Au bout de la nuit

STREET KINGS Welcome to Street Kings, the movie that sees Keanu Reeves returning to the genre that made him famous, the action/crime/thriller. And boy is it good to have him back. Whatever your opinion of Reeves is as an actor, I really think he's grown on me in recent years. This also might have something to do with the fact that the guy really doesn't make bad movies that often. Street Kings is definitely in the upper tier of his work, both in his performance and as a film.

One thing that should immediately stand out to you is the size and profile of the cast, which is not short on stars. However, underneath the sea of recognizable faces is a gripping thriller with enough gunfire and blood to satisfy most fans of the action genre, as well as a compelling story to keep the crime buffs interested. We follow Reeves' Tom Ludlow, a brutal and unforgiving LAPD detective, as he works the streets of Los Angeles without rules and uses whatever force is necessary to get the job done. However, when he is implicated in a crime, he must put all he knows behind him to save his life and career.

Keanu Reeves...I can't think of many actors who have played more characters that define the word 'badass' (maybe Mark Wahlberg). So what if his abilities are limited to being dark, moody, and the definition of brooding intensity? He's GOOD at it! He can play the most repulsive guy (like he does in this movie as well as Constantine), yet still come off as likable, which is why I'll finally admit that I like the guy.

The massive supporting cast is headlined by Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, and everyone's favorite snarky doctor, Hugh Laurie. While Whitaker does his usual theatrical/over the top act, it really fits with his character and doesn't detract from the film. Laurie is also great in a scene stealing role as the Captain after Ludlow's badge. Chris Evans is forgettable, but not horrible. Cameos from "The Moniker Team", as I like to call it, are welcome additions as well. This team consists of Common, The Game, and Cedric the Entertainer. Common's cameo as an ice cold villain is memorable and almost scary. I loved him. Amaury Nolasco annoyed me once again, while seeing John Corbett in a movie was kind of weird, considering that he 'retired' a few years ago.

The mood and atmosphere of Street Kings is where it gets its title. It really felt like a constant power struggle within the movie not only between the characters, but with Reeves' character as well. His character's light and dark sides both come out in the film, but the real twist is which side comes out on top in the end. The film has several twists and turns, including a somewhat predictable revelation as to who the main bad guy is, but I found that I was never bored. It is well paced and definitely entertains with some dark and dry humor here and there.

With Street Kings, you've got a thriller that doesn't bring a lot of new things to the table in the 'dirty cop movie', but instead has a strong foundation in its cast and director (David Ayer, the man behind other dirty cop stories such as Training Day and Harsh Times), which shows on screen. It's one of the better thrillers this year, and is worth a look if you're into the genre.

I didn't go into Street Kings expecting a masterpiece, and I didn't get one. What I did expect is what I got, more or less: a competently made corrupt cops drama that throws on some heap-loads of stereotypes (not just racially or ethnically but just movie stereotypes, which may possibly be true to form them), and even crazy hysterics. If there is any significant achievement it's in taking the cop movie into such depraved depths it's like looking at a very entertaining infected boil: you know it'll pop any minute, and the pus might just run out a little bit here and there till there's more to squeeze out. There's almost an underlying current of hopelessness that gives the movie some intellectual lift, but at the same time it's such a time-waster that unless you're hardcore fans of the actors it's just about worth a rental.

Keanu Reeves goes from wooden to soggy-bottom wood as a cop who has been doing some dirty tricks to catch the bad guys lately (like setting up two Koreans- who are bad dudes for sure- by having them jack his car and then catching up with them to pop caps in their behinds), and he might be ratted out by his former partner. But when his partner is killed in very conspicuous circumstances, he goes to investigate it further while on a quasi-probation for even being at the scene of the crime (the crime, by the way, has one of the cheesiest "don't die on me" moments I've ever seen, laughably bad in how it's executed, no pun intended). Now, the conclusion shouldn't be at ANY surprise to anyone in the audience who's at least seen ONE other work by James Ellroy, the film's co-writer.

What does give it just a bit of extra lift is the extreme quality of the conclusion, how things seem so ridiculous that in any other hands this would be total nonsense. David Ayer, the director (and writer of Training Day, the perennial new millennium corrupt-cop saga), does have a good handle on the material though, even with ham-bone performance; Forest Whitaker is one of them, sadly, as he basically retreads his persona from The Last King of Scotland as the "King" of the corrupt cops. There is some not too shabby work, like a nearly phoned-in-from-House performance from Hugh Laurie (not unappreciated if you are a House fan), but it's mostly from supporting players like Jay Mohr in odd mustache and Common, the rapper, as one of the 'thugs'. It all kind of blends together as a pulpy orange of a B movie, good for something to not ponder too long over, but not as horrible as you might expect for a genre piece. It's a flavor of the season.

(Synopsis) Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), a veteran LAPD Detective, works in a Special Vice Squad Unit in Los Angeles. Ludlow has been suffering from depression since his wife died. On top of that, his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews) is murdered by two gang members. Ludlow goes on a wild and reckless quest through the mean streets of Los Angeles to track them down and get justice for Washington. Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) is Ludlow's supervisor who must keep him from going over the edge and out of the cross-hairs of Internal Affairs Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie).

(My Comment) Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker were excellent in playing their parts. In the first 10 minutes, we get to see how good Ludlow is in using his guns. The movie races at such a fast pace, and it is so intense at times that you don't know who is the good guy or the bad guy. There are some great shootout scenes, and whatever you do, don't get in Ludlow's way, because he will take you out. Usually, the police have this cop culture of protecting each other. After they imply that Ludlow had something to do with the murder of Detective Washington, he begins to question his loyalty to his fellow officers, especially, when they hang him out to dry. At that point the movie gets real interesting. The only problem I had with the script was that it put the tough cop Ludlow in a gloomy mood the whole movie. I would have preferred him to be a cop with self-control and strength of mind. If you enjoy cop dramas, you will like this one, because it has so many twists and turns and back stabbing to keep you interested and wanting more. You will love some of Ludlow's interrogation techniques of the bad guys. (Fox Searchlight, Run Time 1:49, Rated R)(8/10)

This is an actors film, the plot is straight down the line, but the stars of the film make this a thoroughly entertaining movie.

The film wastes some opportunities by under utilising the 'squad'. The squad has some good actors in it who aren't given enough time to shine.

Otherwise its lots of fun :)

An extremely violent thriller about a jaded cop including hair-rising scenes , gruesome crimes and breathtaking chases. This nail-biting thriller packs plot twists, noisy action, pursuits , shootouts, and continuous intrigue .An undercover cop, LAPD detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) , disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself. Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) always covers for Ludlow, as do even his somewhat jealous colleagues. Along the way , Tom is confronted by his former partner, Terrence Washington (Terry Crews) . After technically excessive violence against a vicious Korean gang during the liberation of kidnapped child sex slaves, Ludlow becomes the target of hotshot Internal Affairs captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie) , who feels passed-over after Wander's promotion to chief. But some members of the elite task force find themselves being taken down one by one . When Tom is wounded , at the Hospital he's healed by a particular nurse who turns out to be his girlfriend, Grace Garcia (Martha Higareda). Later on , Detective Tom Ludlow meets Detective Paul Diskant (Chris Evans) and both of them join forces to investigate the sinister events. Ludlow works his way through the twisted rungs of the police and the deadly streets of Los Angeles for answers that only lead to more questions. And other cops and members of drug gangs are also gunned down . Their City. Their Rules. No Prisoners.

Nice action film displays action-packed, thrills , fast-paced , shootouts , wild fighting images , police brutality and spectacular chase sequence in South Central . James Ellroy wrote the surprising screenplay in the mid-1990s with the same formula of his previous works and inspired by the O. J. Simpson trial. James Ellroy's script for Street Kings (2008) bears certain resemblance to the screenplays for L. A. Confidential (1997) and Dark Blue (2002) . It's a noir movie whose plot is really complex and twisted , the ordinary issue in which certain law enforcement members suspected of being corrupt who are slain one by one and a deranged cop is given a major murder case by a corrupt commander/supervisor who sends him on a wild goose chase looking for fictional suspects and/or pinning the crime on criminals with prior records, only to learn that his boss is the real culprit. While the film was praised for its acting performances, action sequences, and dark tone, the script was criticized for its clichés about police corruption. Keanu Reeves is nice giving an efficient acting as a ruthlessly efficient, unorthodox undercover cop and haunted by the death of his wife . Keanu even did all of his own stunts in the film with no stunt stand-in. And a fundamental fun is to guess which prestigious , famous actor appears here and there, showing his charm and acting skills, including the following : Hugh Laurie , Chris Evans, Cedric the Entertainer, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews , Naomie Harris, Common , John Corbett, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Monks , Clifton Powell , among otheres.

This bone-chilling motion picture was professionally directed by David Ayer , though it has too much dark scenes , and it was shot in grueling 42 days . Ayer is a prestigious writer and director with successes enough , writing or directing films as : Fury , SWAT , Training day , The Tax Collector , U-571 , Fast and furious saga, Suicide Squad , among others. The film is followed by an inferior sequel, ¨Street Kings 2: Motor city¨ (2011), released direct-to-video in 2011 by Chris Fisher with Ray Liotta , Shawn Hatosy , Scott Norman , Clifton Powell, Kevin Chapman . Rating : 6.5/10 . Decent thriller.