[7]

Dark Blue uses the Rodney King beating as a backdrop in a tale of police corruption. You could almost think of it as a modern version of L.A. Confidential. It’s interesting to see the main protagonist (Kurt Russell) as one of the film’s shadiest characters, which helps distinguish the movie from your average paint-by-numbers thriller. Russell is good in the role. It’s more of a straight dramatic performance, a departure from the bevy of sarcastic characters for which he is better known. He doesn’t carry the movie, though. It’s more of an ensemble. Brendan Gleeson (Braveheart, Troy) makes for a nasty villain, and Scott Speedman (Felicity, Underworld) does all right as Russell’s morally-conflicted sidekick. Good music by Terence Blanchard, too.