Sometimes savvy filmmaker Ron Shelton seems to have lost his way
as a director. He has made a few genuine classics, from the
great
”
Bull Durham,
”
to the underappreciated
”
Blaze
”
and
”
Tin Cup,
”
as well as the overpraised
”
White Men Can’t Jump.
”
Sometimes savvy filmmaker Ron Shelton seems to have lost his way as a director. He has made a few genuine classics, from the great “Bull Durham,” to the underappreciated “Blaze” and “Tin Cup,” as well as the overpraised “White Men Can’t Jump.”
It was thought that the former minor-league baseball player should stick to sports-themed movies, but then he made “Play it to the Bone,” one of the worst boxing films ever committed to celluloid. Well, Shelton has decided to take on corrupt cops in his new “Dark Blue,” managing one of the worst cop films ever made, one that will sit well next to the unwatchable “Play it to the Bone.”
“Dark Blue” tells its story of cops on the tape during the Los Angeles Riots sparked by the beating of Rodney King, and the eventual aquittal of the officers. By the time our heroes hit the streets, the city is burning. Basically, we get a bunch of white cops in the Los Angeles Police Department using extreme prejudice to take down and brutalize the bad guys (Black men). When the cops take out the wrong guy, they don’t care – they just cover it up, figuring that any conviction of a criminal is a good thing, regardless of the circumstances.
Kurt Russell overplays it relentlessly, screaming and grunting out the lines of his character, Seargant Eldon Perry Jr. He’s a bad cop, but sees it as a right of passage. He doesn’t believe in the justice system (too many guys get off scott-free), so he imparts his version of justice by taking out L.A.’s most wanted criminals vigilante-style, then covering up the crimes within the department. His actions are largely ordered by Perry’s commander, Jack Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson, who doesn’t deserve this film; he’s very good), who seems from the start to be a shady character at best.
The film’s main story shows how Perry influences an idealistic young cop named Bobby Keough during the rookie’s first days on the force. Working undercover as a homicide detective affords a few luxuries, we learn, as Perry intimidates the new officer with his methods, hoping to force his philosophies on his new partner. It seems Perry’s father also was an L.A. rogue cop, and young Eldon was very impressed by the stories of vigilante justice he was told as a young boy, inspiring him to follow in his father’s footsteps.
The film follows the attempts of Perry and Keough as they try to bring down a couple of thugs who have robbed $150,000 from a liquor store safe, killing four people in the process. The two young killers, however, have a secret to tell: they’ve been working for the corrupt Van Meter, doing his dirty work for years.
“Dark Blue” is unconvincing on all levels, and it’s not because the themes are not relevant; they are and will continue to be. It’s just that the story and script are so full of redundancies and cliches that it turns into a conventional movie, when it claims to be a self-important film that will teach us something.
“Dark Blue’s” final act is truly depressing because we see Russell’s bad cop finally realize the errors of his ways, and with his actions, he gets to be a hero when it’s obvious that he’s still a bad cop, which is unforgivable.
Ving Rhames, who plays the police chief committed to bringing down Perry, is given a poorly written role where he can offer almost nothing of himself. In a pivotal scene where Rhame’s Chief is addressing a full church during a Sunday sermon, we see a single tear go down his face in close up. In what should have been a big, emotional moment, the majority of the theater erupted in laughter, proving the film is a major dramatic bust.
“Dark Blue” is destined for the video shelf and doesn’t compare favorably to the vastly-superior “Narc,” which is still playing at a few small houses in the Bay Area. “Narc” is the consummate look at police corruption, bold and extreme. “Dark Blue,” on the other hand, is the sanitized version, where the bad cops always come back to the good side and are rarely forced to pay for their actions.
DARK BLUE. Directed by Ron Shelton. Written by David Ayer, based on a story by James Ellroy. With Kurt Russell, Brendan Gleeson, Ving Rhames, Scott Speedman and Lolia Davidovich. Rated R (violence, language), 118 minutes. Now playing at Bay Area theaters.
