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Review

There's an air of familiarity that hovers over Dark Blue, a story of police corruption in Los Angeles. As written by David Ayer (based on a James Ellroy story), who also wrote Training Day, there is a battle of wills between a crooked veteran officer and his young partner that leads to a crisis of conscience. And, as with Training Day, there's a terrific portrayal at the heart of the film. Russell is excellent as Eldon Perry, an L.A.P.D. detective who with his nephew/partner Bobby (Speedman), is assigned to investigate a liquor store homicide. However, justice is negotiable as they have been ordered by their corrupt boss to find suitable dupes -- even though the identity of the actual perps is known. Director Shelton gives the film a tough, gritty look, and having the action set against the 1992 Rodney King trial should give it purpose. But too often the racially charged backdrop is merely set decoration, providing little insight into social or racial conflict or even how any of the characters are affected by such an incendiary event. Ayer's screenplay is ambitious, though, and the action is often taut and menacing; it's just there's little to suggest other than we've seen it all before.

 -- David Bleiler