The Herald - The Herald Magazine
BLACK AND BLUE (15)***
Dir: Deon Taylor
With: Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Reid Scott, Frank Grillo, Beau Knapp
Runtime: 108 minutes
THE Bond crew got it wrong when they cast Naomie Harris as Moneypenny, secretary to spy chief M. Judging by the talents she displays in Deon Taylor’s all-action crime thriller, they should have made the Londoner the new 007.
Harris plays rookie officer Alicia West, who has just returned to her home city of New Orleans after an Army career that included several tours of duty in Afghanistan.
Having grown up in one of the poorer parts of New Orleans she knows life can be tough in the Big Easy, but she is still shocked at what she finds. Her old neighbourhood is now full of abandoned or flood-damaged homes in which a few souls are clinging on.
Into these neighbourhoods, her white cop partner tells her, the police only go if there is an emergency involving a “blue”, code for a police officer.
“You’re blue now,” a fellow officer, also AfricanAmerican, tells her. While on duty, West witnesses something, captured on her body camera, which forces her to choose which side she is on.
Decision made, she sets about taking the matter further. But first she has to survive the night in her old neighbourhood as multiple forces come after her.
Taylor starts at a cracking pace, setting his tale up confidently. West is placed in jeopardy from the off. With cars racing and guns blazing, the area looks like an urban war zone.
While the director has trouble sustaining the pace for the 108 minute runtime, Harris keeps a tight hold on the audience’s attention throughout. Though slightly built, she makes a convincing scrapper, giving as good as she gets when the action turns rough and the mean streets deadly.
After a slick first half the dialogue takes a turn for the hokey, particularly when the film turns to making some political points.
The story, so solid at first, turns out to have more holes in it than the bulletproof vest West wears. From this point on it is best just to sit back and enjoy the action.
But as for you, Ms Moneypenny, shoulda-beenthe-next Bond, consider this a hit.