Dark Blue

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Dark Blue ★★★ 2003 (R)

Another James Ellroy L.A. cop novel comes to life in this powerful tale of deep-seated corruption set against the Rodney King verdict and its aftermath. Veteran cop Eldon Perry (Russell) is part of the elite Special Investigations Squad, a brutal, corrupt, and racist unit run by Jack Van Meter (Gleeson). Partnered with Van Meter's green nephew Bobby (Speedman), Eldon is assigned to steer a homicide investigation away from the two snitches who did it. Standing in his way is the black deputy chief (Rhames) who has vowed to shut down the SIS. Russell's outstanding performance anchors the proceedings, which gets somewhat muddled by the pairing of Ayers's hard-boiled script with Shelton's more reflective bent. Ellroy's original first draft was set against the 1965 Watts riots, and Ayers wrote “Training Day” at about the same time he was adapting “Blue.” 116m/C VHS, DVD . US Kurt Russell, Ving Rhames, Scott Speedman, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Michele, Lolita (David) Davidovich, Dash Mi-hok, Kurupt, Khandi Alexander, Master P; D: Ron Shelton; W: David Ayer; C: Barry Peterson; M: Terence Blanchard.