We built this city

Dark Blue

Starring Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, and Scott Speedman

Directed…

Dark Blue

Starring Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, and Scott Speedman

Directed by Ron Shelton

“Dark Blue” depicts the wayward state of the LAPD in the early ’90s, at the time of the Rodney King trial. Kurt Russell plays Sgt. Eldon Perry, a “good soldier” of a cop who takes a reckless – but department-sanctioned – approach to stopping criminals: If someone gets killed and it’s not one of the “good guys,” it’s OK. Actually, it’s better than OK; it’s a score. Young Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman) is the unspoiled cop-on-the-rise getting a crash course in corruption from Perry. Keough isn’t sure he’s on board for the department’s underhanded tactics, though, and his questioning of them – along with would-be police Chief Arthur Holland’s (Ving Rhames) persistent indictments – churns up most of the film’s drama.

Despite what we’d like to expect from a story idea by “L.A. Confidential” novelist James Ellroy, this one – an updated but not too updated version of that film – is not very involving. It’s been done better, quite recently as a matter of fact.

In fact, both “Training Day” and “Narc” are similar and superior to this film.

While “Training Day,” with, oddly enough, a screenplay by the same screenwriter as “Dark Blue,” is a less thoughtful look at police corruption, it had the performances to hook us. Russell is a fine actor in his own right, but he can’t cook like Denzel Washington. Likewise, Speedman’s idealist is pretty uninteresting compared to Ethan Hawke’s Oscar-nominated performance.

The fact that the characters of “Dark Blue” are written as not so much extremes perhaps makes them closer-to-life, but director Ron Shelton fails to make them thought-provoking on screen, despite some decent efforts by actors like Russell and Brendan Gleeson.

Shelton must be given some credit, though, for attempting to make a film with significantly less gloss then most of what Hollywood puts out. However, “Narc” steals the film’s thunder in this arena: While “Dark Blue” is gritty by Hollywood standards, “Narc” is gritty by any standard.

Oh, and that film’s “cop-on-the-edge” performance by Ray Liotta also upstages Russell’s. Sorry, Kurt.

The most puzzling thing about “Dark Blue” is that its time and place never really pay off like they should – it just serves the drama to have something as big and tangible as a burning city for which to blame these men. The fact that the filmmakers are dealing with decade-old misbehavior makes the film not so topical; that they’re not dealing with any actual case or alleging any truth makes it not quite history.

“Dark Blue” is a borderline capable, but in the end, unremarkable police drama of questionable purpose.

“Narc” is still playing on a few screens in Pittsburgh. Go see that.