BEFORE: I'd like to watch "Heat", but it's got a long running time - 2 hours and 52 minutes, and I do need to get up and go to work tomorrow, so I think I'll save that one for the weekend and go with this film tonight instead.
THE PLOT: An experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
AFTER: Well, I got my car chase tonight, a couple of them in fact. See, it doesn't take much to put a little action in the film - big words make head hurt...
This is a variation on a regular theme, the pairing of a rookie and a veteran cop - the film "Training Day" being a recently-watched example. But it's nice to see what two capital-A actors like Robert Duvall (last seen in "A Civil Action") and Sean Penn (last seen in "The Assassination of Richard Nixon") can do with the material.
The action focuses on the L.A. gang-banger scene, which Officer Hodges (Duvall) knows quite well. Officer McGavin (Penn) wants to bust into the ghetto and arrest every two-bit drug dealer he sees, but Hodges knows that method doesn't work very well, and that they're better off interacting with the gang members, earning their trust, and waiting for the big scores to go down.
The officers are part of L.A.'s C.R.A.S.H. unit (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums) and for all I know, this is an accurate portrayal of the constant battle between the Crips and the Bloods - and a third faction seen here, which is largely Latino but also has some Caucasians and Blacks in it as well.
I don't know, I think all of these crime films are starting to wear on me, I'm sort of losing interest...
Also starring Don Cheadle (last seen in "Devil in a Blue Dress"), Maria Conchita Alonso (last seen in "Predator 2") and Damon Wayans (last seen in "Blankman").
RATING: 6 out of 10 bandannas
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