'Dark Blue'

Starring: Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, Scott Speedman, Brendan Gleeson

Directed By: Ron Shelton

Running Time: 118 minutes

Rated: R

2 1/2 Gus Heads

"Dark Blue" is a good "dark" cop movie - but while this noirish Kurt Russell film is a good view, greatness escapes it.

"Dark Blue" was enjoyable, but the movie was extremely similar to "Training Day," another less-than-optimistic look at the L.A.P.D. While "Dark Blue" may be the one of the best performances yet by Kurt Russell, his acting still cannot hold a flame to that of Denzel Washington.

Set to the backdrop of the trial of the cops who beat Rodney King, "Dark Blue" attempts to show just how bad the world of cops and robbers can be. Kurt Russell plays the lead, extremely over-the-top Detective Eldon Perry, who's just received a promotion to lieutenant.

Russell plays a racist, sexist, violent man who, as his character puts it, is "a gunfighter raised by gunfighters." Not afraid to kill, maim and torture, Russell is a bad cop doing a dirty job. If the police need a perp to pin a crime on, he'll take the man down, and the words "fair trial" barely even pop up.

Lt. Perry takes on a new partner played by Scott Speedman. An idealistic young cop, Bobby Keough wants to do the right thing, but is not afraid to play the game that these crooked cops all seem to play. Still, unlike Perry, Keough is a good man. Much like the situation with Ethan Hawke's character in "Training Day," a battle between soldier and commander begins, almost mimicking a classic father-son conflict. While the older cop has taught so much to the rookie, The morals possessed by the corrupt cop are not those that the rookie imposes upon himself.

The moral foil to Russell's character is Ving Rhame's Deputy Chief Arthur Holland. Holland is a straight-shooting cop who has worked his way up the ranks of the L.A.P.D., despite encountering rampant racism and corruption. Holland also knows that between Keough and Perry, things that go against departmental policy have happened. In reality, Perry shot a man when Keough dropped his gun and let Keough take the credit for it. Holland knows about this, but lacks the proof. In any event, Holland is gunning for both of the cops, and he knows Perry is behind some of the goings on.

To make matters worse, after escaping trouble after the first shooting, Perry and Keough are sent to investigate a robbery and murder that was perpetrated by henchmen working for another Police Chief, Jack Van Meter, played with gleeful sleaze by Brendan Gleeson. Van Meter is the true evil in this movie, but he is also a friend of Perry's late father and is Keough's uncle.

When Perry finds out that it was Van Meter's favorite informants who were behind the robbery and killings, he finds suitable replacements to go after. In a scene almost straight out of "Training Day," Perry finds his favorite judge in a bar and gets him to sign a search warrant. No arrest warrant is needed because the two guys that the cops are going after are not coming out alive. After the S.W.A.T. team whacks one guy in the house, the other man runs, and Perry forces Keough to gun the man down in cold blood.

Soon, Keough's guilt gets the better of him, and he gets ready to bring the house down on Perry. Holland sends his assistant and Keough after Perry, who at the very same time is getting ready to walk into a trap set for him by Van Meter. The two come together, and if things were not bad enough, the not-guilty verdict for the cops who beat Rodney King comes in, and the town turns into a living hell.

The finale of this movie is an emotional and action-packed sequence, and it is the one scene that pulls this movie away from the "Training Day" formula. "Dark Blue" is a good film but borrows too much from other movies that have been released recently, with "The Recruit" and of course "Training Day."

One nice part of this film is the feel and vibe that the director had. While the plots of "Dark Blue" and "Training Day" are virtually identical, the feel of this movie has a 1930's detective flick vibe, while "Training Day" is decidedly gangsta.

This is a well directed film, and really does have a decent Kurt Russell performance in it (take that "Escape From L.A.") The shooting and effects are not as well done as in other films, but the lack of over-the-top action that has become so quintessentially Kurt Russell is a welcome absence.

The psychological suspense and moral dilemmas of this film make up for the lack of action. "Dark Blue" is a good film, but like anything, a film is held up to it's peers for comparison, and in that respect, "Dark Blue" doesn't go the distance.