I watched the first three or four minutes of this movie and was totally turned off. The title I saw it under was "Blue Lives Matter". The only way I was able to locate it on IMDB was by typing in Blue Lives and then the matching movie promo photo appeared. In my opinion, this is a B movie at its best. I couldn't take the second-rate acting but, the worst part was the shaky cameras. My eyes couldn't focus on the characters for all the shaking!!! The 'corpse' in the first scene was obviously someone playing dead, but in the next scene was a blanket covered body. No blood, no violent pose, nothing. I turned it off and wrote this review. Don't waste your time and pass on this one.
2 Reviews
"B" Movie to B Sure.
jimel982 April 2020
I need to see more than 20 minutes of a movie to feel I have the right to review it, and I did indeed watch the entire thing.
You've no doubt read the synopsis so I'll spare you a rehash.
To start, the other reviewer was correct in that it is definitely a B Movie, if not a C+. A group of unknowns, some of whom could be dismissed even from an Ed Wood movie. I mean, if the guy playing the judge, Johnny Mask, should quit acting. It seemed like he was doing a rather poor impression of Dr. Smith from "Lost in Space." But let's be honest here, the budget here had to be pretty low, so, you do what you can with what you have, and high priced actors, special effects and sets are not what would be a priority.
Derrian Tolden was on the other hand, believable and earnest in his performance. His portrayal of Officer Wilson showed the anguish a cop can go through when, no matter how right he is, he's wrong. The movie thoughtfully and sympathetically showed a cop facing injustice, something that in this day and age is simply not fashionable or encouraged and I applaud this movie for that. His partner, Officer Chaney, played by Geoffrey Gilbert is shown to be tough but fair and Mr. Gilbert does a very adequate job in this roll. The other cop who is shown in a very good light and believable is the union president played by Chuck Saale. His part is quite brief, but he gets in some good stuff. Well done all.
With all the praise set aside, there were so many flaws in this movie, it was almost laughable. One glaring thing that I HAVE to mention is, when the full video of the attack on Officer Wilson is shown, the numerous camera angles this guy caught with his camera would make Hollywood envious. Ok, I'm guessing that this was purposely done for dramatic affect and not meant to show ONLY the actual footage, but I think showing just the 'real' footage and then maybe showing it from various angles for the viewer (the non-in movie viewers) might have worked better. But that's just me. I'm no expert. And it's unfortunate that it took the direction it did, ala "The Negotiator", which was in every way a superior movie, of course, again, budgets?
On last tiny issue I want to bring up, the title. The original and better title, "Court of Appeals" should have been left alone. Amazon should have left it alone and not gone with a provocative title that will simply cause some of condemn the movie without seeing it.
You've no doubt read the synopsis so I'll spare you a rehash.
To start, the other reviewer was correct in that it is definitely a B Movie, if not a C+. A group of unknowns, some of whom could be dismissed even from an Ed Wood movie. I mean, if the guy playing the judge, Johnny Mask, should quit acting. It seemed like he was doing a rather poor impression of Dr. Smith from "Lost in Space." But let's be honest here, the budget here had to be pretty low, so, you do what you can with what you have, and high priced actors, special effects and sets are not what would be a priority.
Derrian Tolden was on the other hand, believable and earnest in his performance. His portrayal of Officer Wilson showed the anguish a cop can go through when, no matter how right he is, he's wrong. The movie thoughtfully and sympathetically showed a cop facing injustice, something that in this day and age is simply not fashionable or encouraged and I applaud this movie for that. His partner, Officer Chaney, played by Geoffrey Gilbert is shown to be tough but fair and Mr. Gilbert does a very adequate job in this roll. The other cop who is shown in a very good light and believable is the union president played by Chuck Saale. His part is quite brief, but he gets in some good stuff. Well done all.
With all the praise set aside, there were so many flaws in this movie, it was almost laughable. One glaring thing that I HAVE to mention is, when the full video of the attack on Officer Wilson is shown, the numerous camera angles this guy caught with his camera would make Hollywood envious. Ok, I'm guessing that this was purposely done for dramatic affect and not meant to show ONLY the actual footage, but I think showing just the 'real' footage and then maybe showing it from various angles for the viewer (the non-in movie viewers) might have worked better. But that's just me. I'm no expert. And it's unfortunate that it took the direction it did, ala "The Negotiator", which was in every way a superior movie, of course, again, budgets?
On last tiny issue I want to bring up, the title. The original and better title, "Court of Appeals" should have been left alone. Amazon should have left it alone and not gone with a provocative title that will simply cause some of condemn the movie without seeing it.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
