Intense but somewhat contrived

Rating: 8/10 (4 September 2002)

A SPOILER OR TWO: If you get through some of the plot implausibilities and stereotypes, this is an entertaining and intense film. Denzel's performance is riveting, not because of the performance itself (it's pretty one-sided as far as I was concerned), but because Denzel has always played the nice guy. Here he plays the bad guy. It's simply interesting to watch this metamorphosis. But that's also the test of a great actor: being convincing in any role you play. And he certainly is convincing in this role and in everything he plays. So---bravo, Denzel.
But for the movie: well, some of it just doesn't work, but you have to overlook some of the implausibilities and go with the action, which is constant and intense. And using famous rap stars in speaking roles is certainly a mistake. They come across as wooden. And some of the plot twists just become a bit too far-fetched: e.g. why does the young girl saved from a rape so willingly provide the information to her UNCLE!? She starts off her telephone conversation hiding everything, but then almost unconvincingly spills the beans. Why does the neighborhood in which much of the action take place change it's opinion of Denzel's character so quickly? Oh, yeah, he's a bad cop and he used them and they hate him and he's a pig, etc. But it just comes as such a pat finish. Was it dramatic license that forces the rookie into the "fold" so quickly on the very first day on the job? We are cheated out of getting to see the wool being pulled over the rookie's eyes, really. It all happens so quickly, forceably in the first hour or two on the job. Pretty neat trick, but are we then supposed to believe that the rookie was that gullible in the beginning? Yeah, he is pretty stupid, I guess, and green in the beginning. But wow, very little leg work had to be done to get him involved. But this of course is what adds to the intensity of the film. The artifice of compacting into a set dramatic time makes for drama, if not realism.