Street Kings

Exciting police drama
Keanu Reeves has come a long way as an actor. If you watch his early films you can see how he struggles to make his emotions authentic, without always succeeding. I think this was a break-through film for him. He is very believable as Tom Ludlow the soused "street fighter" cop who bends and breaks rules to get the job done. Whether he is romancing his gal, grieving over a dead cop, or exploding with rage - the emotions feel "real". And he is even more handsome than he was in his youth.
This was an exciting film from start to finish. There is not one dull moment where your mind begins to wander. The soundtrack was excellent- a menacing heartbeat that always forewarns us of dangers to come. The beautifully done cinematography included vivid colors, wrenching close-ups and sweeping panoramas of L.A. Great work! I think it is too bad that so many movie critics gave this one luke-warm reviews because "Street Kings" is a good film worth seeing. I know I will be eagerly awaiting the dvd...

Leave the lights off for this part of the police world
"Street Kings"--James Ellroy--deepest corruption, unrelenting violence, hidden acts, provocative coverups--this is a world that Joe and Julia Citizen will never see. The average citizen might assume corruption in police departments, but will never ever guess its extent as "Street Kings" shows.

Governmental and military black ops are kept secret with no written records in efforts to make a dent on destroying evil (philosophically speaking) in the large world. "Street Kings," through the pen of James Ellroy and the direction of David Ayer, exposes a layer of police work that parallels that of black ops. Written records are required in this case but highly filtered and altered.

Keanu Reeves is a surprising choice as Tom Ludlow, police op extraordinaire, but quite convincing as the take-no-prisoners kind of guy--one of the Street Kings of the police underworld. However, his work eliminating evil is protected by his boss, played his usual soft-spoken way by Forest...

Entertaining Modern Update to LA Confidential
I was intrigued when I heard that writer James Ellroy, of LA Confidential fame, was attached to this movie. Street Kings plays like a modern version of LA Confidential, albeit much darker and more cynical.

You have similar parallels to the original LA Confidential. Chris Evans of Fantastic Four fame, plays Detective Paul Diskant, more akin to the idealistic Guy Pearce. Keanu Reeves, no introduction needed, plays the bruiser type with an honest heart- more along the lines of Russell Crowe's Bud White. Lastly, Forrest Whittaker gives an entertaining performance as the politically savvy and corrupt vice squad captain, much like James Cromwell's Captain Dudley Smith.

Keanu put on some weight for the movie, I found his performance fine. He's often criticized for being too wooden, but I didn't notice anything that detracted from his performance. It's a genre movie, so certain plot points are predictable, yet I was also pleasantly surprised by a few twists...

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