Honest black cop Michael Rhoades (a fine performance by Mario Van Peebles) takes a stand against a racist group of white vigilante police officers called the Phantoms and does his best to acquire the necessary evidence to bust these guys. Of course, Rhoades immediately finds himself in considerable jeopardy.
Rodney King's Video beating was still fresh on the minds of many when this Made-for Cable Movie was Produced. It is a rather engaging, but somewhat overdone, Story of a Gang of Racists Cops who operate more or less with impunity.
I turned this movie on randomly one night flicking through the channels and turned out really liking it. I liked the performances from Peebles and Brolin.
The first time i watched this film i thought that it wouldn't be very good, but after the first few minutes I was surprised at the quality of acting and powerful scenes that it possessed, and the fact that it was based on real life investigations made it even more moving. I was also impressed with Mario Van Peebels' directing skills and also his acting had seemed to improve from earlier films as this story line was possibly something he had encountered (although,i hope, not as violent).
"Gang in Blue" has extraordinary entertainment value, yet is practically unknown. Mario Van Peebles is believable as the minority cop going up against "The Phantoms", a white supremacist group within the department.
This was on True Movies and Radio Times online gave it a healthy 3 stars, so thought I'd check it out.For a start, it looks and feels like a proper film, not a TV movie, well made and with an obvious budget.
