Main Cast: Kurt Russell, Brendan Gleeson, Scott Speedman, Michael Michele, Ving Rhames
Release Year: 2003
Country: US
Run Time: 113 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A cop's personal code of justice begins to change after a number of incidents lead his city to a tragic wave of violence in this police drama. Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) is a veteran cop with the LAPD's Special Investigations unit, a man who isn't above bending the law if it means putting people behind bars who deserve the treatment. As Los Angeles waits on the verdict in the Rodney King police beating trial, Perry is presenting testimony to Assistant Chief of Police Arthur Holland (Ving Rhames), who is well aware of the corruption in the SIS unit and wants to stop it. Perry, however, twists some facts as he speaks in the defense of his new partner, Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman), who is being investigated for inappropriate use of deadly force. For lack of honest testimony, Keough is let off the hook, and soon he and Perry have a new case to investigate -- a robbery at a liquor store than turned into a quadruple homicide. Perry and Keough quickly track down two likely suspects, Orchard (Kurupt) and Sidwell (Dash Mihok), but Perry is surprised when the head of SIS, Van Meter (Brendan Gleeson), tells him to let Orchard and Sidwell go, and instead points the finger at two ex-cons who should be taken off the street, even though they're innocent of this crime. Perry follows Van Meter's orders, despite Keough's misgivings, but in the wake of the L.A. riots, Perry has a change of heart, and decides to start working with Holland against Van Meter's corrupt methods. In the midst of it all, Perry is trying to hold together his troubled marriage to Sally (Lolita Davidovich), while Keough finds himself romancing a fellow officer, Beth (Michael Michele). Dark Blue was adapted from an original screenplay by noted crime novelist James Ellroy; originally set against the backdrop of the 1965 Watts riots, the story was later updated to 1992. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
This hard-boiled cop flick is mean, nasty, and violent, inspired as it is by the writing of James Ellroy, who penned the story it's based on. It's very much true to Ellroy's gutter-style crime fiction, and that's the film's best quality. The screenplay by David Ayer is very much in keeping with Ellroy's style, perhaps even more so than L.A. Confidential. The film also has plenty of similarities to 2001's Training Day with Denzel Washington. Both films deal with thoroughly corrupt LAPD units. Dark Blue focuses on the Special Investigations Squad (SIS), which killed an incredible amount of bank robbers over a short period of time. The unit's amazing kill rate was never a huge story and was eventually overshadowed by the Rampart Scandal. Dark Blue, like Training Day, also has a seasoned corrupt cop Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) paired up with an anxious rookie Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman). While Russell does a fine job playing an alcoholic, out-of-control jerk and Brendan Gleeson is good as his completely crooked mentor, Speedman is weak in the good-cop role, as is his love interest, another cop (Michael Michele). Both are TV actors who make Dark Blue feel like a crummy TV cop show when they're together on screen. The story takes place as the Rodney King verdict and L.A. Riots unfold and does a good job of showing the sort of cop culture that led to those events. The riot scene near the end of Dark Blue is quite a spectacle, but the very end of the film is too staged. This doesn't take away, however, from what is surely one of the grittiest cop pictures Hollywood has ever made. ~ Adam Bregman, All Movie Guide
Ving Rhames - Assistant Chief of Police Arthur Holland
Lolita Davidovich - Sally Perry; Dash Mihok - Gary Sidwell; Kurupt - Darryl Orchard; Master P - Maniac; Khandi Alexander - Janelle Holland; Jonathan Banks - James Barcomb; Graham Beckel - Peltz; Eloy Casados - Rico; David Doty - Judge Russo; Nigel Gibbs - Pastor Dennis; Dana Lee - Henry Kim; Ted Marcoux - J.R.; Carmen Twillie - Church Choir Singer; William Utay - Sapin; Jim Cody Williams - Suspect; Monalisa Young - Church Choir Singer; Marin Hinkle - Deena Schultz; Alan Davidson - Leon Taggert; Tom Todoroff - Police Dispatcher; Peter Weireter - Swat Leader; Darrell Foster - Sergeant Jakes; Michael Bentt - Officer Clay; Wayne King - Mr. Lewis; Eddie Mui - Lucky 7 Bartender; Giovanni Guichard - Rastas; Jamison Jones - Frank; Gregg Miller - Officer Charlie; John Fadule - Shooting Board Officer; Chapman Russell Way - Eldon Perry III; Jim McChesney - Lefty; Faleolo Alailima - Lucky 7 Bouncer; Kaila Yu - Lucky 7 Dancer; Cheryl Reeves - Nurse; Keith MacKenzie - Interrogation Officer; Victor Prince II - Metro Cop; Heather Hutchins - Stenographer; Dorian Holley - Church Choir Singer; Kudisan Kai - Church Choir Singer; Julius Rizzotti - New Lieutenant; Jordy Oakland - Waitress Tina; Robert Tur - Helicopter Reporter; Eric Spillman - Newscaster
Credit
Tom Targownik Taylor - Art Director, Sandra Tomita - Associate Producer, Francine Maisler - Casting, Kathryn Morrison - Costume Designer, Eric Fox Hayes - First Assistant Director, Ron Shelton - Director, Paul Seydor - Editor, Moritz Borman - Executive Producer, Nigel Sinclair - Executive Producer, Guy East - Executive Producer, Jerry Jaffe - Location Manager, Michael J. Burmeister - Location Manager, Terence Blanchard - Composer (Music Score), Dennis Washington - Production Designer, Barry Peterson - Cinematographer, David Blocker - Producer, Caldecot "Cotty" Chubb - Producer, Sean Daniel - Producer, James Jacks - Producer, David Smith - Set Designer, Robert Eber - Sound/Sound Designer, Lance Brown - Sound/Sound Designer, Bruce Fortune - Sound/Sound Designer, David Blocker - Unit Production Manager, James Ellroy - Screen Story, David Ayer - Screenwriter, Marc J. Ventimiglia - Additional Cinematography, Chris "CB" Brown - Visual Effects Supervisor, Joel Sill - Executive Music Producer, Brad Arensman - Post Production Supervisor, Michele Carmel - Production Coordinator, Beth de Patie - Production Supervisor, Lance Brown - Supervising Sound Editor, Bruce Fortune - Supervising Sound Editor
