I watched Bugsy yesterday and Dark Blue today..
You know, I really liked Warren Beaty's performance in this movie, he captured the essence of happy-go-lucky-out-of-touch-with-reality that
really should accentuate gangster life. Also, was well produced and frankly old Hollywood glamorous at times. Definitely better than Casino..
As to Dark Blue..
I think this movie got shit on too much, probably because it was actually more serious than the other police corruption flicks of the era.. This one tried to dig into something deeper about police corruption in Los Angeles, the racial element, but it just tap danced around it and didn't actually come out and say it, making it too complex for most audiences and even critics! It wasn't the greatest, but honestly between say Narc and Training Day I thought it was a bit better simply because the storyline and plot is more elaborate and nuanced.
Admittedly they did cram a bit TOO much into this, like, really, how was Kurt Russel getting set up to be killed on the same day as the LA Uprising, and how was he then driving through the Uprising in the chase scene?? Also, the melodramatic ending was a bit too much, could have been a bit less a drama queen about it.