Review of Brooklyn's Finest (2010) by C.r. L — 15 Sep 2010

In my eyes, Antoine Fuqua is a one hit wonder, much like Carl Douglas? song "Kung-Fu Fighting.? Fuqua's one hit wonder and his career making film "Training Day" established Fuqua as a possible rising star amongst directors thanks to in part of his film being nominated for two academy awards Denzel Washington won his second Oscar for his over the top portrayal of a mad dog rogue cop in Fuqua's breakout film. Sadly "Training Day"(2001) and "Lighting in a Bottle" (Fuqua's most acclaimed film) were his best works ever since then it has been touch and go for the talented yet extremely misguided young director who has a vision of telling the pain and anguish of people and the dangers and dark power money can hold over the best of people. Fuqua?s newest and to date his finest work is a searing gritty tale of corruption, greed, power in some strange way redemption. "Brooklyn's Finest" is a dark morbid film that not only boldly takes the occasionally walked path of a police drama but it takes the police drama all the way back to the days of one of cinema's finest crime films namely "Serpico" and "Prince of the City" and while "Brooklyn's Finest" is no "Prince of the city" it is one of the best and most complex crime dramas I have seen in a long time and proves that Fuqua maybe have what it takes to play with the big boys.

"Brooklyn's Finest" walks the well-worn path of many cop and crime dramas that have followed before it namely "Prince of the City"(1981), "Serpico"(1973),"The Departed"(2006), "Mystic River"(2003) and the list goes on. The only thing that sets this interlocking crime drama from others is its intense and sometimes absorbing one on one's between the lead characters and the people around them. The most notable would be Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) and the interaction between his family and him or the one on ones between Sal and his partner Ronny Rosario (Brain F. O?Byrne). Those individual scenes work better than most of the films most intense confrontations or the grittiest of shootouts or the most profound speech about the line between right and wrong. Theses scenes between the actors are the heart and soul of this picture the thread that holds the sweater together if theses scenes did not work or faltered even for a second the whole film would crumble and collapse on itself. The main reasons this film is able to succeed in due to the fact that there is a skilled director behind the camera and a cast of fantastic actors leading this film along to a smashing and gut wrenching climax that is worthy of this film. Fuqua does not cop out he keeps on the straight and twisty path that all dirty cop dramas follow and while this one is nowhere near as good as his earlier effort it certainly is one of his most polished and engrossing films to date albeit not all that compelling. "Brooklyn's Finest" is a taunt, tense and absorbing police drama that takes no punches but does dish out a few of its own, this is one of the best dirty cop films I have seen in a good long time.

I have a strong love for police dramas I have been watching them for the better part of 12 years and each one that I have seen has either failed to impress me or has left a lasting impression on me much like Martin Scorsese's "The Departed"(2006) did when I first saw it. ?The Departed? blew my mind with its daring plot twist and diverse group of flawed character. Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest" is like that. It has flawed people, human people who are trying to find out what they should do or even if they should do it. This film is not perfect and it does not pretend to be.

The actors in ?Brooklyn?s Finest" are all in top form they each deliver a fine diverse group of performances that not only enrich the material but make the film itself more human and more dark. The best performances in the film come from Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Richard Gere the three leads they are all at the top of there game in this tightly wounded film. Each of them deliver amazing performances that draw the audiences deeper and deeper into the violent world of the police, theses actors may not always be on key but they never fall short and each of them help boost this overly standard cop drama above its familiar story and plot. The rest of the cast including Brian F. O?Byrne, Vincent D'Onofrio, Wesley Snipes, Lili Taylor, and Will Patton all deliver fine supporting performances in this gritty crime drama.

For Many this film will come off as too familiar or too standard for most experienced moviegoers but for a select few "Brooklyn's Finest" will play-out like a finely tuned police drama that were so popular in the 70's, 80's and early to mid 90's. "Brooklyn's Finest" is not one of the best films of 2010 however; it is one of the most underrated and most engrossing films to come out in the early months of the new decade. While this film may not be the best of its genre it certainly is one of the more entertaining it proves that Fuqua still has what it takes to be a big name director and play with the fat cats and big wigs of Hollywood society.