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Crappy film

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

As with many films in similar genres, I was mainly attracted to this film because of the stellar cast in it, it was rated relatively low by critics, but I was going to watch it anyway, written by James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential), directed by David Ayer (End of Watch, Sabotage, Fury). Basically LAPD Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a ruthlessly efficient unorthodox undercover cop, he is haunted by the death of his wife, he becomes obsessed with trying to track down the men who killed her. It is after his former partner Detective Terrence Washington (Terry Crews) is killed Ludlow's mission to find street gangs gets personal, Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) is concerned for his methods for going above and beyond the call of duty are no longer approved, it is reported to Internal Affairs Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie), and apparently an investigation against Ludlow is started. In order to complete his mission Ludlow teams up with fresh-faced Robbery Homicide Detective Paul "Disco" Diskant (Chris Evans) to trace the killers through the city streets, later the duo come face to face with the cruel cop killers, they must decide whether they are to uphold the law or seek bitter vengeance. Also starring Cedric the Entertainer as Scribble, Small Soldiers' Jay Mohr as Sergeant Mike Clady, Naomie Harris as Linda Washington, rapper Common as Coates, rapper The Game as Grill, Martha Higareda as Grace Garcia, John Corbett as Detective Dante Demille and Daryl Gates as The Chief. Reeves doesn't quite fit the part, Laurie doing his decent American accent isn't on screen a lot, neither is Whitaker, and Evans is alright, to be completely honest I couldn't follow this film very well because I got bored, it has many clichés as well, only the action sequences perhaps got my attention, overall it's an almost forgettable crime thriller drama. Adequate!

Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is an aggressive hardcore undercover LAPD vice cop. He breaks the rules to rescue two kidnapped girls and Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) supports him. His former partner Terrence Washington (Terry Crews) accuses him of misconduct and internal affairs Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie) investigates. Wander is getting a promotion over Biggs. Ludlow is on his way to confront Washington when two men shoot up the store killing Washington. One of Ludlow's shots accidentally ends up in Washington. Wander covers up for Ludlow and assigns him desk duty. New homicide detective Paul Diskant (Chris Evans) investigates Washington's murder.This is a rather formulaic police drama. The acting is a bit too hard. Everybody is trying too hard. Too much is laid out openly. It's laid out so much that it makes Ludlow looks stupid by not catching on. Keanu Reeves doesn't have any subtlety. He's full-on in damaged boy scout mode. This could be more murky and gritty. It's well made but lacks imagination and the intensity feels fake.

This is a bad movie, I did not like it. Why I have watched it? First, I have seen David Ayers "Harsh Times" and I expected something harsh too. I did not get it. Keanu Reeves trying to look harsh, he fails. Forest Whitaker is not harsh, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans - they are not harsh too. But this is not the main problem.The main problem is that I did not care about a main character Tom Ludlow. He is stupid, he makes stupid mistakes and he makes other people around him to behave stupid. I think I care more if the movie would be about how his wife died or about detective Terrence Washington and his wife. This story is about how about corrupt police officer Tom Ludlow starts to think and doubt about what he is doing, and everybody around him starts to die, and he kills some men too. He is not a hero, he doesn't know what he wants.So this is not a movie on which the director - David Ayer makes his choices, this is bad Hollywood movie. If you want to see really good action crime drama go see "Harsh Times" and "Training Day".

Street Kings (2008): Dir David Ayer / Cast: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Cedric the Entertainer: Average cop action film about forced authority. Keanu Reeves plays a cop caught up in corrupt law enforcement when crime scenes are tampered with in favour of his innocence. When a partner is gunned down by two males, he sets out to find the killers and act his own brand of justice. Directed by David Ayer, the film contains explosive action with a well drawn plot until it gets dumbed down with revenge clichés that seem to run rampant in these films. Reeves does well as a detective pulled out of trouble only to witness the corruption first hand at the expense of an innocent. He eventually is reduced to the same corruption. Forest Whitaker plays the police captain whom covers up bad police conduct until becoming the victim of it himself. Others roles are not quite as broad but make good use of good actors. Hugh Laurie makes an appearance although perhaps more would have been nice. Chris Evans plays Reeves reluctant new partner who is caught at the wrong place at the wrong time and the handling of this is too sudden and brief for the character at hand. Cedric the Entertainer also makes an appearance but this film begins to lose substance fast. The film plays on entertainment over message but action lovers are the core audience. Score: 5 / 10