Street Kings

 

It took the Denzel Washington-led Training Day to properly bring the corrupt/vigilante cop genres into the 21st century and what ensued was countless clones. Street Kings is one of the better ones and that's due in large part to David Ayer, who wrote Training Day and directed Harsh Times. Though the promotional ads prominently highlight Ayer's participation, they fail to mention the picture was written by celebrated crime novelist James Ellroy and cult action director Kurt Wimmer. Ayer no doubt played a part in punching up their story, but what places the film above average is another winning performance from the underrated Keanu Reeves.

 

As Tom Ludlow, Reeves is an LAPD cop who deals his own brand of justice in unlawful ways. His cocky attitude causes a weapons deal with Korean thugs to go sour, but that was his plan. By electronically tracking the car they steal from him, he shows up at their residence and systematically takes them down in a gunfight. Sounds rather cold-blooded, but it's quickly revealed the thugs were holding two missing teen girls captive. Ludlow has obviously done this kind of takedown before, with the media making him a controversial hero.

 

Ludlow's supportive and proud Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker) can finesse his mess, but trouble arrives in the form of his ex-partner Washington (Terry Crews), who allegedly wants to rat out their operations to Internal Affairs. Before Ludlow can talk some sense into him, he witnesses Washington gun downed in a local mini-mart by two gangbangers. It doesn't look good for Ludlow who was not only known to have a grudge against the victim, but was present at the crime. Though Wander tries to take the heat off by temporarily sticking him in a desk job, Ludlow can't shake the desire of wanting to pay back those who took down ex-partner.

 

Against Wander's orders, Ludlow begins sticking his nose where it doesn't belong starting with investigating officer Paul Diskant (Chris Evans). Diskant initially thinks he's snooping around because he wants to destroy any evidence linking him to Washington's murder, but is surprised Ludlow actually wants to find and kill the mysterious perpetrators. Street Kings doesn't turn into a buddy cop movie with Reeves and Evans going around bashing heads like you might expect. Instead the story focuses on the struggle of his character who it's revealed to have once been an idealistic young rookie who turned cynic after the death of his wife. The usually comedic Evans has matured as a dramatic actor and manages to provide excellent support.

 

Whitaker gives another wide-eyed (well one eye at least) performance that's become quite repetitive within his career, but he's actually the perfect master for Reeves' attack dog. Reeves can be aggressive in his pursuit of the killers, but what makes him standout from most actors is his stillness. He speaks volumes without saying words and that's a feat most actors cannot pull off. It's unclear whether Ludlow's pursuit will change him in the end, making him a better person or worse. That only adds to the power of the story, because when people try to change a violent world for the better, sometimes it changes them.