Dark Blue (2003)

Wonderful character development!

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Overrated and overhyped

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Dark Blue is a film directed by Ron Shelton, a Director who has a taste of police dramas. Dark Blue is a film about a group of corrupt cops, with Kurt Russell being the lead, with Scott Speedmans character being the witness of these ubarable happenings. Dark Blue is a film which is definitely worth seeing, there is something about watching Kurt Russell on screen, not is he only a terrific Actor, but he is also very likable and captivating and they're aren't many actors like that in the world. Dark Blue is a slash between Antoine Fuqua's 'Training Day' & Dennis Hopper's 'Colors' in my opinion. Dark Blue is definitely one to see, though it's kind of a forgotten film to this day, when people hear about Kurt Russell, they never talk about this one, it tends to either be John Carpenters 'The Thing' (1982) or Tarantino's new 'The Hateful Eight' (2015) But in this film Kurt Russell gives a terrific performance as he always does.

Kurt Russell gives a great dark performance in this film Dark Blue is a great underrated film a good cast in a very good film even tho is something we have seen before in many movies the performance alone of Russell is something that you shouldn't skip. The rest of the cast does a pretty good job the movie got a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes although not that bad is not that good either at least a 70 would be fine a good good action/thriller/drama film about Dirty Cops and the choices you have to make it's really sad that we don't get to see a lot of Kurt Russell today he is a very great actor and pretty underrated. Final Verdict: 10 out of 10.

Dark Blue is a surprisingly good cop film and even though it has the cliché elements of the bad cop/good cop theme, it's better than expected thanks to a wonderful performance by Kurt Russell and a well-written screenplay by David Ayer. This film reminded me very much of Training Day and that's a good thing because I like to see how different directors make use of this kind of film.Ron Shelton's film is based on the days of the beating of Rodney King and the verdict of the trial. This film has veteran cop Eldon Perry and rookie cop Bobby Keough battling it out with each other as they explore the greediness and corruptness of the LAPD.Kurt Russell saved this movie from mediocrity and he is a vastly underrated actor. His performance is lights-out and he gave one of the better speeches in film you'll ever see. The supporting cast is not shabby either.Overall, this should have been your run-of-the-mill cop film, but thanks to great acting and a addictive storyline, this film is enjoyable and fun to watch. It also helps that this gritty cop thriller gives out a fresh Training Day vibe. I rate this film 9/10.

Story author James Ellroy and screenwriter David Ayer use the backdrop of L.A. in the early '90s for their hard boiled crime fiction. The cops who beat up on Rodney King are on trial, and the city is waiting to hear the verdict. In the days leading up to the verdict, a homicide investigation involving the L.A.P.D.'s Special Investations Squad (S.I.S. for short) is underway, and a rookie detective, Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman) is having a hard time being able to stomach the tactics employed by his less than squeaky clean partner, Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell), a third generation cop with an even more morally bankrupt superior, Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson). A crusading policeman named Arthur Holland (Ving Rhames) is determined to find out the truth about this case, as well as an earlier one that Perry and Keough had worked.As directed by Ron Shelton ("Bull Durham", "White Men Can't Jump"), "Dark Blue" is effective gritty and visceral entertainment with a pretty good story that keeps you watching as it goes through its various twists and turns. The politically loaded subject matter does give it some resonance as well. Russell delivers one of his most electrifying performances as the morally compromised veteran who must eventually start to question the way that he does things. A fine supporting cast is impressive, as well; Russell's scenes with Lolita Davidovich (who plays his fed-up wife) are good at humanizing the Eldon character. Michael Michele is believable as Speedmans' principled love interest. Gleeson is excellent as always, but ultimately this is Russell's show as we see Eldon evolve over the course of this tale.Superb music, by Terence Blanchard, and cinematography, by Barry Peterson, add to the overwhelming atmosphere of this movie. It's enjoyable to watch from start to finish. Those movie lovers who are into this genre should find a fair bit to appreciate.Eight out of 10.