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
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