
Colors
1988 · Movie · R · 120 min · ★ 6.5 · 70% critics
A confident young cop is paired with a veteran partner to patrol gang-controlled neighborhoods in Los Angeles. As they navigate violence driven by gang rivalries, the unit tries to keep order while the city’s street culture—reinforced by the colors gangs wear—pushes everything to a breaking point.
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Details
- Years
- 1988
- Release date
- 1988-04-15
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 120 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 70/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.5/10 (541 votes)
- Budget
- $10,000,000
About
You may like Colors if you want a gritty 1980s cop drama focused on Los Angeles street gangs and a veteran-versus-rookie partnership; Not for you if you dislike bleak violence or if you prefer more cohesive, memorable storytelling over a rough-and-real approach like Gangster Squad or State of Grace.
Pros: gritty LA atmosphere; strong lead performances; educational gang insight | Cons: uneven pacing; cliché-heavy stereotypes; some performances fall flat
Themes
- police brutality
- police
- ghetto
- delinquency
- east los angeles
- gang
- gang member
- mexican american
- angry
- aggressive
- colleague
- cautionary
- +3 more
Cast & crew

Sean Penn
as Danny McGavin

Robert Duvall
as Bob Hodges

María Conchita Alonso
as Louisa Gomez

Randy Brooks
as Ron Delaney

Grand L. Bush
as Larry Sylvester

Don Cheadle
as Rocket

Gerardo Mejía
as Bird

Glenn Plummer
as High Top

Rudy Ramos
as Melindez

Sy Richardson
as Bailey
Directed by Dennis Hopper