Robert Duvall and Sean Penn provide two powerful performance as Officers Hodges and McGavin in this realistic cop drama. Hodges has one year until retirement. He is very experienced in dealing with gang members on the streets of LA to the extent that he knows that you must pick your battles as a cop, and that bending the rules and discretion are vital in maintaining some semblance of law and order. McGavin, on the other hand, is his new partner, and only sees things as black and white, Us versus Them. He will chase a guy down to hell to bust him for simple marijuana possession. These two different styles will invariably clash as the pair navigate the hostile streets of 1980s Los Angeles, in the grips of war between the Bloods and Crips gangs.
What a film from Dennis Hopper. This is the original "hood" movie, in the sense that it depicts the gang violence in LA from an authentic grassroots level. On one hand we have a strong police drama centered on Hodges and McGavin, while on the other we get a wider scope of the gang activity with gangsters played by the likes of Don Cheadle getting screen time in an attempt to depict just what makes these people so indebted to a gangster lifestyle. Reminiscent of "The Wire", a brilliant tv show that was made years later. Unfortunately, this is actually what inhibits the film and causes the lack of cohesion that frustratingly prevents it from being greater. Hopper tried to do too much here. I think it would have been better forgetting about the gangsters and just focusing more on Hodges and McGavin, like "Lethal Weapon" done the year previous. The acting from Duvall and Penn is top notch. The cop scenes have an almost documentary type feel to them and the violence is very realistic in that the brawling is messy and the take-downs look text-book straight from a training mat. Watch the way Sean Penn cuffs people. He really has that fresh-out-of-the-academy enthusiasm and fine tuning. This is a credit to the actors and Hopper's directing.
What a film from Dennis Hopper. This is the original "hood" movie, in the sense that it depicts the gang violence in LA from an authentic grassroots level. On one hand we have a strong police drama centered on Hodges and McGavin, while on the other we get a wider scope of the gang activity with gangsters played by the likes of Don Cheadle getting screen time in an attempt to depict just what makes these people so indebted to a gangster lifestyle. Reminiscent of "The Wire", a brilliant tv show that was made years later. Unfortunately, this is actually what inhibits the film and causes the lack of cohesion that frustratingly prevents it from being greater. Hopper tried to do too much here. I think it would have been better forgetting about the gangsters and just focusing more on Hodges and McGavin, like "Lethal Weapon" done the year previous. The acting from Duvall and Penn is top notch. The cop scenes have an almost documentary type feel to them and the violence is very realistic in that the brawling is messy and the take-downs look text-book straight from a training mat. Watch the way Sean Penn cuffs people. He really has that fresh-out-of-the-academy enthusiasm and fine tuning. This is a credit to the actors and Hopper's directing.