Stars:
Forest Whitaker
Hugh Laurie
Ok, this one caught my attention because it starred Keanu Reeves. Street Kings refers to the band of LAPD officers who rule the streets of LA much like the law enforcers in The Shield, only this is on a far bigger scale. At first, it appears that this is the run of the mill cops and robbers shoot-em-up, but as the story unfolds, it slowly develops into web of crooked cops and cover-ups.
Keanu Reeves reprises his usual role as a tough and perpetually brooding reluctant hero. The show starts with him waking up and immediately draws his gun (why I don't know), then proceeds to throw up in the can after going through the bathroom routine. We know it is not morning sickness as it was sunset then instead of sunrise. He then kick starts the body count by mercilessly gunning down some Korean baddies, including a guy that was taking a crap at the time. A fellow cop remarks," How can you shoot a guy taking a dump? I mean, seriously, that's sacred. That's like shooting a man in church". As the plot progresses, we get the picture that these cops don't play by the rules, inviting Internal Affairs to sniff about, having cops snitching on other cops and the top cop covering up for those under him.
The cover ups are aplenty and amazingly simple to execute, where hardly anyone gets suspicious, and Internal Affairs can only fish around for leads. Perhaps it is that simple with the right assistance, as acquittals of cops in Rodney King beating and the recent Sean Bell shooting may suggest.
The show becomes more appealing once it demonstrates that the main focus is not the body count and there is actually much more to that, with some intrigue thrown in when you wonder which of the cops are actually crooked. For movies to work for me, I need to feel an attraction for the cast. The acting accolades go to Forest Whitaker who plays the top cop, and Hugh Laurie as the Internal Affairs captain. Oscar recipient Forest Whitaker was energetic and animated and with Hugh Laurie, it's pretty much like watching Dr. Gregory House in action. There are a few recognizable faces in the supporting cast, notably John Corbett from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Chris Evans aka The Human Torch from the Fantastic Four and Cedric The Entertainer from, well, small roles in a whole bucketload of movies.
The story digresses in the addition of the tale of the death of Reeves' adulterous wife, which adds nothing to the story, or to the morality to Reeves' character. Her death was used in a pathetic attempt by Reeves at empathizing with a dead cop’s wife, which was a cheap shot that probably did not work anyway.
In a nutshell, there is sufficient action (gunfights and fistfights), intrigue, credible storyline and acting to make watching the movie worthwhile. Surprisingly, it only created a ripple in the box office, with the run in most local cinemas coming to an end after only 3 weeks. Perhaps, many thought that it was going to be a no brainer shooting flick due to the lack of advertorial promotion. For me, a no brainer shooting flick with Keanu Reeves is still watchable. The more than decent supporting cast and the depth of the story turned out to be an added bonus.
Keanu Reeves reprises his usual role as a tough and perpetually brooding reluctant hero. The show starts with him waking up and immediately draws his gun (why I don't know), then proceeds to throw up in the can after going through the bathroom routine. We know it is not morning sickness as it was sunset then instead of sunrise. He then kick starts the body count by mercilessly gunning down some Korean baddies, including a guy that was taking a crap at the time. A fellow cop remarks," How can you shoot a guy taking a dump? I mean, seriously, that's sacred. That's like shooting a man in church". As the plot progresses, we get the picture that these cops don't play by the rules, inviting Internal Affairs to sniff about, having cops snitching on other cops and the top cop covering up for those under him.
The cover ups are aplenty and amazingly simple to execute, where hardly anyone gets suspicious, and Internal Affairs can only fish around for leads. Perhaps it is that simple with the right assistance, as acquittals of cops in Rodney King beating and the recent Sean Bell shooting may suggest.
The show becomes more appealing once it demonstrates that the main focus is not the body count and there is actually much more to that, with some intrigue thrown in when you wonder which of the cops are actually crooked. For movies to work for me, I need to feel an attraction for the cast. The acting accolades go to Forest Whitaker who plays the top cop, and Hugh Laurie as the Internal Affairs captain. Oscar recipient Forest Whitaker was energetic and animated and with Hugh Laurie, it's pretty much like watching Dr. Gregory House in action. There are a few recognizable faces in the supporting cast, notably John Corbett from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Chris Evans aka The Human Torch from the Fantastic Four and Cedric The Entertainer from, well, small roles in a whole bucketload of movies.
The story digresses in the addition of the tale of the death of Reeves' adulterous wife, which adds nothing to the story, or to the morality to Reeves' character. Her death was used in a pathetic attempt by Reeves at empathizing with a dead cop’s wife, which was a cheap shot that probably did not work anyway.
In a nutshell, there is sufficient action (gunfights and fistfights), intrigue, credible storyline and acting to make watching the movie worthwhile. Surprisingly, it only created a ripple in the box office, with the run in most local cinemas coming to an end after only 3 weeks. Perhaps, many thought that it was going to be a no brainer shooting flick due to the lack of advertorial promotion. For me, a no brainer shooting flick with Keanu Reeves is still watchable. The more than decent supporting cast and the depth of the story turned out to be an added bonus.
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