- Dark Blue

Another political indoctrination piece. All the cops are dirty, and all of the criminals are innocent, misunderstood victims. I'm an ex-cop from a major violent crime city. I sometimes wish that people would stop joining P.D.'s so that the common fool, in his arrogant ignorance, could personally experience the life of a true victim of violent crime. It's a passing thought. Yes, my heart is cold and calloused; that's what the job does to cops.

Such an underrated movie. This is Kurt Russell's best performance. I'm not sure how many other actors there are that could have pulled off such a complex character. This is a movie that will never be irrelevant. David Ayer and James Ellroy's writing is top notch. This is a heavy flick that deals with serious cultural issues in a way movies probably wouldn't dare to today. Politically incorrect. Layered. This movie nails what it sets out to do. If you're a Russell fan, definitely check this one out.

The story was interesting at first , but Russell's overacting combined with Speedwell's weak performance really failed to create a plausible partnership between the two. Ving Rhames and particularly Brendon Gleeson were excellent. The story is about rampant police corruption at high levels in the LAPD running parallel in time to the riots after the Rodney King trial. The entire film seems very prejudice against the police in general. There is a moment of vindication where Kurt Russell's character confesses in front of a police academy ceremony, and this makes for an awkward and anti-climactic ending. To it's credit the script was good and unpredictable and if you like police dramas about corruption this will be worth a watch. The racial elements I thought were overdone and tasteless and for the most part unnecessary. Flagrant use of the N word does not make a film about race authentic. In Django Unchained it was comical and parody, but here it just came across as a bunch of white writers trying to act "gangsta". If you are put off by racial themes that are not particularly well handled this may be worth a pass. I would give it 2.5 stars if that were an option simply because Russell's acting improves as the film goes on and he manages to carry the film and make a semi-likable bad guy.

But it was like new to me. I couldn't predict anything (beyond the stuff actually pulled from "today's headlines"), only remember them as they were unfolding. Russel really is a pleasure to watch in anything but this may be my favorite role yet. Dirty cop, among the dirtiest even, but still an amiable badass, and still driven by a sense of justice, however jaded. His personal morals were very self-centered, if understandable, and bled into that sense of justice. What it took to jar him back to his innocence, to soften his heart of lead, was far too much. And *spoilers* we were still left wondering if it wasn't vengeance for a betrayal that set him about to his final task of exposing department rot and corruption, much more than the gruesome and unexpected death of his partner he witnessed maybe a couple hours prior.

Jeffrey Bone observed in his review here, that Russell's character, Eldon, loaded only 3 rounds into his shotgun before the climactic shoot-out, leaving 2 in the shell carrier. I noticed that too, and like Jeffrey, it struck me as odd since the shotgun holds 5 rounds in the tube, and one more in the chamber, and it would be kinda dumb to go into a gunfight two short. But, here in Florida, and looks like in California, too, only 3 shells are allowed by the state's game laws in the tube when hunting, so the guns are sold with a rod in the tube to prevent more than 3 shells from being loaded into the tube. The rod is easily removed, but I'm guessing the armorer forgot to remove it. Later, we see 3 shells in the shell carrier, a continuity error. So, did anyone count how many times Eldon fired the shotgun into the roof? I didn't. Anyway, Russell and Gleeson do excellent work in this film. Gleeson is untouchable as VanMeter. No one could have done that character as well. Russell is sort of an oddly designed guy, and he can be a little bit distracting pulling off a character like Eldon, but I will give him great credit for being able to use his face and eyes alone to convey what is going on inside his character. He has some fine scenes that were very well directed, in particular the one where Gleeson brilliantly as VanMeter humiliates and bullies him while ordering him to subordinate himself to him, and Russell shows us with his face and posture what it does to him. Also, the scene in which his wife leaves him, and when his partner is shot. Actual disturbing, violent video, that anyone who was watching tv at the time will remember, is woven into the movie very tellingly. The riot re-enactments are well done.

a film worth getting good quality picture and soundand better than new films realised today in regards ofstory and action ps try channel 81 TALKING PICTURES

Thank you for this old time classic with Kurt Russell!

Kurt Russell deserved an Oscar. A career performance.

Bought for a present, well chuffed!

This is one of the best Kurt Russell films I have ever seen him in, from start to finish he is brilliant. If you see this film for sale on amazon or anywhere else buy it is a film not too be missed.