Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Rookie cop Alicia West, an Army veteran, inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from her community who is willing to help her as she tries to escape both the criminals out for revenge and the police who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage.
Black and Blue is a competent but formulaic thriller that hits familiar beats of the corrupt-cop-on-the-run subgenre without much deviation. The plot is functional and engaging enough but relies on well-worn conventions — the rookie discovering corruption, the incriminating footage MacGuffin, the community distrust angle — without subverting or elevating them meaningfully. Naomie Harris delivers a committed performance that anchors the film, and the supporting cast is adequate, but no performance reaches a memorable level. Cinematography is workmanlike and serviceable for a mid-budget thriller, with New Orleans atmosphere somewhat underutilized. Novelty is low as the premise and execution closely mirror numerous prior corrupt-cop thrillers with little distinctive voice or craft to set it apart. The ending resolves predictably but satisfyingly enough given the genre expectations.