The movie is set in Los Angeles in the early 1990s and opens with footage of the famous Rodney King beating to provide a context. Perry is a veteran policeman who has a reputation for getting the job done but probably at the expense of the arrested person rights. He claims to be from a long line of gunslingers who preyed on the ?scum? that make the world a bad place for the good guys.

He and partner Keogh are up before the Shooting Board, an aptly named body of police who routinely review shootings to determine whether the shots were fired within departmental policy guidelines. It is apparent that in the overwhelming majority of incidents this turns out to be the case, even when the person getting shot may appear to be victim of some sort of conspiracy. Chief Holland is determined to change the culture of the force but needs help from the inside if he is to break down the old boys network. Keogh and Perry survive the Board?s deliberations, much to the joy of other similar-thinking police such as van Meter, a contemporary of Perry?s father.

In the meantime a pair of ruthless killers, Orchard and Sidwell, attack a shop owned by an Asian family and brutally slaughter four people, seemingly for little gain. Perry and Keogh are assigned to the case and work their way through the evidence until it points squarely at Orchard and Sidwell, who happen to be the protected informants of van Meter. They are frustrated from making the proper arrest and then Perry decides to make others pay for the crime. He selects a couple of criminals with histories of child molestation and, with the help of the SWAT team, kills both. Keogh, who had been unable to do the shooting reviewed by the Board, is forced by Perry to kill one of them to prove that he is really part of the police culture.

But the killing preys on Keogh?s mind and he eventually tells the latest love of his life who turns out to be Beth, Chief Holland?s assistant. She and the Chief talk Keogh into spilling the beans on the bad cops and the movie goes up a gear as they start the process of ridding the force of the unwanted.

The plot returns to the Rodney King bashing as the announcement is made that the police have been found not guilty (now which video were the jury watching?). LA becomes a war zone as the streets erupt into an orgy of looting and mayhem. Perry decides in the middle of all this to go after Orchard and Sidwell having made the change to someone who wants to really uphold the law after his wife leaves him. He tracks the killers to their hideout and is belatedly joined by Keogh and Beth who get caught in the firefight with terminal consequences for Keogh. Perry gets caught up in the rioting as he deals with the two killers but escapes to finally make it to the ceremony where he is promoted to Lieutenant. He starts an emotional speech condemning the poor culture of he and his ilk while spilling the beans on van Meter. The film closes as he reviews the personal hardships he faces while in the background LA burns.

The blurb on the sleeve of the DVD says quotes the US Weekly as saying this is ?The best cop movie since LA Confidential? but I suspect the writer hadn?t been out of his home for a long, long time to go to the movies. I thought it was like many other movies where they start with a really powerful setting ? LA in the aftermath of the Rodney King riots ? a potentially strong story - rogue cops ? and the good guys prevailing ? Chief Holland wins out in the end. Unfortunately the whole thing loses something in the translation and the story gets washed away in the mediocre acting and a less and less believable script.
Why would Perry decide so late in life to change his ways when he has hardly anything to do with his wife anyway yet the fact she decides to leave him has such an impact? Why would he care that she leaves ? he has the brotherhood to fall back on? Why would the young cop Keogh turn on his cop friends when his past suggests he would be right in the thick of things? So many questions, so little time.

To be honest, Kurt Russell has never been one of my favourite actors and anything he is in usually (to me at least) has the B grade smell about it. This is no exception. The extras reveal that they producers had little money to play with when making the movie and I reckon it shows. Attempts at plot twists don?t fit. The scenery is the tough parts of LA, apparently because they don?t cost much. The patronising tone used by the producer about how the working class in these areas respect other workers, i.e. the actors, if only they could get a job sums up how far off the mark the whole thing is. I wouldn?t rush out to get this one unless you are an absolute Kurt Russell fan (maybe the only one?).

THE EXTRAS

Audio commentary from Director Ron Shelton is available. It was also interesting to hear the background to the making of the movie, although the emphasis on how little budget they had to play with wore a little thin. For those interested in how a movie is put together, including the use of technical experts like the ex-LA cop, there are some useful bits and pieces.

CONCLUSION

A band of rogue cops applies its own rules to dealing with the worst of the criminals in LA around the time of the Rodney King riots in the early 90s. Conflict between the gunslinger cop and his younger offsider highlights the need for cultural change in certain elements of the force. It is up to Chief Holland and others who believe in the rule of law to take back the streets.