All Rise...

Judge David Johnson was caught in the Crossfire; Crossfire the game that is!

Editor's Note

Our review of Caught In The Crossfire (Blu-Ray), published July 13th, 2010, is also available.

The Charge

Trust nobody.

Opening Statement

Chris Klein (Street Fighter: The legend of Chun-Li), Adam Rodriguez and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson team up for this crooked cop saga. The operative words there are "Chris Klein."

Facts of the Case

Caught in the Crossfire follows the exploits of two detectives, Briggs (Klein) and Shepherd (Rodriguez), who get sucked into a violent conspiracy of corrupt cops. A criminal (Jackson) has the information they need and forms a tenuous partnership with the detectives to help nail the crooked officers and save his fellow criminal buddy.

The situation soon explodes, and Briggs and Shepherd find themselves peppered with gunfire. A corpse or two later, they are hauled in by the brass to explain their actions. The investigation will eventually lead to more gunfire and corpses.

The Evidence

Caught in the Crossfire had the potential to be an okay cop thriller. The action taking place largely in one evening is a nice concept and the question marks behind the identities of the bad guys are answered well, with a satisfying plot twist.

But there is one thing that Caught in the Crossfire has working against it, and it's a colossal obstacle that is nearly impossible to circumvent—one Mr. Chris Klein.

If you were one of the unfortunate (or fortunate depending on your blood-alcohol level) few to witness this guy's legendarily awful performance as Nash in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li then you have a frame of reference for the lunacy he indulges in here. The guy brings the same bug-eyed, hyper-active line reading to Briggs and whenever he hits the screen, which is often, the air gets completely sucked out of the film. All tension and characterization deflates, as our focus is drawn to just what the heck Chris Klein is doing with his eyeballs.

I can't adequately describe the ridiculousness of the performance, so here it is, in pictures:

The Many Faces of Chris Klein in Caught in the Crossfire

Lionsgate serves up a lean DVD, headlined by a dark 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio and more outtakes than you'd expect for a gritty crime thriller.

Closing Statement

Caught in the Crossfire was caught in a crossfire of its own: a crossfire of Chris Klein's facial contortions.

The Verdict

Guilty. Oh, for the subtlety of Nash.

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