Rated R for strong violence and pervasive language.
109 Minutes

Directed By: David Ayer
Written By: James Ellroy and Kurt Wimmer
Staring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Cedric The Entertainer, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews, John Corbett and Naomi Harris

They’re called suspects. The victims are the fourteen-year-old schoolgirls the suspects kept in a cage and sold to chickenhawks to poke, prod, and put on the Internet. Suspects, Washington. Suspects. -Tom Ludlow

Synopsis

Tom Ludlow is a veteran LAPD cop who finds life difficult to navigate after the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he’s been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.

Review

What we have here is a film that wants to be both “Training Day” and “Bad Boys”.  Unfortunately, it is neither.  Street Kings was just another run of the mill, forgettable action oriented, crime caper, that served up mediocre on a platter.

Keanu Reeves is one of those actors that can be terrible and brilliant.  He was not suited for this role.  His small range in the acting department completely limited him.  If a different actor, say Will Smith, or even Paul Walker played this part, I think it would have given the film a lot more integrity.  Most of the movie just feels likeKeanu going through the motions, unable to convey depth through his character by being subtle.  Instead, he just comes off as dumb or the “dude”.

I takes all of five minutes to sum up the main characters, determine who’s in on what, and virtually figure out the entire unravelling of the story.  It doesn’t ruin the entertainment that it’s predictable, it’s just annoying to know that you as a viewer are intended to be in the dark.  If the plot and finale wasn’t so blatantly obvious, a shock and a twist would have made the story considerably more compelling.  Even though it tried to be complex, it just wasn’t.

There may not have been anything particularly perplexing or original about Street Kings, but it did have it’s appeal.  There were some exciting performances by Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie and Chris Evans.  Like Ryan Reynolds, I initially dubbed Chris Evans as a one note actor, but he continues to surprise me.  There is more to him than just a pretty face, but he doesn’t try and avoid playing roles that plays to those dazzling good looks either.  In this case, he was perfectly cast, and gave the film the spark that Reeves lacked.

Jay Mohr was also cast in this film, and his performance stood out as most awkward, next to Keanu Reeves.  The mustache was too much, and the slinky, dirty cop feel just didn’t suit him.  I kept expecting to discover his character having a past as a 70’s porn star.  There was nothing tough orauthoritative about his performance.  His character should have been played by a James Spader type and we may have ended up with a much more memorable reference to his character and it’s importance to the unveiling of the plot.

I didn’t hate this movie, but any means.  It was just OK, by my standards and was worth passing a chilly, gloomy morning, but there were too many holes, banal and often forced dialogue that was portrayed by actors that either weren’t fully committed to it or couldn’t deliver it.  Some of the action and suspenseful moments were engaging and thrilling, but for the most part the story felt uninspired and lackluster.  The finale was the worst part.  I literally smacked my head in irritation.  The Verdict?  Street Kings just didn’t kill it for me.

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