Review of Brooklyn's Finest (2010) by Erno K — 26 Oct 2010

I love a good, gritty cop movie. Antoine Fuqua seems to be pretty good at delivering them (Training Day was quite awesome).

First things first. Welcome back, Wesley Snipes! Missed you, bro. I had almost forgotten the dude exists. Not only does he exist in the film, he delivers a badass performance. Everyone does actually, so no complaints in that department.

This is one of them "paths of many people intertwine" kind of deals. Every one of the three main story arcs is fortunately very interesting. All three players are cops and all three just try to get along in life in their own way. What I try to say is that everyone is either in deep shit or so disillusioned with life they are suicidal. So no fluffy flakes in this flick, it is depressing as hell. Suddenly my own life seems quite rainbowy and awesome. I even cleaned today, so go to hell depression, you ain't got nothin' on me.

I would probably be exactly like Gere's character after witnessing 20 years of horrible shit on the streets. Too jaded to give a fuck about anything. So I can relate to some degree. Ethan Hawke's storyline is the most compelling, though, as he simply tries to do the best thing for his family. We truly get a sense that he has tried everything legally possible to care for his loved ones before he jumps off the straight and narrow, and I for one was rooting for him even when he does some questionable things. The dude's heart is in its right place!

Don Cheadle's shenanigans are fascinating enough as well, but I just can't be too sympathetic for anyone who chooses to be an undercover policeman. That's just stupid.

The finale is very suspenseful and tense and I loved every minute of it. Real edge-of-your-seat stuff. All in all, I had a great time with the movie and Fuqua is becoming firmly one of my favorite directors. But only with urban shit, King Arthur is horrible.