mrivers4’s review published on Letterboxd:
It's very watchable, but I do find less and less to recommend with each viewing, despite fine work both in the ensemble and in the production. Denzel is -- God forgive me -- a liability, lovable as he is. And that lovability here of course is part of the problem. We feel safe in his presence, and we shouldn't. But it's not all his fault. Scott and Steve Zaillian don't have an angle on this guy beyond the obvious or most perfunctory read. It never deepens, expands or hardens, save perhaps in Denzel's face off with a very good Crowe (Lucas's bit about "normal"). But that scene gets undermined by an accidentally comical cut to Lucas with his reading glasses on as he fingers the corrupt cops with his new buddy.
On another note I will never forget first seeing this in the theater. My audience gave no reaction to the ugly beatings, shootings, overdoses. But then came the moment when Josh Brolin's corrupt cop took aim at Lucas's dog, and the crowd gasped.
As Kristi Noem learned, there are some things -- well, one thing -- American audiences just cannot abide.
mrivers4 liked this review
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