Review of Dark Blue (2002) by Luke C — 04 Sep 2013

Before watching Dark Blue I had my reservations that it was going to be quite generic, un-original and very run of the mill but I was very surprised when I was gripped, captivated and very entertained and satisfied with what I got.

Dark Blue follows various cops torn between right and wrong on a case of a quadruple murder. As simplistic as that sounds, there are various twists and turns along the way; some surprising and unexpected and others blandly predictable.

The casting for this movie was great. It was very good to see Kurt Russell in a film seen as his appearances run years between. Along with Kurt Russell is Ving Rhames, Scott Speedman & Brendan Gleeson. Kurt Russell is on GREAT form as the morally corrupted cop, Scott Speedman brought a good performance as the young cop unsure of his corrupt colleagues.

Along with the great cast, the story is great as previously mentioned and as plain, boring and un-original as it sounds it really is quite unpredictable and entertaining. Think Narc but less dark but more entertaining.

The film runs around the two hour mark which sounds like overkill for a cop film, but actually it fits quite well although some parts were in there for the sake of time filling and could have easily been left out and it wouldn't have taken away from the film's greatness. Although, the film wouldn't be nearly as good without Kurt Russell. He brings the charisma, the entertainment and the controversy. By controversy, I mean that his character is morally corrupt and often acts outside the law but paints a picture so it was self defence for example.

Overall, there isn't much more to say about Dark Blue that hasn't already been mentioned. There are great performances, a better than average story with a few good twists and a good running time. Dark Blue is well worth your time if you like these kinds of dark police drama films.