A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.
There's great pleasure in watching these two actors work. And Hopper, a great actor himself, knows what they need to thrive.
– Hal Hinson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
It's an exhilarating sparring match between Duvall's workmanlike fine-tuning and Penn's raw energy.
– Desson Thomson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Though its story has the makings of standard stuff, and is sometimes sketchily told, nothing about 'Colors is ordinary.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
fresh:
Never as eccentric as The Last Movie or Out of the Blue, Colors nevertheless makes most other cop movies look formulary by comparison.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
Colors is a solidly crafted depiction of some current big-city horrors and succeeds largely because of the Robert Duvall-Sean Penn teaming as frontline cops. They're terrific together as members of the gang crime division of the LAPD.