Street Kings

Cast:
Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Jay Mohr, John Corbett, The Game, Cedric The Entertainer, Common, Terry Crews & Clifton Powell
Director: David Ayer (Harsh Times)

Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective, sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington. Captain Wander's, Ludlow's supervisor, duties include keeping him within the confines of the law--and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs.
Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective to track Washington's killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays off when the two detectives track down Washington's murderers and confront them in an attempt to bring them to justice.

Drama, Thriller and Crime/Gangster, 1 hr. 47 min, R

ATKBO Review

Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) is captain of a dirty Los Angeles vice squad. His team consists of Sgt. Mike Clady (Jay Mohr), Detectives Cosmo Santos, Dante Demille and Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves). We hear and see Ludlow is quite the one man army and his exploits are pretty impressive – however he has an alcohol problem and is somewhat trigger happy. A former member now informant Terrence Washington (Terry Crews) who has now cleaned up his act tries to get info from Ludlow regarding corruption in the force. Wander informs Ludlow that Washington is working under Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie) and mentions Washington is trying to rat our Ludlow which he takes acception to.
Wander lets Ludlow know to lay low as he will take care of the situation. Ludlow however refuses his superiors orders and follows Washington into a store. In a mix up of things Washington an innocent bystander in the middle of a robbery is shot and killed by the thieves, whereas Ludlow is now being question why he was first on the scene as members of the force had heard of Washington’s intentions. Caught up in the homicide, Ludlow will have to learn who to trust and who’s to blame which will see him uncover the truth in a mind bending twist!

Street Kings gets marks in all the right places which is saying something as I had very high expectations for this film and all were met. Fans doubting that the director and writers previous efforts (Training Day, Harsh Times) would find it hard adding new and fresh material on the genre will eat their words as critics have hailed it as a masterpiece.
Kings, could be classed as one of Keanu’s best action roles, he gives a terrific portrayal as a crooked LA detective. Forest gives us another Oscar worthy performance meanwhile The Game and Common both do their roles justice. However its Hugh Laurie (TV’s House) character that will surprise most. The direction is key, as the adrenaline thrill ride moves at a blistering speed and the twists are not foreseeable in this gritty underground crime epic.
Without a doubt hands down the best action flick of the year so far, 5 stars and one that is sure to make my top 10 for the year!

ATKBO Ratings

• = A Bloody Classic!!!
• = Pretty Bloody Good!
• = Fair
• = Dumb
• = Bloody Awful