‘Street Kings’ Movie Review

B-

      Okay, it’s official, Hollywood apparently doesn’t understand the obvious cliché which they themselves have created with Los Angeles police officers being corrupt. Whether the overuse is a symbol of misunderstood truth, or just a desperate guide to creating a bunch of endless bloody shoot ‘em up sequences, it has become quite clear that everyone must see an action movie about corrupt police officers before they die. As predicted, director David Ayer’s ‘Street Kings’ comes off with just about every cliché known in the action movie saga, but instead of just cleaning up the streets, Keanu Reeves and his brothers in blue are actually cleaning up after themselves in what Denzel Washington fans will probably hate for trying to be ‘Training Day’ number two.

     Following an unexpected disappearance act from the cameras, Keanu Reeves returns to the action spotlight as he portrays Tom Ludlow; a dirty cop who runs with a dangerous crew of other corrupt officers, serving as their pinpoint to help them cover up their merciless executions, with the help of their commander (Forest Whitaker in a role that makes him sound like he is about to speak his last breath of air). When Ludlow’s former partner gets murdered in a random grocery store robbery, the department won’t investigate, so Ludlow takes matters into his own hands. Through a series of heated confrontations that sometimes lead to shockingly brutal results, Ludlow will soon come to terms with the world around him, as well as his own taste for answers.

     Being the comic book nerd that I am, Keanu Reeves’ resume never really caught my attention that much until he walked through hell multiple times in ‘Constantine,’ but for an actor who has confronted several different genres, and pulled off a string of decent roles, Reeves does manage to find a special place among several rapper cameos and even an ironic presence from Chris Evans (Yes, the kid from Fantastic 4!) in ‘Street Kings.’ The motivation may not come off so much as a shock, but the way he carries out his motives will certainly leave you in shock. I don’t think I’ve seen Reeves this unplugged since ‘Speed.’ Gee, why do I feel so old all of a sudden?

     Unless they’re oblivious to clichés, or just very much in love with the star, it’s hard to push just anyone into an action movie like ‘Street Kings’ without them asking the obvious questions, and I’d be lying if I said no one has ever seen this stuff before, but with the string of disappointments that Hollywood has delivered so far this year, the best thing we can do is chew on what meat we have for now, and only hope for well done perfection come summer