Street Kings

I finally had a chance to catch Street Kings, which I took a pass on originally based mainly on the trailer, but recently a friend has convinced me otherwise. Appearing in theaters just before the arrival of numerous summer blockbusters, Street Kings certainly serves its purpose of bridging the gap between the winter and summer releases.

One area Street Kings certainly impresses is its cast list. With Keanu Reeves taking the charge as Detective Tom Ludlow, Street Kings provides a tale of violence and gore entirely from the police perspective. Rather than a cop-and-robber story, Street Kings focuses mainly on the rivalry between police members. Reeves come as close as the dictionary definition of vigilante, with the twist that no one has any oversight. What ensues is almost constant action, as Reeves goes from one gunfight to the next, with each one being equally brutal. There’s no romanticizing of killing and death here - there simply is a lot of it. Although the plot flows smoothly enough, offering just a tad more than the minimum to avoid feelings of manufactured action sequences, the story is certainly a rehash of previous titles. No surprises found here.

Other characters stand well enough on their own, with the most notable being Forest Whitaker as Captain Jack Wander, Ludlow’s boss. Unfortunately, everyone else is easily forgettable and hardly developed. In fact, the other three members in Ludlow’s squad are basically identical. Ludlow’s girlfriend falls in the same line as those three guys - forgettable.

Even with its shortfalls, I am reluctant to criticize Street Kings too much. It makes no excuse for what it’s about, offering plenty of mindless action, perfect for those days when you and some buddies just want to watch some solid gunfights without thinking too much.

Pros: Guns and realism
Cons: Not going to be make you question cops and duty
Conclusion: Don’t expect too much and the respectable cast should win you over.
Score: 3/5

IMDB