A brilliant piece of work!

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2003)

This is one of the most incredible films I've seen in a long time. Denzel Washington made this movie as great as it was. There is not another actor you could have cast in the role of Alonzo. He really stole the show with this film.
The thing that is so great about this movie is that you've never seen Denzel Washington play a bad guy. And he does it so damn well!! Ethan Hawke is just as good as the rookie cop Jake Hoyt. But I've unfortunately seen too many bad Ethan Hawke movies (BEFORE SUNRISE, GATTICA)to turn me sour. Cliff Curtis is great in this as well as a gang leader with a heart. IF you want to see another great Cliff Curtis performance, check out BRINGING OUT THE DEAD. The supporting cast is great in this as well. Eva Mendez from 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS is Denzel's wife (hottie), Dr. Dre and the guy that played Redfoot in THE USUAL SUSPECTS are members of Alonzo's unit.
Denzel Washington's performance is top-notch. And I don't even think this was his greatest performance. Denzel was superb in REMEMBER THE TITANS and in the Oscar-snubbed THE HURRICANE. I feel the Academy gave the Oscar to Denzel because they know they screwed him twice for REMEMBER THE TITANS (where he was robbed of the best actor award) and THE HURRICANE. Nonetheless, this is still a great crime drama and it's not to be missed.
Rating: 9 out of 10.