Bad cop, good cop, violence.

Rating: 2/10 (1 February 2002)

This movie can be summarised by: bad cop, good cop, violence. There is nothing more, nothing deeper, nothing exciting, nothing new. It is not the first movie about bad cops doing bad things and getting punished. It's not the first movie about black & white cops either. Let's hope it will be the last.
There is nothing to say about the acting. Both Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke are playing very well, but the movie never really kicks off and the end is predictable. The movie compensates its poor scenario by a wave of violence and insults. If the US are really like that then it is difficult to understand why anybody would like to immigrate over there. What comes out of the movie is not so much the fact that the nice cop wins but more how poor and miserable the US are. Indeed, not only is the movie showing drugs, violence, alcohol, etc. but it also reveals that 99.9% of Americans are only interested in money. I guess the 'happy end' part shows that there is 0.1% that are above corruption and bribery.
A dead boring violent movie that is best to avoid unless you are into this kind of low level scenario.