Caught In The Crossfire (Blu-ray)

Adam Rodriguez (TV’s “CSI: Miami”) and Chris Klein (American Pie, We Were Soldiers) are two cops caught in a crossfire of controversy. Investigating a gang-related murder they find themselves the targets by both gang members and crooked cops. Not everything is as it seems though as both cops give different interpretations of the same event. There is definitely more to the story than initially appears. Things come to a head as both cops seem to get….Caught In The Crossfire.

Adam Rodriguez and Chris Klein show nice chemistry in a typical controversial-cop movie. The film is a bit underrated, I found it entertaining, but mainstream viewers might want to rent this instead of blind buying it. Maybe it’s cause I like both stars and actually watch CSI: Miami. Yes, it’s a guilty pleasure of mine I recently picked up in the past year. Adam Rodriguez has been playing a cop so long it’s second nature to him. He seems to have put on some weight (muscle?) for this role. Chris Klein is virtually unrecognizable from his American Pie days. He’s grown older and his looks are pretty different. The acting is good by both parties and even rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson does a decent job here as he did in Righteous Kill. I particularly like the interrogation scenes with both actors, Klein and Rodriguez, they both played it well so you don’t really know where either is coming from. Richard T Jones (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has a nice role here and is a pretty good supporting actor/character and helps up the quality of the film.

The story is a bit run-of-the-mill as far as good-cop/bad-cop movies go. Not to say that it’s bad, because I liked it, but it doesn’t have the mass appeal it could have had with an easier-to-follow script for the audience. The good here is that it keeps you guessing about each character’s motivation and who they are loyal to. A downer for the story is that you are left not knowing who to root for until it is too late. Also a lack of clarity as to what took place in the film’s story and why it’s so important can leave a viewer puzzled and wondering why they should care. Personally, I understood the film’s storyline but felt it needed to be more streamlined and given the viewer someone to root for, even if it is a false impression of the character’s motivation. It’s pretty much damned if you do and damned if you do because the strength of this story is in it’s mystery, but it’s also the weakness because of a lack of a character to get behind and root for leaves you feeling a bit hollow. I love mysteries though so I could easily get past that whereas some people will get lost and give up on the film.

The Blu-ray is nice, picture and sound are good quality. Nothing stands out as exceptional or superb, but it’s not a bad release either. Definitely an upgrade over DVD with a nice crisp picture. Special Features are low in quantity and quality. Outtakes seem a little forced instead of natural but that may be because this is not a comedy where outtakes are genuinely hilarious.

Overall, Caught In The Crossfire is one of those movies that will most likely get a larger audience from rentals and premium channels, but I like it enough to own it. I wouldn’t recommend blind-buying it (unless if it is dirt cheap) because this is the kind of movie that half of you will like and the other half won’t. If you are a fan of mysteries/thrillers like I am you might enjoy this film so I recommend this as a rental for those of you out there with a big interest in those genres. This is more for the ladies, who tend to like mystery/thrillers more than a male audience, but this isn’t necessarily a chick flick. More like the kind of movies seen on LMN (Lifetime Movie Network). I recommend giving this a rental because it is an interesting way to spend an hour and a half, a bit entertaining and thought-provoking. If you like it, buy it cheap.

Special Features -

• Outtakes
• Trailer Gallery

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