Gritty and realistic, both plausible and implausible, darkly funny and deadly serious
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.
Runtime: 3 hrs 56 mins
Genre: Dramas
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
Reviews for Dark Blue
A high-intensity performance by Kurt Russell, in what is easily his best movie in ten years
The movie proceeds to bog down in every by-the-book cop cliche known to man.
The director [Ron Shelton] takes the material, with the exemplary performance by Russell, and crafts it into a gritty, hard-hitting look into corruption and abuse.
In Ron Shelton’s new film DARK BLUE, Kurt Russell shines as a latest of bad cops who tries to make right what he consciously knows is wrong in the eyes of the law.
Rather than coming across as ambitious, it comes across as overblown. Rather than fascinating, it’s contrived. Rather than entertaining, it’s typical heavy-handed Hollywood.
Russell is the reason to go to the theater. He will continue to hold your attention when things around him -- like the storyline -- lose steam and credibility.
Kurt Russell brings forth a stunning, powerful performance which should once and for all remind... he deserves to be at the top of the A-list for his generation.
Fails to make the grade as either a gritty crime drama or an intriguing piece of historical relevance.
When this movie succeeds, it is not in its attempt at a broader statement. Its strength is in its fine performances and in its smaller moments.
Shelton, working from a script by David Ayer, is eager to use each and every cliché at his disposal.
Love 'em or leave 'em, Shelton's films set us up with tough-to-love characters, get us on their side, test the bond by showing us their dark side, then end with soulful redemption.
Kurt Russell will be tough to beat during the next Oscar race. He's at the top of his game in 'Dark Blue.'
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