Negative Positive
Title: Skip it
Review: Ugh. This is a rote, by the numbers, mind-numbing LA cop drama. You've seen the same thing done dozens of times, only better. The performances are lugubrious, the script is unremarkable. The basic premise of the film is that LAPD corruption was responsible for the riots in LA following the verdict in the Rodney King police beating case, and the film endeavors to show a slice of that corruption. The result is more of a lecture than a film, with too much emphasis put on hastily drawn characters with no apparent motivation for their actions and grandstanding socially conscious speeches that ring totally hollow. If you go into this expecting to see something on the order of LA Confidential, Colors or Training Day, you will be sadly disappointed. This film does not approach any of those on any level, except to appropriate something approximating their look.
Is the review positive or negative? 