Denzel's Definitely Different

Rating: 6/10 (1 September 2006)

A departure from being the normal good guy made this Denzel Washington movie a bit different.....and unpopular with a lot of his fans. I found it a very intense story of two Los Angeles cops: one being a veteran corrupt one "Alonzo" (Washington) and the other a rookie, honest one "Jake" (Ethan Hawke). This is a bit sordid at times, with over 100 f-words, but was almost mesmerizing at times and hard to put down once the film started. At least that was the case on the first viewing. On the second, I didn't find the whole thing that appealing.
I don't know if this is a realistic look at the crime areas of Los Angeles, but if it is, wow: pretty frightening. Washington's viewpoints, however twisted with this particular character, made some sense in parts, sad to say. Overall, not a pleasant film but certainly an interesting one.