In some ways it's a poor mans version of Training Day. The plot is solid but while it's never a secret who the real mastermind is it does entertain along the way. On the downside it has another wooden performance from Keanu Reeves but the supporting ... (read more) In some ways it's a poor mans version of Training Day. The plot is solid but while it's never a secret who the real mastermind is it does entertain along the way. On the downside it has another wooden performance from Keanu Reeves but the supporting cast keeps it watchable. If you like LA crime and cop corruption films then check this one out.

DI KO GETS, >> di ko ksi pinanpanood ng maaus kaya gnun.

yes, I saw this and it was way to intense for me but I love Keanu always.

A slightly chubby Keanu Reeves once again tries unsuccessfully to emote in this tidy and effective little thriller. Reeves is miscast as Tom Ludlow, "a cop who doesn't play by the rules" (yawn) who is falsely implicated in the death of a colleague an... (read more) A slightly chubby Keanu Reeves once again tries unsuccessfully to emote in this tidy and effective little thriller. Reeves is miscast as Tom Ludlow, "a cop who doesn't play by the rules" (yawn) who is falsely implicated in the death of a colleague and finds himself investigated by the very police department to whom he has dedicated his life. More corrupt than a British politician, you can tell Reeves is a 'baddun' through his occasional swigs on a hip flask and the fact that he drives a black Dodge Charger. What a guy!

Playing like a feature length episode of The Shield, Street Kings sees Forest Whitaker once again roll a lazy eye as Ludlow's dodgy Captain Jack Wander; blistering Reeves off the screen whenever the two appear together in an Eastenders-esque array of shouting matches. Rounding out the main cast is (inexplicably) Hugh Laurie as Internal Affairs Captain Jimmy Biggs. Essentially playing his role as 'House Joins The Police', Laurie falls back on his familiar yet utterly unconvincing squawky American accent, which is so terrible that he makes Reeves sound like Sir Laurence Olivier. I really did expect him to walk with the help of a cane to seal this incredible demonstration of his acting range.

Despite some dodgy accents, the film is brimming with elegant dialogue and the script is tighter than a polar bear's scrotum. Add in a killer soundtrack, and you may be willing to overlook the unfeasibly high bodycount (this is, however, a film where people can shelter from multiple automatic gunfire behind a sofa!), a lazy and generic title (what the hell does Street Kings mean exactly?) and an ending that is so understated that it may have been the inspiration for the acronym 'wtf'.

Although Street Kings isn't a bad film, you might like to check out the director David Ayer's other films with which he has been involved. Training Day, Harsh Times and Dark Blue all similarly deal with the seamier side of the LAPD, but devote more time to establishing realistic stories, greater character development and eliciting decent acting from the thespians involved.

Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a disillusioned LAPD Officer and part of the Special Vice Squad Unit. He rarely plays by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife, his is never too far from a bottle of alcohol.

All of the cops in Ludlow's unit; ... (read more) Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is a disillusioned LAPD Officer and part of the Special Vice Squad Unit. He rarely plays by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife, his is never too far from a bottle of alcohol.

All of the cops in Ludlow's unit; Detective Cosmo Santos (Amaury Nolasco), Detective Dante Demille (John Corbett), Sergeant Mike Clady (Jay Mohr) and Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) bend and break the rules of conduct on a regular basis. Their intention is often to deal with crime in a manner that they perceive to be more efficient, which leads them to routinely lie, falsify reports and manipulate evidence to cover up for their wrong-doings. When both Ludlows former partner Detective Terrence Washington and the Internal Affairs Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie) seems to be on a hunt to bring Ludlow down, Tom starts his own investigation and finds out information that puts a bullseye on his back..

Keanu Reeves has never been and will never be a good actor in my eyes. His robotlike manner is just not becoming better the older he gets either. And it was not that much to hang in the christmas tree in the beginning.... So, with that said "Street Kings" could have been slightly better with someone else as Ludlow. I am not saying that Reeves is a total disaster here, but he is not brilliant either. I did though like the action in "Street Kings". Felt very real. Intense direction and nicely shot. An interesting cast for sure with Whitaker (he is on the other hand a fine actor), Laurie, Mohr (hell of a moustache!) and Corbett (weird to see him as a bad cop. I reckon he will always be "Chris in the morning" for me). Having dirty cops as a backdrop is hardly a new story, and there are holes in the plot for sure, but I felt that some of the twists were turned in an ok manner. So, not bad I reckon.

Street Kings wastes a moderately intriguing premise by filling it with laughably clichéd dialogue, one-dimensional characters and implausible turns of events.

Like director David Ayer's previous movies (he wrote Training Day), Street Kings is about the joy of badass coppery.

Street Kings wobbles increasingly as it runs along, beginning well, growing so-so and culminating in a preposterous here's-what-it-all-means confession by the main villain.

What drags the film down, and in the end sinks it, is its unimaginatively complete grimness and cynicism.

There's a lot to appreciate in Street Kings, a tight, propulsive action thriller, but there's one thing to marvel at, and that's James Ellroy's command of story.