Synopsis
Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
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Cast
- Kurt RussellEldon Perry
- Scott SpeedmanBobby Keough
- Michael MicheleBeth Williamson
- Brendan GleesonJack van Meter
- Ving RhamesArthur Holland
- KuruptDarryl Orchard
- Dash MihokGary Sidwell
- Jonathan BanksJames Barcomb
- Lolita DavidovichSally Perry
- Khandi AlexanderJanelle Holland
Recommendations
- 100
Baltimore Sun
Dark Blue is one of those totally happy surprises that moves so quickly and curves so sharply that it leaves this era's hyped critical hits looking like beached whales. - 63
Boston Globe
In the end, the problem with movies like Dark Blue is that they willfully ignore the systemic, historical, cultural, and class causes of racism in favor of pinning it all on a few bad apples. Sure, that's entertainment. It's also a lie. - 60
Los Angeles Times
Sensitively directed by Ron Shelton and helped by what just might be the best performance of Kurt Russell's career, Dark Blue is as interesting and successful as it can be within its limits, but those limits make this a more generic film than its makers intended. - 60
Salon
Shelton has directed Dark Blue in a jacked-up urban thriller style that simply does not play to his gifts. He's a sidewinder, the sort of writer-director who tells his stories through loopy character details and anecdotes. - 60
The New York Times
Unfortunately, the rest of the movie does not live up to Mr. Russell's performance. - 50
Miami Herald
In the wake of TV's powerhouse "The Shield," Dark Blue comes off as something of a retread, with little of "The Shield's" electric fury, edgy camera work or deft characterizations. - 40
L.A. Weekly
My own view is that, like me, the LAPD was defeated by the movie's incestuously proliferating plots. I've seen Dark Blue twice, and I still don't have a handle on all its comings and goings. - 38
New York Daily News
Creates a hellishly evil portrait of a police department in which every white cop is either a racist thug or an enabler, and every black cop a disgusted observer or crusading hero.
