Dark Blue Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Dark Blue Blu-ray Movie Review

"Your job is not to think. It's to follow orders, to execute plans and to be a good soldier."

Reviewed by Dustin Somner June 22, 2009

When you look back at the filmography of director Ron Shelton, he seems like a strange pick to helm a film like Dark Blue. His most successful films leading up to 2002 (Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump and Tin Cup) were all built around a sports theme, so you’d think he would choose to stay with the genre that worked well for him in the past. Instead, he decided to tackle a story written by James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential), with themes that reflect a vast departure from his prior work. While I can’t say Dark Blue is a resounding success as a detective story, I have to give Shelton credit for stepping outside his comfort zone, and tackling the difficult subject matter of Ellroy’s novel.

Set against the backdrop of the days following the Rodney King beating, Dark Blue tells the story of a veteran detective named Eldon Perry (Kurt Russell) and his rookie partner, Bobby Keough (Scott Speedman), as they investigate a recent triple homicide at a convenience store in the heart of Los Angeles. As the two men delve deeper and deeper into the case, it becomes apparent there is more going on behind the scenes, as politics within the Los Angeles Police Department threaten to blur the lines of justice. Quickly losing faith in his partner’s ability to “protect and serve”, Bobby is forced to make a decision between doing what he knows to be right, and what is expected of him as a pawn in a match of political chess. Where do you turn if corruption is the rule rather than the exception?

Dark Blue was widely ignored by the movie-going audience during its initial theatrical run back in 2002. Having seen the film on three occasions since the original DVD release, I’m left with a general feeling of ambivalence toward the film. On the one hand, it offers an intriguing racially-charged backdrop, with a gritty feel that serves the story well. On the other hand, the story itself is a predictable take on police corruption, with a complete lack of twists or turns along the way. Part of the enjoyment in watching a good detective film, is joining the detectives in their investigation to determine who’s behind the crime. In Dark Blue, the culprit is revealed within the first 20 minutes before the actual investigation is even started. As a result, I found myself quickly losing interest in the attempt to solve the crime as I waited for the detectives in the film to catch up with what the audience already knows. If you think back at some of your favorite crime stories, I’d imagine you’d rattle off films that kept you guessing throughout a good portion of the runtime (such as L.A Confidential or Minority Report) before revealing a shockingly memorable twist in the final minutes. Overall, Dark Blue still offers a reasonably entertaining experience that’s worth one or two viewings, but the deficiencies in the plot hamper what could have been a profound entry in the detective genre.

Kurt Russell has always been one of my favorite actors. Even when he’s taken roles in films that are remembered as box office flops (Soldier, Poseidon and 3000 Miles to Graceland), I still find enough enjoyment in what Russell brings to the film to make it worth my time. After all, what’s not to like about the guy that brought us such iconic roles as Snake Plisskin, Wyatt Earp, or the great Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China is still one of my all-time favorite films)? His involvement in Dark Blue is the glue that holds the entire production together, since we never really get much out of the supporting players. Scott Speedman shows the same lack of range he displayed in Underworld, Ving Rhames delivers every line in a monotone voice as if he’d been stripped of emotion, and Michael Michele appears more concerned with trying to act like a guy than bringing any substance to her character. Brendan Gleeson delivers a fine performance in his role as Perry and Keough’s superior officer, but at the end of the day, the make or break role falls squarely on Russell’s shoulders. One of the greatest scenes in the film is one where Eldon is in the office of Commander Jack Van Meter, who treats him like a five-year-old that hasn’t done what he was told. The expression of pained-embarassment on Russell’s face is dead-on, and a completely necessary element in explaining his resulting tyrade against Bobby in the very next scene. If you’re a fan of Kurt Russell, you’ll find a lot to like in this portrayal of a detective battling his own demons.

Dark Blue Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 17Mbps), Dark Blue looks outstanding on Blu-ray. Whether in the foreground for the background, fine object detail is extremely crisp. From the aging features on Kurt Russell's face, to the contrastingly smooth textures on the face of Scott Speedman, I was consistently impressed with clarity in nearly every frame of the film. Thankfully, the presence of light film grain throughout the majority of the feature, coupled with well-rendered textures is proof that MGM chose to retain the appropriately gritty feel of the original production, instead of applying annoying noise reduction to remove the grain. I'm very pleased with the results, since it allowed the film to fully utilize the potential of a high-definition upgrade without softening the image. Continuing with the strengths of the transfer, I didn't detect any edge-enhancement or artifacts, and black levels were inky deep with excellent differentiation in contrast. The only thing that may be offputting to some viewers is the lack of pop in the use of color. Daytime scenes are heavily filtered to replicate the dingy, sweat-soaked atmosphere of the Los Angeles underbelly and interior shots appear almost monochromatic, highlighting the black and blue colors of the police force. Color use is completely appropriate for the subject matter of the film, but it still results in some odd skin tones from time to time and an overall lack of consistency (mostly in scenes that take place outdoors).

Ultimately, Dark Blue looks as good as it will ever look, and fans will surely appreciate the care that was shown in creating a transfer that remains true to the source material.

Dark Blue Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The primary audio offering on the disc is a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track in the native language of English. Given the gritty realism of the film itself, the audio track is forced to remain subtle in an effort to not glorify the action taking place. Don't get me wrong, there's still a high level of surround use, and a distinct pop when guns are fired, but the track rarely contains moments where you feel you're going to jump out of your seat. From a musical standpoint, I couldn't help but feel the choices were a little odd for the subject matter of the film. Terence Blanchard seems more at home creating musical numbers for such films as Barbershop or She Hate Me, with an apparent tendency to gravitate toward an upbeat, quirky element (for an example watch the early scene when the convenience store is being held up). Regardless of the musical choices made, the audio track does a wonderful job balancing the score with the effects and dialogue. I doubt this disc will meet expectations for demo-worthy material, but in the end it offers a well-blended mix of gritty realism without feeling over-the-top.

Dark Blue Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Dark Blue is one of several recent Blu-ray releases from MGM that contain a copy of the DVD release in addition to the Blu-ray. This appears to be a strategic move to provide special features without actually adding them to the Blu-ray disc itself. In general, I wouldn't consider this practice ideal (especially for anyone with an interest in director's commentaries) but it may partially account for the reasonable retail price of this Blu-ray release.

Having said that, I'm reviewing a single-disc rental copy of the Dark Blue Blu-ray, so I'm not able to comment on the DVD special features included within the retail package. The only special feature included on the Blu-ray disc is a collection of five high-definition trailers (Dark Blue, The Usual Suspects, Windtalkers, Flyboys and Rocky).

Dark Blue Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Taken as a whole, I'd recommend this Blu-ray release to anyone with a moderate interest in this type of film genre. If the transfer wasn't exceptionally sharp, or the audio track was muffled, I'd have to taper down my assessment of the release and focus more on the underwhelming merits of the film itself (which would likely result in a rental recommendation rather than purchase). As it stands, Dark Blue is far from masterpiece material, but sufficiently entertaining to earn a spot next to Street Kings, The Black Dahlia, or any other marginal detective story released in the past several years.