The folks out at Lions Gate sent me a copy of Caught in the Crossfire to review, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do today.  I have to admit, that when you’ve got a banner notice like this:

“From a producer of 16 Blocks and Righteous Kill”

across the top of the box, it sets off more red flags than a three-day NASCAR race.

Featuring Chris Klein and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Caught in the Crossfire follows a pair of police detectives as they investigate a gang-related crime in the area.  Well, the deeper their investigation goes, the more they run afoul of the various gangs in the area, as well as a host of cops who’d sooner keep things quiet.  And when you discover just what it is that’s got the cops and the gangs alike after the detectives, well…you really won’t be that surprised at all.

See, Caught in the Crossfire watches like a product order out of the Cop Drama Merchandise Catalog.  Every inch of this, from the Bereaved Loved Ones to the Thin Blue Line to the Corrupt Internal Affairs Agents  comes pretty much out of a standard pattern that’s shown up in cop movies since time immemorial.

On a personal note, however, I’m abundantly gratified to see that this was shot entirely in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as is evident from the names on the sides of the police cars.  This, however, isn’t anywhere near enough to make it much more than a second-tier warmed over cop drama.

On the other hand, I do know that there are limits inherent in this sort of production that make a lot of innovation downright difficult to pull off.  And I really do think they’re at least butting up against the most they could do, and as cop dramas go, this one isn’t half bad.

The problem, of course, is that it just can’t produce a whole lot more than the standard.  It’s so predictable, and so purely run of the mill that even where you don’t see the plot twists coming, you just plain old won’t care about them.

Thus, the Screenhead Ten Scale gives a dismissive back-of-hand “bah!” in the grandest Dogbert fashion and hands this mediocre pile of unpleasantness a five out of ten.  It tried, I give it due credit, but it just couldn’t pull off anything out of the ordinary or, better, worth paying attention to.