Dirty (2005)

21% of critics liked it
(28 reviews)
48% of users liked it
(6,991 ratings)

Cuba Gooding Jr. and Clifton Collins Jr. portray a pair of former gang members who trade in their colors for badges, only to discover that life on the other side of the law isn't much different than life on the streets, in Nightstalker director Chris Fisher's tale of crime and corruption in the… More Cuba Gooding Jr. and Clifton Collins Jr. portray a pair of former gang members who trade in their colors for badges, only to discover that life on the other side of the law isn't much different than life on the streets, in Nightstalker director Chris Fisher's tale of crime and corruption in the highest ranks of the inner-city police force. As anti-gang task force cops Armando Sancho (Collins Jr.) and his partner Salim Adel (Gooding Jr.) make their way through the sweltering concrete jungle of a decaying city, the lines between the law and the lawless grow increasingly blurred. His conscience stirred by his involvement in the murder of an innocent man, Sancho begins weighing the prospect of participating in an Internal Affairs investigation against his loyalty to his amoral partner and best friend Adel. When Sancho and Adel are called in by their division lieutenant (Cole Hauser) and assigned the task of delivering confiscated dope to the henchmen of feared gangster Damien Baine (Wyclef Jean), the deal is sweetened by Baine's offer to cut the pair in on the profits if they agree to bust a gang of newly arrived Canadian drug dealers looking to establish roots in the city. The task is complicated however, by the revelation that not only does the Canadian gang have direct ties to a well-established crime syndicate headed by ruthless Latino crime lord Roland (Robert La Sardo), but that the disgruntled girlfriend of a noted police informant is looking to exact deadly revenge on Adel for a previous wrongdoing as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Chris Fisher
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Feb 24, 2006 Wide
On DVD: Apr 4, 2006
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Robert Koehler, Variety
A no-nonsense dramatic response to the LAPD Rampart scandals of the '90s.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
We get it. All of you guys watched the Tarantino movies and you watched the Peckinpah movies. Enough, give us something original.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
This isn't a film made by someone who knows anything about cops. It's a film made by someone who's seen a lot of cop movies.
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
The machinations of the plot are so murky as to be not worth following.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
The only suspense is how long it's going to take for this movie to finally drag to an end.
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
As good as the leads and the supporting cast are, and as much action as gets packed into the film's relatively brief running time, none of it draws us in dramatically.
Lewis Beale, Film Journal International
Dirty is a solid ride, and deserves recognition if only because it affords Gooding the chance to reaffirm his acting chops.
Luke Y. Thompson, LYTRules.com
Fisher goes a bit too over the top with a couple of conventions that I wish he'd rein in.
Jules Brenner, Cinema Signals
This picture of it is poppin' blanks at too many turns to be considered honest nor a reflection of the real deal.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...although Dirty isn't much better than some of his earlier efforts, one can't help but admire Gooding Jr's willingness to portray such an irredeemably nasty character.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Is the film dirty enough for Redman to not clean his act up?
Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
DIRTY boasts about a wayward police drama that needs considerable conscientious washing. Sadly, this perfunctory scrub job simply attacks the same old neglected stained areas.
Tim Cogshell, Boxoffice Magazine
The cinematography of Eliot Rockett is also laudable: The city is not only rendered in the usual hot and gritty texture of urban landscapes, but is imbued with sense of oppression that is palpable.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Even the stunningly downbeat ending smacks of sub-Tarantinoesque theatrics.
Brent Simon, FilmStew.com
As the villain, Wyclef Jean exercises an impression-as-accent of John Malkovich's character from Rounders in turn impersonating a member of the Jamaican bobsled team.
Dan Fienberg, Zap2it.com
Capturing LA as a sepia-toned, sunbaked wasteland just isn't fresh. Why must every LA cop drama take place on the hottest day of the year just as the city is about to explode?
, E! Online
The intentions are sincere, but you'll want to take a good shower after sitting through this mess.
Fred Topel, About.com
While I have no doubt that real corrupt cops use language like this, it sounds like these actors don't actually know what the words mean. They sound like eighth graders... like Anthony Anderson and Taye Diggs in Malibu's Most Wanted pretending not

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bobby H

This movie is worth watching, a time or two. But really if your looking for a great movie of this nature just watch "Training Day". This was much like that, with a lot less planning to make it truly good.
Al S

This is no Training day, it's dark, violent noir that fails to deliver in it's story. It's highly stylized but very dull with a waste of a good cast.
Michael S

Really NOT bad at all, despite the fact that Cuba Gooding Jr. tries, but fails(greatly) to match Denzel's Oscar winning Training Day performance.
Jeffrey M

The pieces are there, but the execution is glaringly lacking. The editing is erratic and often nonsensical, having the feel of a PCP ride. The plot has many aspects, all with great potential, but it's so fragmented that it's difficult and frustrating to try and follow. That,… More
The pieces are there, but the execution is glaringly lacking. The editing is erratic and often nonsensical, having the feel of a PCP ride. The plot has many aspects, all with great potential, but it's so fragmented that it's difficult and frustrating to try and follow. That, in the end is its' greatest fault, failing to deliver on story, focusing too much on style.
Joseph E

I Started out liking it, and end up hating it, and then ended up enjoying it some more, until the heartbreaking ending.
Chosen 7

Good film, great performances by Cuba Gooding Jr. and Clifton Collins Jr. This film seemed like a cross between Harsh Times, Training Day, and the tv show The Shield.