Review: Caught in the Crossfire

Two cops (Chris Klein and Adam Rodriguez) are told of a group of corrupt officers by a snitch (Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson), after a colleague of theirs has been gunned down. Unfortunately, when they go to check things out, the fit hits the shans and people die. As a result, Klein and Rodriguez are interrogated by cops Richard T. Jones and Matthew Matthias, to explain their actions. Needless to say, there’s more than meets the eye here, as it’s tough to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

 

If you’re a fan of cop shows like “The Wire”, then you might be able to tolerate this 2010 direct-to-DVD police number from writer-director Brian A. Miller, which features the ‘all-star’ line-up of ’50 Cent’, Chris Klein, Adam Rodriguez, and Richard T. Jones. It’s the kind of stuff you could see on a TV show, but not the kind of TV show I’d watch unless Agents Gibbs, DiNozzo or David are involved. It gave me nothing. A predictable and clichéd structure, and an ugly video look where night scenes either look purple and stormy-looking, or dark blue and give a back-projection vibe, which for me is the main problem with films shot on video. It’s ugly, muddy, and wobbly too. It’s not “Streets of Blood” levels of unwatchable, but I still hate the way it looks. The camera wobbling in dramatic, dialogue-driven scenes is nauseating and stupid. It’s a crime against good cinema and it needs to be stopped, people!

 

And then there’s the acting. When a cameo by rapper 50 Cent (mostly seen in flashbacks) represents the best acting in an entire film, you know you’re in deep trouble. He’s not got much of a range as an actor, but he’s smart enough not to accept roles that go beyond that range. Oh boy. If you thought Chris Klein was terrible in “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. He’s aggressively awful. Still trying to convince everyone he can cut it as a brooding tough guy, he goes even further this time by adopting a worse rasp than even Christian Bale, and a ridiculous sneer...in every single scene. You’re not hard, Chris. You’re just not. You couldn’t even hang on to Katie Holmes, for cryin’ out loud, and even Keanu Reeves laughs at your attempts at acting. I shouldn’t pick on him perhaps, he looks like he truly hates life here. I’m not sure if it’s the character or if Klein just had a bug up his arse the whole time, or at least a major hangover (The camerawork certainly reflects the half-drunk, half-hungover state of Klein’s performance). Or maybe he was sniffing rotting corpses in his trailer between takes. But who the fuck does that? Also, for the second straight film after “Legend of Chun-Li”, Klein’s awful acting suggests he’s been inhabited by the spirit of Nic Cage, except Cage is still alive (Although some might argue he’s a vampire). He talks through his teeth, for a start. Actually, scratch that. He’s doing Keanu Reeves doing Nic Cage. Watch the film and tell me I’m wrong. His performance here eclipses his pathetic work in “Legend of Chun-Li”, if that’s at all possible. How did anyone allow him to do this on camera? Why are people so unkind?

 

Co-star Adam Rodriguez is bland and invisible, so at least he doesn’t beat the audience over the head with his awfulness like Klein. Richard T. Jones’ bland performance and lack of charisma and presence just made me think about how much better this film would’ve been with Bill Duke in the role, with Miguel Ferrer as the other interrogator, and James Franco and Ben Foster in the Klein and Rodriguez roles. Keep 50 Cent around, though, he’s at least lively here. But not even a good cast can save a clichéd, dull, and horrible-looking film.

 

There’s practically no action, either, which is just ridiculous for a straight-to-DVD cop flick. It’s mostly set in the interrogation room with flashbacks, but even the flashbacks aren’t exciting. What, Mr. Miller, you thought this crap was Sidney Lumet (“Serpico”) material? Credit where it’s due, the film’s big twist escaped me, but I still didn’t give even half a crap because the rest sucks. The twist shows that certain characters have been clever, but that doesn’t make the previous 90 minutes interesting enough to care. It just goes to show that whilst a bad ending can make an entire film pointless, but the opposite is not the case.

 

Rating: D