Sadly Over-hyped

Great Film overall

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

L.A. Confidential revolves around three cops:Officer Bud White (Russell Crowe) who, as a child saw his mother beaten to death, and has been trying to avenge her ever since, as well as engaging in some illegal activities he feels bad about but can't escape.Sargeant Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) who's father served on the Force before him, and was killed in the line of duty. Ed's dream is to measure up to his father, but his self-righteous naivete proves to be a serious drawback.And finally, to quote yellow journalism, Celebrity Crime Stopper Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), who, aside from his job, lives for being the technical advisor on Badge Of Honor (a popular television series which shows L.A cops "walking on water as they keep the streets clean of crooks").All three men have their differences, and none of them get along, until a shooting at a diner called The Night Owl drives them to ultimately join forces, as they dig deeper into a case which grows darker, and more treacherous the more they investigate it...And with the digging, come the other characters into the story.There's Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) who -by all appearances- is a pillar of integrity, but has secrets of his own to keep.There's D.A. Ellis Loew (Ron Rifkin), who has bad appetites to keep under wraps.And the wealthy Pierce Patchett (David Strathairn) who runs the very illicit Fleur De Lis: Whatever You Desire.Then, there's the beautiful Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger) who belongs to a group of high class call girls cut to look like movie stars, and who steals the audience's heart away when, upon first seeing Bud White, immediately pegs him as a Police Officer."Is it that obvious?" Bud White asks. "It's practically stamped on your forehead." she replies.All of them are being watched like hawks by Sid Hudgens (Danny DeVito) a tabloid reporter who loves to uncover dirt, and has recruited Jack Vincennes to help him do it.I have not had the privilege of reading James Ellroy's novel but I can say without hesitating that this movie does it justice.Everything is impeccable, from the dialogue, to the settings, to the soundtrack.Kim Basinger deserves her Oscar. And these are great roles for the lead actors (especially Guy Pearce who stars in the best role I've ever seen him in).Kevin Spacey, and James Cromwell add tremendously also, but it is Danny DeVito with his blithely amoral outlook on life who is the shining star of the supporting cast, kicking off one of the best opening scenes ever put into a movie, and adding levity to the story, as he digs relentlessly for the dirt..."Off the record. On the q.t. And very...HUSH-HUSH!"Originally, Review #80

This movie suffers from an overly convoluted and unfocused plot (going after one group of criminals then the big cliche crime boss the next. Having multiple antagonists is fine, but the problem was it felt like two different stories that were weakly connected), characters that would like us to believe they are much more complex than the are (the white knight cop, Bud, who turns out to be a hypocrite. Some might take this cotradiction as character complexity, but the flaws of this character are never acknowledged in the form of facing consequences for you actions, bc in the end he gets the girl), and failure to address the theme of police corruption that it presents (Again, Bud is a thug of a cop, a dispicable person who is only ever rewarded by the film. Lieutenant Exley supposedly represents a moral reformer in the LAPD, but in the end he doesn't significantly change anything or really openly challenge the corrupt LAPD besides at the beginning when he testifies against a fellow cop for their violation of practice. He is also an unsavory person whose moral hypocrisy is never acknowledged). This isn't even to mention the cringey ass dialogue that is trying to hard to sound 1950s and the fact that the only black people in this film are criminals and rapists, and that things seemed to be easily achieved by all the "protagonists" with minimal effort put forth.

Critics love this film and it won major awards, so I was expecting it to be very entertaining. I was very disappointed at how slow and dull it is. It's far too long for the small amount of actual material in it. The characters are dull and there are a lot of scenes that are just boring conversations.Kim Basinger plays a call girl, so she should certainly have at least one good sex scene. However, we don't even see her nude - let alone having sex.We don't see the murder that's at the centre of the plot - we only see the corpses afterwards and people talking about it. That means that we don't know exactly what happened.

'LA Confidential' is a very well-made, stylish and hugely enjoyable detective movie with the full package of everything you expect from a crime drama, from great action to tension and drama - this film has it all in abundance.The individual acting performances in this film are great, the trio of Spacey, Pearce and Crowe deliver perhaps some of the best performances of their career. Far from being the stereotypical action-packed cop flick, 'LA Confidential' gives us a proper storyline with excellent character development. That's what makes it stand out from the crowd.'LA Confidential' is comfortably one of the best crime dramas of the 90s. A proper detective story that has you gripped from the start, without the need for excessive action and violence. A must watch for fans of this genre.