Dennis Farina is the reason i searched for this little early 90s straight to video gem, Farina is such a good actor & screen presence, he's been in so many good films I've watched growing up & is similar in looks to another one of my favourite actors Tom Atkins, both great. Farina was great hosting Unsolved Mysteries, i love his voice & here Farina is a strong screen presence & gives an excellent heartfelt performance that keeps the movie grounded & real. In fact i would say that Farina gives one the best Cop Movie performances I've ever seen (up there with Riggs & Murtaugh from Lethal Weapon) & his strong Chicago accent adds to his authority. This is the best I've seen Farina in a role, he nails his part as tough street smart Cop & protective loving father Brian.
I've always loved Dennis Farina in Another Stakeout,Manhunter,Out of Sight,Deception,Striking Distance & many other great films & roles of his.
I was so gutted when i heard his passing R. I. P Dennis Farina you are a legend in my opinion & one of my favourite actors, his mustached serious face is iconic in my movie world!!!
Anyway, Street Crimes is a really good & well made urban Drama/Thriller, we have characters we really care about & a really engrossing story.
There's a nice 90s Noir look & feel to this slick B-movie, this fits into the "Kickboxing Noir" films of the very early 90s that came out & went straight to video but were stylistic with their cinematography that gave the noir look & always mixed with cool kickboxing action scenes, PM entertainment created this genre!!!
Street fighter "Michael Worth" is very good as a young troubled cop who likes to use his fighting skills instead of his gun & is partners with the older & wiser, street smart "Dennis Farina" who gives one of his best performances, he really shines as the natural talking,always hungry & tough Brian, it's a really nice role for Farina who was a real Chicago cop back in the days before acting, here he seems so natural & perfect in his part & he gets to show his sweet & caring side when we find out he has a blind daughter who he lives with & loves more than anything.
Farina also has the best moment in the whole movie when he throws a vile child rapist through a window!!!
Brian is a good man & a good cop.
Michael worth shows he's a great fighter like a young van damme with his cool fighting style & he's actually a good serious brooding actor & his character "Tony" is a good cop who wants to clean up the violent gang-infested streets of Los Angeles by creating a place to fight out their differences instead of shooting each other.
Tony is a loyal,brave & courageous hero who wants to help people & opens a youth club in a bad area to show he's not afraid of these streets or it's gangs, there's heart & soul in his character as there is in the brian character too, both have real chemistry & a sense of respect that grows between them.
I was very impressed with this little unknown 90s gem, the characters of Brian & Tony make a great duo similar to Lethal weapon in a way but more grounded in tone, these feel like real & interesting & flawed characters & that's because of the great performances & the gritty writing.
I want to watch this gem again to hang out with the great characters & that's it's magic & storytelling mixed with good fight scenes & dramatic performances, this is a great find of a pure 90s gem that is forgotten.
Gotta add i loved the very 90s saxophone music at the beginning of the film with the night time view of the city of los Angeles, it's very 80s & 90s cop thriller feel & i love it as i grew up watching all those late night action cop films & Street Crimes is one of the best, an action Thriller with a big heart at it's core. A video days Cop movie GEM.
