Why? It felt like a TV movie-of-the-week and/or a Law & Order special. I wasn't really impressed. Were I Siskel or Ebert, I'd give it "thumbs down" not because it's bad, but because it's mediocre and there are better ways to spend your time.
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Everything God creates is majestic and sinless,
and that includes the human body.
Warning: Spoiler alert
You're right, by today's standards it seems rather dated and the basic plot has been done better several times since then. I just saw it for the first time recently and I kept thinking that "The Shield" is so much better. Having viewed "CSI" all these years, after the strangulation scene I kept waiting for the coroner to discover petechiae in the eyes and rule that the shotgun blast was not the cause of death!
But you have to remember that back in 1990 this movie did expand the portrayal of police corruption and violence a bit (though other movies had also addressed the same topic previously). Plus Richard Gere was playing against his then recent good-guy role in "An Officer and a Gentleman".
Basically, it's one of those movies that at the time impressed because it was shocking to its audiences, but just doesn't hold up as well over the years once the shock value goes away. Or maybe it's simply that real events in LAPD's Rampart division were soon to overtake the movie, and we all just got too desensitized to it.
It's hard to imagine people being "shocked" by corrupt police officers. Corruption exists in all organizations, and that should not be a surprise to anyone.
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Everything God creates is majestic and sinless,
and that includes the human body.
Plus Richard Gere was playing against his then recent good-guy role in "An Officer and a Gentleman".
WTF this is one one of the movies that reignited Gere's career.
Last Movies Seen In The Theater
4/21 - Amercian Violet
4/25 - Obsessed
5/1 - Wolverine