No surprises not surprisingly

Rating: 5/10 (1 December 2001)

Denzel Washington must have had lots of fun doing this corrupt cop character. He is sometimes dangerously near the overplaying, but keeps on the right side of that border. Probably he is sometimes even improvising, for example in one of the first scenes, at the diner.
Ethan Hawke keep a lower profile, which is much more easy to believe in. The story is passable, considering the genre, although not believeable of course. The violence is idiotic, showing people beaten up in a way that certainly would kill them in real life. Here they are well and kicking immediately, jumping and punching. We have seen it before. It's been stupid all the time.
But you are entertained through all the clichées about gangland and gang members (aren't they protesting against this kind of heavy racism?). However, there aren't any deep thoughts to be found here and not any surprises.