It’s been a while since I did one of these quick thoughts bits, but I watched this, half-asleep, on TV last night, so here goes:
Kurt Russell is one of these actors who get better the more grisled they get. Younger, he always looked just a bit too goofy, but now he’s instantly riveting, the lines on his face enough to tell us immediately: this guy has lived. In Dark Blue, he plays a crooked cop, one who thinks he’s doing the right thing, but kills more often than necessary and almost feels entitled to fabricate evidence. He is, of course, accompanied by a rookie naif who will open his eyes to the wrongness of his ways (no spoiler there).
The rookie’s played by Scott Speedman, who does a serviceable job, I suppose. He’s a little blank, but he’s probably supposed to be, and his change of heart is very, very sudden, but it works in the cliché-ridden environment of the film. All in all, it’s a nice corrupt-movie to spend an evening with, and the Rodney King riots make for an interesting – and unsettling – background. The movie doesn’t quite work as a thriller (there aren’t that many thrills) but as a showcase for Kurt Russell’s weary, lines face it succeeds.
