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Street Kings (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 146
Fresh: 54
Rotten:92
Average Rating: 5.1/10
Consensus: Street Kings contains formulaic violence but no shred of intelligence.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence and pervasive language
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:2008
Box Office: $26,351,341
Synopsis: In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner,... In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews). Academy® Award winner Forest Whitaker plays Captain Wander, Ludlow’s supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Chris Evans) 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. --© Fox Searchlight [More]
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Forest Whitaker
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Forest Whitaker, Common, Terry Crews, Amaury Nolasco, Naomie Harris, Jay Mohr
Director: David Ayer
Director: David Ayer
Screenwriter: James Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer
Producer: Erwin Stoff, Alexandra Milchan, Lucas Foster
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Reviews for Street Kings
A lot of reviewers seem to have disliked Street Kings because of its negative view of the LA police, and perhaps the country at large. That is not a problem for me.
Everything here is predictable, from the tired plot whose revelations are deeply unsurprising to the gritty dialogue and casual everyday violence of the cops involved.
There is certainly something compelling in the film's ideas, but the way they're executed suggest that any true questions about morality and the law are just grist for the action mill.
Keanu Reeves' bad-boy cop Tom Ludlow may not play by the rules, but the film sure does.
If you can forgive its stale dialogue, which at times seems so egregiously leaden that it might have been better suited to a Mad magazine parody, 'Street Kings' is a tense, aggressively absurd thriller.
While military man turned director Ayer implicates our culture steeped in violence and the damaging effects of trained killing, whether by police or in war, he's assembled such a deplorable LAPD rogues gallery, it's hard to tell which one is the worst.
Ayer's rapid pacing and solid work by the cast distract us from the script's shortcomings.
Ellroy, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and Ayer share an interest in L.A. after dark, and they explore the city's neon-bathed streets with the glee of children in a funhouse, watching the distortions of everyday people in bent mirrors.
I don't think there were really any bad scenes, but I found the overall film emotionally empty.
Granted, it doesn’t revolutionize the cop genre, but it definitely does a solid job of entertaining for its runtime, and as a movie-watcher (and lover)…ain’t much else that I can ask for than that.
[In the] surprisingly engrossing 'Street Kings,' we are presented with cops who live up to our worst nightmare of excessive force.
The movie has a million flaws, but if you can look past them and enjoy a fun, gritty, violent, racist and entertaining dirty cop film, then you will have fun with it.
Anyone looking for a good shoot-'em-up film should not leave the theater disappointed, but those seeking something thought-provoking might want to stay away.
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