Review: Black and Blue

SYNOPSIS

BLACK AND BLUE is a fast-paced action thriller about a rookie cop (Academy Award® nominee Naomie Harris) who inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from her community who is willing to help her (Tyrese Gibson) as she tries to escape both the criminals out for revenge and the police who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage.

What We Thought:

If you were browsing through Netflix, Hulu or some other streaming service and found Black and Blue and decided to watch it, you’d probably think it wasn’t too bad for what it is. Somehow the movie is getting a theatrical release which blows my mind. To me this film is the clear cut definition of a movie that should go straight to streaming. It doesn’t have any huge names in it, but enough of the next level down names to draw some interest when reading information about it before deciding to watch it.

The thing is, the movie should work. Go up and read the synopsis if you haven’t. Sounds like an interesting concept. Sure we’ve seen plenty of movies about dirty cops, but this one pits a rookie cop against the dirty cops because she caught a murder on her body cam. It then becomes your classic cat & mouse chase sort of like The First Purge or Judgment Night. She may be black, but in the area she’s in, she’s seen as blue (a cop) so those in the neighborhood aren’t willing to help her get out safely.

Naomie Harris was fine in the role. She’s a good actress so I’m not really sure why she chose a movie like this. Maybe she liked the message in the story. This was a more toned down performance for Tyrese Gibson. He’s usually the funny, over-the-top character and sure he gets some laughs, but overall it’s a quality performance for him in a reserved role. I’m a big fan of Frank Grillo and he can do a role like this in his sleep. Then there is Mike Colter who every time he was on screen those in the audience of the theater would like to remind you that he was Luke Cage.

I really don’t have much to say about Black and Blue. I saw it, it’s pretty forgettable and I’m not sure what it’s going to do at the box office. You could tell they thought they were making something powerful with the message of how we look at people. The cops wanted nothing to do with a certain area in the city. Those in that area wanted nothing to do with the cops. The dirty cops took full advantage of the post-Katrina situation. I thought there would be way more action, but it drags at times and lost my interest. Had I watched it on Netflix on a day I had nothing better to watch I might have enjoyed it more, but it wasn’t worth leaving my house to see.

Directed by: Deon Taylor

Cast: Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, Beau Knapp, Nafessa Williams

Genre: Action/Thriller

Running Time: 1 hour 48 minutes

Rating: R

Opening Date: October 25, 2019