Gang Related - Tough yet Smart by Homer Yen (c) 1997
On the big screen, police in the big city are a corrupt breed. They unfairly wield their powers to exact their own self-righteous brand of punishment, assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner. These themes were recently played out in the well-received Copland and the entertainingly artsy LA Confidential. Here, in this undermarketed film, the writers revisit this theme, but the movie is not some lush, cinematographic presentation, coated with heavy ambiance. Rather, it strips away the artistic fluff to give us a gritty look at two bad cops desperately trying to dig themselves out of a situation gone bad.
Jim Belushi plays Detective DiVinci, a morally deprived, self-centered, and prototypical 'bad cop.' He has bad taste in clothes, a penchant to use the "F" word whenever possible, a bad attitude, and a corrupt soul. His partner in crime and punishment is Rodriguez (the late Tupac Shakur), who is more reserved and slowly develops a bad taste for the killings. Their scam is simple, yet deadly. These two sell drugs to dealers. But once the exchange is made, the cops kill the buyer, take back the drugs to sell to someone else, and pockets the money. The murders are meant to seem gang-related. They see nothing wrong in taking the spoils of their quarry. In their eyes, slaying drug dealers reduces crime while making them rich.
Unfortunately, the victim of their latest killing is an undercover DEA agent, which immediately brings a large investigation into the faces of DiVinci and Rodriguez. They work quickly to deflect their guilt. They manipulate the evidence, look for scapegoats, falsify claims, and then uses the flag of authority to cover their tracks. But with each cleverly calculated move, a surprise sets them back. Things become steadily more interesting as the two cops in charge of finding themselves must find a way out.
This film does well to offer pure drama, although the dialogue is quite raw. It didn't cheat us with car chases, explosions, or ridiculous body counts. The writer-director, Jim Kouf, has a good story to tell and makes it affecting. Shakur exudes an appealingly fragile charisma as the conscious-stricken cop. As he continues to question the path that they are on., he begins to stray away from their partnership. Belushi is also quite good as his ever-growing sleazy counterpart. As the situation gets more and more out of control, we see the chaos that springs from vigilantism and we feel the tensions that surround a partnership under extreme duress. Nonetheless, DiVinci continues on with his amoral pep talks, which further alienates his partner. We are not only treated to an engrossing psychological war displayed between these two, but are also rewarded with a clever sequence of events where the two cops try to maneuver out of their guilt. I was satisfied with the way the story stayed focused on the frailties of human nature. You'll find that this film offers no heroes nor villains. In some well-told stories, they're actually one in the same.
Grade: B
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