Dir. David Ayer, 2008, 109 mins
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Forest Whitaker
Review by Carol Allen
Despite or perhaps, dare one say, because of a screenplay credit for well known crime novelist James Ellroy, this tale of corrupt cops in Los Angeles has a somewhat routine and derivative feel. Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a cop finding it difficult to cope since his wife died. We can tell he's in trouble because he appears to be a stranger to shaving and suffers from morning sickness, brought on one suspects by the vodka miniatures he pours down his throat at every opportunity. We first see him in action laying a one man trap for some Korean gangsters, whom he wipes out single handed, bringing him into conflict with the Internal Affairs department, represented by Hugh Laurie in an underwritten role. His mentor and boss Jack Wander (Whitaker) however supports him to the hilt, though his former partner Washington (Terry Crews) accuses him of racism. And as the story unfolds, Tom, who's initially not unhappy with the fact that as a police officer, he's been used to doing whatever he pleases and no-one can touch him, is forced to realise the full extent of the corruption, which he has unknowingly been part of.
It's not a bad movie. The action sequences with their high level of violence are efficiently handled and Reeves' flat vocal delivery and hangdog look are effective enough in the role. But the characters all seem like characters in a movie rather than real people and there are times, particularly in one scene between Whitaker and Laurie, where the dialogue gets a bit silly and stilted, while the climactic confrontation between Jack and Tom verges on melodrama. We could also do with more of Laurie's role to set up a real confrontation between society and corruption. There's not much for the female characters to do, though Naomie Harris makes an impression as Washington's widow. One is left though with the feeling that there's a much more interesting and thought provoking story waiting to be told here, which this film doesn't really get to grips with. What we're given is something that feels like a made for tv movie with a bigger than usual budget.
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