That "Edison" delivers is a fact; and it delivers well. David J. Burke, a writer of big knowledge when it comes to police forces (he's been the hand of a lot of series), tried to make a longer story that I'm guessing later became a script that tells the life of the good cop Rafe Deed (LL Cool J, who has become an accomplished actor) making sacrifices in the middle of the Edison FRAT division force; and ultimately became his wish of directing a film. I'm really not sure if he was the right choice for the direction of his own tale.
When shooting a crime movie, direction has to be utterly connected to writing, so the viewer gets to see the true objectives of a film. Basically, Burke tries to give us a complex tale about corruption in the police force and his direction just doesn't fit it. It's like he's pretending to be interesting but we feel it as something else; so at the beginning (a very motivating first scene) the camera embraces darkness and goes deep and the edition is careful but five minutes later dynamic shots take over and everything seems out of place.
In "Collateral", Michael Mann's riveting film about a cab driver threatened by an assassin, the director achieves a perfect balance between dynamism and slow observation; in "Edison", Burke is playing with the camera (and he's playing very well) but not for the benefit of the movie. It's too bad, because his screenplay is well crafted, confusing and, except for some boring and improper voices in off, demands attention.
That's why we pay a lot of notice to the characters, intelligent and surviving human beings with more than one dimension. Everyone is one step ahead in Burke's world; everyone is a little bit smarter, and they need to be because they live in an environment full of mysteries and undiscovered truths. He creates the good people, journalists and investigators: Moses Ashford, played by a relaxed Morgan Freeman who hits all the right notes; Lee Wallace, another of Kevin Spacey's unique compositions and Josh Pollack, played by Justin Timberlake in his first acting attempt. If I hadn't seen him in "Alpha Dog", I would have said he's terrible here; but now I know his range, and it's not small.
The bad people, corrupted cops and politicians: Lazerov, one hell of a performance by Dylan McDermott; John Heard's nice turn as Captain Tilman and D.A Jack Reigert, portrayed by an underused Cary Elwes. As we do, Burke gives importance to his characters; that's why action scenes are not all shooting and running and they contain tense interactions by a different number of players, which is not common when you're blowing things up.
There are movies like "SWAT" that are pure entertainment and we accept them for that, so we like them. Then, there are works like "Edison", which should be interesting and different so that we can put them one level above. They should also be longer, because apparently they have more things to tell. However, Burke's picture is a lot shorter than "SWAT", it doesn't make the cut and it remains one level below.
When shooting a crime movie, direction has to be utterly connected to writing, so the viewer gets to see the true objectives of a film. Basically, Burke tries to give us a complex tale about corruption in the police force and his direction just doesn't fit it. It's like he's pretending to be interesting but we feel it as something else; so at the beginning (a very motivating first scene) the camera embraces darkness and goes deep and the edition is careful but five minutes later dynamic shots take over and everything seems out of place.
In "Collateral", Michael Mann's riveting film about a cab driver threatened by an assassin, the director achieves a perfect balance between dynamism and slow observation; in "Edison", Burke is playing with the camera (and he's playing very well) but not for the benefit of the movie. It's too bad, because his screenplay is well crafted, confusing and, except for some boring and improper voices in off, demands attention.
That's why we pay a lot of notice to the characters, intelligent and surviving human beings with more than one dimension. Everyone is one step ahead in Burke's world; everyone is a little bit smarter, and they need to be because they live in an environment full of mysteries and undiscovered truths. He creates the good people, journalists and investigators: Moses Ashford, played by a relaxed Morgan Freeman who hits all the right notes; Lee Wallace, another of Kevin Spacey's unique compositions and Josh Pollack, played by Justin Timberlake in his first acting attempt. If I hadn't seen him in "Alpha Dog", I would have said he's terrible here; but now I know his range, and it's not small.
The bad people, corrupted cops and politicians: Lazerov, one hell of a performance by Dylan McDermott; John Heard's nice turn as Captain Tilman and D.A Jack Reigert, portrayed by an underused Cary Elwes. As we do, Burke gives importance to his characters; that's why action scenes are not all shooting and running and they contain tense interactions by a different number of players, which is not common when you're blowing things up.
There are movies like "SWAT" that are pure entertainment and we accept them for that, so we like them. Then, there are works like "Edison", which should be interesting and different so that we can put them one level above. They should also be longer, because apparently they have more things to tell. However, Burke's picture is a lot shorter than "SWAT", it doesn't make the cut and it remains one level below.