Review of Street Kings (2008) by Dawn K — 02 Nov 2009

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.