while each black officer walks on water.
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