Negative Positive
Title: Denzel is great, the story is terrible.
Review: This COULD have been an interesting exploration of ethics, race, and the war on drugs. Instead you get a very miscast Ethan Hawke (who still does a good job) as an unbelievably naive cop, and excellent performance from Denzel that is nevertheless one-note evil. You could walk away from this movie thinking that Black and Hispanic people are violent and evil and that white people are either highly moral, or if they are corrupt, at least not murderers. I don't like that message. This movie also has one of the WORST ways to save a hero I have ever seen: the old coincidence at the last minute. Trust me, this alone ruins the film. The stupid shootout at the end only confirms that the writer had no idea how to truly deal with the important issues the film raises.
Is the review positive or negative? 