Writers: James Ellroy, David Ayer
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Starring: Kurt Russell, Scott Speedman, Michael Michele, Brendan Gleeson, Ving Rhames, Kurupt, Dash Mihok, Jonathan Banks, Lolita Davidovich
More info: IMDb
Tagline: Sworn to protect / Sworn to serve / Sworn to secrecy
Plot: A robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
My rating: 7/10
Will I watch it again? No.
Kurt Russell is always brimming with charisma and he's a very good actor. Even when he plays the bad guy or one who's morally ambiguous, it's hard not to like him. Here, he's a corrupt cop in a corrupt department. It's easy to empathize with him but at the same time, he's done some bad things. His big moment at the end is great but is it enough to redeem him? Maybe but that's a judgment the viewer has to make for him/herself. Russell plays a sometimes likable bastard. The backdrop of Los Angeles in the wake of the Rodney King trial (the verdict doesn't come until the end) is brilliant. The city is a powder keg waiting to explode. It's not necessary to make that the forefront because anyone who was around then knows the chaos that will come of it. Even if you're unaware of that event this picture does a great job at the underlying tension that's beginning to boil over into every citizen's life. It's not a great crime thriller but it's a good one and with Russell leading the cast, I'm OK with that.
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