Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Have you ever seen a film that makes you wonder what the director, editors, writers and actors were thinking when the film was made? Can you identify with the feeling of watching a film and trying to decide whether there was any reason to continue watching it, hoping it would get better? And is there anything more frustrating than renting a film and spending the time to watch it, then realizing that it was a total dog? If so, you can understand what I just went through while watching Colors.

This movie basically does not have any attractive qualities. There may be some interest in the subject matter, which includes gang activity and law enforcement, but this film by no means does any justice to its content.

The editing is one of the main problems with the film. There is a scene in which an officer is speaking with a jailed convict. The camera view sometimes focuses on the character who is not speaking, and offers no valuable expression or reason for focus, while the other character is speaking and should have the camera's focus. As if that isn't bad enough, some scenes end abruptly and totally without class. This looks like it was made by someone who doesn't know how to make a good-looking film, or someone who can't appreciate the details of filmmaking that make a movie more satisfying to watch.

Almost every scene just feels like a waste of time. It is as if a camera crew followed around some characters as they lived out some really banal moments of their life. There is no entertainment in any of the script, character involvement, or plot. The movie is just extremely boring to watch. The filmic quality especially reminds me of some low-budget 70's films, which have long, boring, pointless scenes in which nothing entertaining or useful happens. I am not confusing this characteristic to a long shot for the purposes of creating an atmosphere for the viewer or to create emotion. There is a right and wrong way to do this. I'm sure you can imagine the difference between a scene which takes up a long time but creates a mood or sense of placement, which is worthwhile, versus one that makes you wonder why it wasn't cut several seconds short. Colors also has scenes with activity that should have a couple of seconds of film cut out many times in the course of a minute, to eliminate wasted time. One scene that drags out is bad enough, but when it seems to happen constantly, you just wonder if the director and editors have any skill whatsoever.

There is a scene in which officers on foot surround a group of gang members by surprise. The gang has weapons but is not prepared for the confrontation and is taken by surprise, so the police begin to handcuff many members. From the editing, you would think that the police have the situation well in hand, and some officers holster their weapons to cuff and control the gang. Many people are already cuffed, and the police continue to lock down the threat. Then, out of nowhere, one dude jumps up and fires on an officer. You have to wonder, where were the police before this happened? The guy was not hiding or in some bushes. He was on the ground in plain view, groping a girl when the officers first surrounded the gang. He was not cuffed or detained. It was if the officers ignored him and completely let down their guard, while the guy just waited and waited while his gang members were cuffed, then finally grabbed a weapon and fired. A serious drama film, like what Colors tries to be, should not have such an enormous gap in logic. Police procedure does not have huge holes like that, and it insults the viewers of this movie.

Another scene which is ridiculous to watch involves one gang which is firing on an opposing gang member, who is standing in front of a house. As the one guy falls from the hail of bullets (there are roughly 8 people firing on him at one time), one-by-one, other gang members emerge from the house and are slain by the massive opposition. Why would this happen in real life? That was just a terrible, poorly-made scene, and degraded the film realism more.

If you do decide to watch this movie, I challenge you to pay attention, because your mind can wander after watching such boring material. Watch each scene second-by-second, and decide if the film offers any entertainment value.

I don't know what reasons you may have for watching any given film, but I know I at least want to be entertained; I want to watch a film worth seeing. Colors definitely is not one such film. You may have had this movie recommended to you, and if you want to watch it, by all means do so. I would like to hear your comments and see if there was some quality of the movie that you feel redeemed its low points and made it worth recommending again. It is worth missing this film so that you can watch some other movie, which most likely will be much better than Colors.

Recommended: No

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older