Naomie Harris shines in this otherwise run of the mill, though occasionally enjoyable corrupt police drama/thriller from Deon Taylor (The Intruder).
Alicia (Harris) is a rookie cop, new to the New Orleans police department, who, on an impromptu night shift on one of her first days on the job, captures the brutal execution of a drug dealer on her body cam – the murder carried out by a NARC, an official narcotics agent. Alicia manages to escape after being shot at, and what follows is 100 minutes of a cat and mouse chase as the rookie attempts to get the cam’s hard drive back to the police department, and to safety.
Frank Grillo’s cop gone bad Terry Malone immediately frames Alicia for the murder of the dealer and manages to get a price put on her head.
Also along for the ride is Tyrese Gibson, here playing a local supermarket worker, one of the only people Alicia can trust to help her. There are double crosses aplenty throughout, and when a local gangster gets wind that a cop has murdered his beloved nephew, he joins to the chase to get his own revenge.
The film actually starts off as another Training Day style wannabe, but I’m happy to report that the film is about a lot more than that. It is essentially a thrill ride from start to finish with echoes from the likes of gritty ’90s thrillers like Judgement Night rather than your average dodgy cop drama. The film attempts to tackle serious subject matter, but its cartoonish-like villains and corny dialogue don’t help in hammering it home, particularly as the plot progresses to its preposterous finale.
Harris is the clear stand-out, brilliant in the role of Alicia – a very physically demanding role where she looks like she was well and truly put through the ringer. Then there’s solid support from Tyrese Gibson in a role unlike his usual fare. There’s also a wonderful performance by Mike Colter (Luke Cage) as the leather-jacketed, fur-collared local crime boss Darius who has locked his and his henchmen’s sights on the cop at the centre of the story.
A film that has a little trouble deciding what it wants to be, but as an enjoyable crime movie with a hint of a message it is trying to put across, Black and Blue surprised to be rather above par. Worth a look.
Black and Blue is available on Digital Download on February 17 and DVD on March 2, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
