Review: "Street Kings"

Seen on: April 12, 2008

The players: Director: David Ayer, Writers: Jamie Moss, Kurt Wimmer, James Ellroy, Cast: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Jay Mohr

Facts of interest: David Ayer also directed "Harsh Times."

The plot: A veteran LAPD cop (Reeves) goes ballistic after he's implicated in the murder of his former colleague.

Our quick thoughts: In “Street Kings,” Keanu Reeves jumps into the role of a veteran cop who refuses to play it by the book after being implicated in the cold-blooded murder of his former partner. Protected by his boss (played by Forest Whitaker) but watched closely by a persistent internal affairs captain (Hugh Laurie), he launches his own risky investigation to make peace with his guilty conscience and seek revenge against the ruthless killers. 

In a nutshell, “Street Kings” aims high but clearly misses its target. Based on a story by James Ellroy, whose novels inspired crime thrillers such as “L.A. Confidential” and “The Black Dahlia,” the film spends nearly two hours showing cinemagoers that almost every cop in the LAPD is corrupt. Not only do we know all this already, but we’ve reached the point where we simply don’t care anymore. The idea of unscrupulous detectives ignoring the law to protect themselves and fellow colleagues has grown too old by now, and injecting the concept with new energy or fresh twists is practically impossible.

“Street Kings” quite simply lacks originality, and offers cinemagoers nothing they haven’t seen yet. Screenwriters Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer and Jamie Moss fail to inject their story with suspense and forget to develop their characters, missing every chance to build a solid intrigue and prevent the film from heading into disaster. David Ayer, who won a lot of critical acclaim for the screenplay of “Training Day,” saves the flick with a handful of intense action sequences and an overall slick direction, which at least keeps the audience from exiting the theater.   

Keanu Reeves makes an obvious effort to come across as troubled cop struggling with a turbulent past, but the script fails to supply him with a compelling character. Eventually, he spends most of the film sipping Vodka, racing across Los Angeles and arguing with colleagues and suspects. Forest Whitaker stars as Reeves’ power-hungry supervisor, but his lifeless performance almost goes unnoticed. Acting honors, however, go to Hugh Laurie ("House"), who despite his short appearance, authentically portrays the annoying department investigator. His efforts definitely made we want to see more of him on the big screen.  

Freaky quote: "We’re the police. We can do whatever the hell we want.” – Keanu Reeves

The final word: While “Street Kings” is entertaining enough to keep your eyes on the screen for 109 minutes, the script remains too weak for anyone to really care about the issues the film tries to address. A lack of innovation is the film’s greatest flaw, which I believe could have been fixed if David Ayer took control of the screenplay himself. Unless you are a diehard Keanu Reeves fan, I urge you to skip this one.