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Antoine Fuqua aims high within the limitations he has for Brooklyn's Finest. By that I mean the film is fairly low-budget, or at least middle of the road (my guess is twenty million), and it was shot on location in Brooklyn and places around. He also has a script that has its share of clichés and potential pitfalls for cinematic treatment. It's surprising how well the film comes off with the elements, and they are ALL familiar: the cop just nearing retirement (Gere), on his way out, who has to shepherd a rookie through his first days on the; a corrupted cop (redundant mayhap) that is scrounging for any money he can on raids (Hawke) needs it for a slightly noble cause, a new house for his growing family; a cop undercover (Cheadle) has to choose promotion or loyalty with a criminal takedown on the horizon.

Three very recognizable types, and the tropes are there, at least on paper. But where Fuqua sets himself apart, as he did to a good if not great extent on Training Day, is to imbue importance (not pretentious but just enough for serious effect) in the direction of scenes, and in casting. The actors take material that could be trite and unconvincing and even stale post-Lumet-cop-movie stuff and make it their own, compelling and heartfelt, and true to the extent that the genre allows. There's real tragedy felt with Hawke's character, albeit he may overact just a bit in some scenes, since this corrupt cop wouldn't be so bad if he could get what he needs ("I don't want God's forgiveness, I want his help," he says in confession), and likewise real conflict with Cheadle's undercover, who has been embedded too long in the trenches, and wants to help the criminal who once saved his life (Wesley Snipes fantastic in an older, slightly wiser version of his character in New Jack City).

And then there's Gere. One almost forgets Gere's successes when he's starring in romantic-comedy junk like... well, what's he been in recently for starters. But then one looks at Unfaithful, Days of Heaven, The Hoax, I'm Not There, among some others, and one sees Gere is an underrated presence, a guy who when given material to shine in does very well as an everyman, more than just a typical pretty star. With his role as the on-his-way-out cop, he gives one of his best performances, worn and weary, but strong and good as a cop whenever he can see fit, who at one point makes a mistake that he won't cop to (watch Gere when he's interrogated about his rookie's mishap on a convenience store scuffle and it's something of genius work). It's intense and believable, and even tender and sorrowful work, like when Gere's character is around a prostitute he's fallen for.

Back to Fuqua though - this is a filmmaker who knows what he's working in, and wants to transcend it. Perhaps his idol for this kind of production was Sidney Lumet with his cop films: make something dramatic and tragic, and never lose the grit, but add panache with the directing. He knows the conventions and has to stick to them, sometimes for weaker or just expected effect. But watching his style in that last reel, when all three stories that have been going back and forth (ocassionally intertwined) come together at one project building. There's a scene where Hawke is personally raiding a place. Watch the camera in this scene, where it stays put in one spot for seemingly a minute. It could almost be a Tarantino move, something self-conscious but purposeful for the action, the psychology of the emotion of the scene. His work with better material would be astonishing. As it is, it's just good, inventive film-making.

Brooklyn's Finest is clichéd cop film only in setup, not in execution. The scripting and a plethora of strong performance elevate the familiar veins that make up the films structure. In fact, three of the most standard-order plot lines are utilized; and undercover cop who blurs the line between righteous and corrupt, a drug cop who exhibits no blurring in his corruption and an aging veteran slugging it through his last week on the job. These cops are played by Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawk and Richard Gere respectively and each gets equal screen time in a triple thread story that eventually converge on one fateful night.

Director Antoine Fuqua's latest treads a thin line between tragic and gritty and outright depressing. This is a gloomy film to be sure, everyone is either a cop, murderer, drug dealer or prostitute (sometimes many of the above) and there is no glimpse of sunshine, so to speak, in Fuqua's Brooklyn. I am a big fan of Fuqua, from his John Woo-esquire debut with The Replacement Killers to the classic cop drama Training Day, to the very underrated Bruce Willis war actionier Tears of the Sun, he is more than a competent auteur and always brings out solid performances from his leads.

Hawk (who plays the increasingly corrupt Sal) is perhaps the strongest of three leads, but Gere and Cheadle are very convincing in their roles as well. Unfortunately, despite the admirable development of these characters, the aforementioned ordinary narrative leaves little question about where their respective paths are headed. We also get a blazing comeback from the one and only Wesley Snipes as a criminal and friend of Cheadle's Tango. Rounding off the talented main players are Brian F. O'Byrne as Sal's fellow cop and friend and Will Patton as Tango's lone remaining contact to the just world he feels is fading away. As I have iterated many times, it is the stellar work from the key players that makes Brooklyn's Finest worth your time.

The drive behind these three cops is equally compelling. Sal has 5 kids (with 6 and 7 on the way) and is swimming in debt. Through a real-estate contact he sets up a deal to move his growing family to a larger house, only if he can get the big score of drug money he needs. As the date approaches for him to come up with the money he grows increasingly desperate. Gere's Eddie is a burnt-out cop who has all but lost respect for the job, and his fellow cops have all but lost respect for him. His only remaining duty is to escort a rookie around for his final 7 days but things go far less smoothly then he could have hoped. Finally there is Tango, a UC who has lost all his ties to the real world. His wife is filing for divorce and he wants to be made detective first grade a.s.a.p. and spend the remainder of his days behind a comfortable desk and away from a life of crime. In one of the best sequences, Tango is asked why the sudden urge to get out. He tells of a night where he was pulled over by the cops for speeding and legitimately considered killing them. He wants out.

If only the despair had been laid on a little less thick and the stereotypes that make up the three main characters polished with a bit more inventiveness, Brooklyn's Finest could have been a classic in the making. Instead we get only what we would expect; a gritty, bloody and well acted police actionier.

Read all my reviews at simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com

Brooklyn's Finest rests on the strong character portrayals of the lives of three ordinary men struggling at different points in their careers. What they each share is the New York Police Department as a workplace.

Life isn't perfect - it never is. We always have to give something up in order to do something else - it's called choice. Therein lies man's fatal freedom.

Sal (Ethan Hawke) gave up the possibility for flash when he became a cop. He has a growing family with numerous kids but lives in a decrepit, run-down house where the wood mold is causing his pregnant wife lung problems. His NYPD salary isn't sufficient for him to move to a different abode.

Can we judge him? It is a context that bears for some humanity from our part. He will do things in the film, but it is difficult for us to point our fingers from a high horse, for we aren't in his situation. Does the end justify the means?

While doing undercover work in prison, Tango (Don Cheadle) is saved from death by an inmate, Casanova Philips (Wesley Snipes). The event forms a bond between them. Now Casanova is back out and the force want Tango to send him back in.

By taking this shortcut to Detective first grade (read: becoming an undercover agent), Tango is forced to deal with harsh consequences, namely the fact that his wife is in the process of leaving him, and that other than Casanova he has no friends.

Eddie (Richard Gere) is retiring and is a morally decadent seemingly useless member of the force. He gets teased by his younger co-worker cops, and seems fed up with his life. We see him put a revolver to his mouth in the morning.

Even though he is 7 days away from retirement he must take care of young rookies, fresh faces new to the NYPD. Eddie doesn't get along well with them.

It is unclear what happened to his wife, but Eddie now seeks solace in the womanly comforts of a lowly Chinatown hooker.

These grotesquely authentic lives are laid out with the aid of a soundtrack that simultaneously sets the pace and follows the psychological states of the main protagonists. The tone of the music will change, for instance, when a particular character is in a tight situation, a situation where he is again confronted with choice.

All the actors in this film pull off magnificently intense portrayals. Especially worthy of mention are Cheadle, Snipes, Gere and Hawke -- who once again shows that he can enter the mind of a struggling cop like no other.

A steady-paced, involving thriller definitely worth a gander. 8/10.

Very well made with that gritty feel to it that Antoine Fuqua is renowned for. A decent score by Marcelo Zarvos, interspersed with rap and other 'street' tunes sets the tone. All the performances were excellent; in particular Richard Gere as the world-weary Eddie, Don Cheadle as the street-wise Tango and Ethan Hawke as the up-tight Sal. Wesley Snipes did a great job too as Cal, as did Brían F. O'Byrne as Sal's partner, Ronnie Rosario. Also worthy of note were; Will Patton as Lt. Bill Hobarts, Michael Kenneth Williams as Red, Shannon Kane as Chantel and Ellen Barkin as Agent Smith. Oh, and look out for a nice little cameo from Vincent D'Onofrio as Carlo.

I must say that the critics must have had a bad day or something when they reviewed this one. I'm usually pretty much in agreement with them, but I think they missed a trick here. Yes, the three threads don't tie together in a neat bow but they're not supposed to; that's life, it doesn't always go the way you want it to (seldom does actually). The performances are great and there are some really superb visual moments too. I liked the plot, yes, maybe a little haphazard here and there, but not as bad as some would have you believe. For me, well worth a look… RECOMMENDED.

My Score 7.1/10

IMDb Score: 6.7/10 (based on 32,232 votes at the time of going to press).

MetaScore: 43/100: (Based on 33 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes 'Tomatometer' Score: 42/100 (based on 140 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 47/100 'Liked It' (based on 98,882 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

Draws you right in from the start, builds tension to a climactic point late in the film. In the middle, you get to absorb a lot of NYC atmosphere which somewhat compensates for the formulaic nature of the film. You've seen it all before, there's no new ground, but its done in a way that will hold your interest.

Grim, adult movie themes highlight only the heavy issues that burden cops in this big city.

Cheadle, Hawke and Gere all develop very burnt-out, empty looks in their eyes that help make this film more believable than it really is. Lives have fallen apart (the personal lives of these cops). The script makes it clear that the job is rough on cop families, it makes this point almost to the point of overkill.

The women of this film are resigned to the belief that "its a man's world". They have bought this belief system almost totally. And yes I include Ellen Barkin's middle-aged super-boss-cop because she tries to be just like men in order to get to the top of this man's macho cop world/underworld environment.

Gere is subtle, very nuanced and effective in his role. Hawke is incredibly explosive in his role of a man desperately overstrung, or at least in need of a good vacation. Cheadle's mixed-up about-to-snap performance works perfectly with Snipes who gives a fine, mature, theatrical style performance. I'm ready to see more of the mature Snipes as his career progresses.

All the acting here is great and it overcomes the generally "seen it before" nature of the production. This is basically similar to Greek tragedy, so if you view it that way you won'be let down by the relentless grimness that is here from start to finish.

Entertainment value highlighted by enough tension, plus the studied pro performances rate an 8 rating from me.

In Brooklyn, New York, the veteran policeman Eddie (Richard Gere) is a bitter and disillusioned lonely man that will retire in seven days. The catholic dirty detective Sal (Ethan Hawke) is a family man in despair that needs to raise money to buy a better house for his family. The undercover detective Tango (Don Cheadle) is affected by the long period he has been working infiltrated in gangs and has requested to be transferred to an office. Their lives and fates are entwined when Eddie retires and sees a missing girl that has been kidnapped by sex traffickers and he has to take a decision; Sal has to make the down payment of the dreamed house and he does nit have enough money; and Tango is assigned to frame the drug lord Caz (Wesley Snipes) that saved his life years ago and has become his friend.

"Brooklyn's Finest" is a gloomy and bitter police story with a cast that is a constellation of stars, some of them with minor parts. I watched this film with great expectations, but unfortunately the screenplay is not original, too long and sometimes confused. The three stories are very well known by viewers of this genre and the narrative is cold, without emotions. The director Antoine Fuqua could (or should) have made a better feature with the available budget and cast. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Atraídos Pelo Crime" ("Attracted by the Crime")

Brooklyn's Finest tells three respective tales of a trio of very different people more broadly connected to the police force of New York City; three people who each alike want 'out' of their respective lives and lifestyles within the force, three people who live and operate in very different capacities therein the force, but look forward to the new ventures and pastures to follow thereafter their leaving. The film is a masterstroke of crime drama storytelling, a film whose runtime is never too long and whose sheer scale is never overwhelming; a film whose ability to balance each strand, ranging from everyday 'on-the-beat' cops to undercover narcotics agents, is close to faultless. As far as American thrillers that may or may not contain a good deal of second unit stuff go, it is a breath of fresh air; an appealing, story driven piece with any one of its three strands most likely making decent enough features on their own.

Director Antoine Fuqua establishes the uncompromising characteristics that dominate the nature of his film's world during the opening scene, an exchange set in the confines of a parked car in the dead of night. One man speaks to another about how he was justified in recently breaking the law out of self defence. The other man, Ethan Hawke's Detective named Sal Procida, then proceeds to shoot him dead, but only for the large amount of ill-gotten money he had with him – something which will ease his financial woes made apparent out of his unhealthy wife and large family who're all living in a building unfit for them. Above anything else, it is a perfect opening to Procida's strand; a strand built on moral grey areas and he loots and kills for sake of someone else's struggles. Waking up not so far away is Richard Gere's character, he too is a police officer named Eddie Dugan; a single man who sleeps with whisky beside his bed and unloads an empty pistol into his mouth upon getting up. The man is not far from retirement and in a bad state. Finally, Don Cheadle is an undercover narcotics agent named "Tango" Butler; a man deep in the world of housing project-set, African American run drug rings whose efficiency and professionalism is epitomised in a slick, singular take as the camera glides through their interior base of operations from the quasi perspective of Cheadle himself.

Fuqua toys with his audience in so much he allows for the least intelligent; least likable and probably most aggressive of the three, in Procida, to want what's best for other people moreover himself. In providing this character with a family, it allows for Hawke's character to occupy the screen without risk of our interest or fondness for the man waning; it allows for his story to play out without the danger of it transferring into an anonymous, bland tale of an anti-hero undeserving of his job title going through the motions. That's not to say his is the best of the three, for Butler's story about working undercover and the apparent brethren he shares with those shady delinquents, as relationships with his police superiors wane, is often shattering. Wanting away from this life of constant fear and danger, he learns the only way to do such a thing is to bring in the boss of the entire outfit: Wesley Snipes' gangster named Caz.

The reemergence of Snipes is a curious detail, a man who himself has recently served time in prison and here plays someone who is fresh out and back amongst his kin anyway. Seeing him turn up carries with it an odd air of realism: as if akin to his character suddenly reappearing amidst his own here on set, so too is Caz the wanted man who can finally be nailed by a federal department if Butler plays it right. In this regard, the casting is a masterstroke, and it is impressive that the sudden reappearance of the actor does not soften the impact of the film up to this point nor beyond it.

There are thoughts and writings that, in recent years, and something born out of the events of 9/11 in New York City, those more broadly orientated towards jobs in the fire department or police force often always come in for heroic depictions when featuring in American films. Some, the likes of Ladder 49 and such, have almost exclusively revolved around said folk in said roles. Jim Sheridan's 2010 remake of a Danish film entitled "Brothers" inexplicably featured a composition of a fire station façade during its opening montage, a shot you might say was designed, sub-consciously or otherwise, to implement both a sad and romanticised tone from the off. The film is not about firemen – far from it, but it's meant to induce melancholia what better way than to exploit the iconography of a fire station. If you want to see it in this particular way, you might read Fuqua's film as a piece going past all of that and cutting to the grit of the thing: a New York City-set project about those in roles depicted in less than flattering ways and living less than heroic lifestyles where previously we've witnessed otherwise. However you might see it, the film is a more than substantial effort .

Gritty, profane, and extremely violent thriller centering around three disparate New York cops: a cynical twenty-year veteran playing out his final days until retirement while struggling to keep his sanity (Gere); a conflicted undercover torn between his commitment to the job and his loyalty to the streets (Cheadle); a desperate family man who has his morale put to the test while trying to provide a stable home for his wife and kids (Hawke); director Fuqua's attempt at a police morality tale is well-crafted, strongly acted, and sure to grab your attention with intense, in-your-face violent action, but it doesn't offer enough new insight to transcend the familiar, seen-it-all-before limitations of this genre. Hawke (reteaming with his Training Day director) stands out with an unexpectedly edgy performance. The violence—while expected for a film of this genre—is still tough to stomach at times. **½

Brooklyn's Finest explores the underbelly of police work in some of the most unbecoming neighborhoods. Three police officers who have no connection to one another are going through their own personal crises, until they end up at the same place, at the wrong time.

Richard Gere rehashes his police character role albeit in less than flattering circumstances. This time he's a cop without illusions. He's completing his 22 years on the job and has no expectations about his service or the life awaiting him after retirement. Perhaps his crowning glory is his achievement after retirement.

Don Cheadle another officer is deeply embedded in the drug world. He's being asked to do more than he's prepared to do and eventually he loses his sense of identity. There are only gray lines in this film; everything is marred by malfeasance, violence and scandal.

Ethan Hawke is a man on a path to destruction. His wife is sickly and about to give birth to twins. The house is too small and he can't provide for his family's needs on a cop salary. He takes on more dangerous drug busts and eventually is consumed by his own corruption.

The film is high quality, albeit unrealistic. It glorifies the handgun and over-emphasizes several themes, but it does a good job at captivating viewers' attention

Let me just say straight away that the cast of this movie contains ALL of my favorite actors. I thought I was going to be in for a treat, maybe my expectations ruined my conclusions.

The biggest problem with this film (in my worthless opinion) is that it is portrayed as dramatic and yet there just seem to be soooooo many holes in the plot that the overall impact is reduced, almost to the point of being farcical. I won't give anything away but I don't believe that 'gangsters' are THAT stupid, I watched the TV show 'The Wire', which I thought was excellent due to it's balanced perspective. This film portrays the cops as being crooked, lifeless and aggressive morons whilst the 'gangster' are simply gun toting foul mouthed idiots who struggle to walk upright, let alone be career criminals.

By the time the final scene began I found myself struggling to stay awake because the 'drama' had become so Tepid and predictable.

Very very average.

'Brooklyn's Finest' follows the path of three cops, each with their own agenda, from three different angles until they intertwine. Another cops vs blacks with drugs movie not even trying to be authentic and with nobody remembering it was made two years from now. Gere, Cheadle, Snipes and a bunch of other seasoned actors waste everybody's time by accommodating the producers of this flick to create the biggest pile of clichés this genre has to offer. Characters you've all seen before in much better productions ('The Wire' came to mind several times) in situations that are lifted from movies and series in which these situations weren't exactly fresh to begin with. No characters are built, no story background is offered. It just barfs the whole thing in your lap and somehow expects you to be amused by it. Completely ridiculous.

Intense drama/triller about NYPD , developing the action of three cops without relation among them , but become involved on a raid in the more dangerous Brookyln streets . This entertaining and suspenseful film is plenty of suspense , intrigue , twists and unexpected turns. It deals with Eddie (Richard Gere) is a honest cop who suffers emotional pain due to his nearly retirement and he's been burnt-out for years . Sal (Ethan Hawke) is a corrup cop and a killer suffering remorse from his Catholic beliefs and whose desperation drives him to use unethical means to get his purports and at whatever cost . And Tango is an undercover cop who is posing as a peddler or drug smuggler to betray his best friend , a powerful inner-city drug named dealer Caz (Wesley Snipes) , while making a heroin trade . Then the events wreak havoc and leading a spiral out of control. As lives of all three officers will converge at one crime scene in the epicenter of lawlessness in the highest-crime precinct . This is War. This is Brooklyn. Every man has a moment of truth. Three officers, one bloody night.

This is a familiar drama of policemen with full of intrigue , action, tension , thrills , and violence . It is a dark , dangerous and disturbing thriller with little attractive roles , being most of them corrupt , traitor or vicious people . Intelligent and thought-provoking script , though it is more propulsive than credible . At a point , the morality of the cops begin to shift and slide , leaving no clear identification figure . Stunning performances by the trio of protagonists, Richard Gere , Ethan Hawke , Don Cheadle . Here Ethan Hawke plays narcotics officer Sal Procida whose wife is currently pregnant with twins, and he's barely making enough to keep his family afloat , this corrupt cop is similar to the one performed by Richard Gere in ¨Internal Affairs¨, as he'll stop at nothing using violent methods so that he gets ensured his financial stability . Starring trio are well accompanied by a good cast , such as : Wesley Snipes , Will Patton , Lili Taylor , recently deceased Michael Kenneth Williams , Brían F. O'Byrne , Ellen Barkin , Vincent D'Onofrio , Logan Marshall Green) and gorgeous beauty from Shannon Kane who also does a magnificent acting as suffering prostitute .

It displays an atmospheric and moving musical score by Marcelo Zarvos. Dark and mostly night photography by Patrick Murguia reflecting splendidly interiors and exteriors from Brooklyn streets. Director Antoine Fuqua who frequently deals familiar conflicts set in N. Y , keeps the film slick and stokes up the race some , but this only accelerates the flick's deafening rush toward the top and ever over. Fuqua handles the explosive and the psychological undercurrents with equal assurance . Antoine Fuqua has made a lot of succesful movies , such as : The Magnificent Seven , Olympus Has Fallen, The Equalizer , Equalizer 2 , Southpaw , King Arthur , Training Day , Shooter , Tears of the Sun , Bait , among others. Rating : 6/10 . The yarn will appeal to Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke fans.

Been there done that. This cop drama is a derivative mixture of movies of the same type from the past. Even though this is the case I thought it was done fairly well. I know I should dislike this movie because of this, but I don't. Its competently directed and acted. Although The story ventures into familiar territory I still seemed to care about it for some reason. Not a bad movie for it genre, the movies biggest problem is that its unoriginal. That doesn't mean its not good. It indicates that the genre has been overly done throughout the years. The movie was directed by Antoine Fuqua who also was behind another cop drama which was better called training day starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke who also stars in this movie.

Back in the day any film that mentioned Brooklyn would inevitably have to mention the Dodgers. But this is Brooklyn where the Dodgers have been gone now for several generations. A sadder Brooklyn to be sure and a much meaner one, especially for the police who have to patrol the seamier parts of it.

Brooklyn's Finest takes its technique and its story from the Academy Award winning Crash and the Seventies classic Report To The Commissioner. It's a three track parallel story about three Brooklyn cops, Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke.

Gere is the veteran beat cop who gets a pair of rookies to train in what is his last week on the job before retiring. He's unattached and looking to a comfortable, but barren retirement bereft of friends and families. That extra disposable income is getting disposed of in the hands of a lot of hookers.

Don Cheadle is an undercover cop working the narcotics and he wants out really bad, but his superior Will Patton just keeps getting him to go for one more assignment. Cheadle is well aware of the temptations that can befall the guy undercover, that he could start to identify with the people he's infiltrating. On this last 'just one more' Patton brings in FBI agent Ellen Barkin who has but this one scene, but it's a beauty to get Cheadle to take down one of his running buddies in the undercover world, Wesley Snipes.

Finally we have Ethan Hawke who is a member of the Narcotics Squad, the guys who come in like SWAT and raid drug operations and see a lot of money get vouchered into evidence. For a guy who is having some financial problems the temptation is overwhelming, especially when in a key scene involving a poker game among the team members we learn just exactly where that vouchered money eventually goes.

Gere, Hawke, and Cheadle all wind up in the same project apartment building in East New York/Brownsville, all on different missions in the climax. What the result turns out to be is a shocking commentary on the absurdity of certain laws and the enforcement practices therein.

Brooklyn's Finest is another product from the creative hands of director Antoine Fuqua who piloted Denzel Washington to an Academy Award in Training Day a few years back. Brooklyn's Finest isn't quite as good as Training Day and none of the players just dominate this film the way Denzel Washington did in Training Day. Still it's a good no frills look at law enforcement in the borough of homes and churches which is what Brooklyn used to call itself.

I recognized quite a bit of the location shooting both in Brooklyn and in Manhattan. I'm sure the folks who live in East New York never thought they'd ever see a movie company filming in their mean streets.

Brooklyn's Finest is expertly directed by the excellent Antoine Fequa (Training Day, Shooter, The Equalizer 1&2, Olympus Has Fallen) this guy is one of the greats of suspenseful action thriller Cinema. Here Fequa gives us a tough cop thriller about three cops on different paths but are all NYPD officers & will eventually cross paths.

The cast is excellent. We have the always excellent Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Assault on Precinct 13, Sinister, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead) & Hawke gives an excellent performance as Sal, a struggling family man who has many kids & a pregnant wife with twins on the way. Sal is a crooked cop, he kills drug dealers & steals their money but he gets way to caught up in it when he has a deadline to buy his families dream house. Truly an incredible performance as Sal does bad things for good reasons.

We also have the excellent Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Many Marvel films) as a deep undercover cop named Clarence "Tango" Butler, a guy who is in so deep that he's losing himself in his gangster role. Clarence wants out now but is being forced to bring down drugs lord Caz, played by the great Wesley Snipes!!! But Clarence is good friends with the guy & doesn't trust the police force he's working for. Cheadle is excellent of course.

Last is the veteran actor great Richard Gere as a loner, fed up with life & often cowardly & almost retired cop Eddie Dugan. Gere plays Eddie as a man that's seen it all & figures was it even worth it? He's a week away from retirement & is suicidal.

Gere is excellent & gives the film a strong backbone by having him in the cast. The four actors are excellent.

All paths will cross at some point but until then we follow each character as they go about their dangerous lives in a crime ridden New York City. There's a gritty realness to "Brooklyn's Finest" as we see a more realistic version of the police force with it's harshness on display. Also there's racial tension that is always there in America & of course crooked cops & gang bangers.

Truly a brilliant piece of filmmaking. A true New York City cop thriller that packs a mighty unexpected punch.

"Brooklyn's Finest" follows three cops in different departments in Brooklyn.

Eddie (Richard Gere) was a uniformed beat cop with 22 years of service looking to retire. He wasn't interested in being a hero, he was so jaded from 22 years of madness he only wanted to make it to his retirement in one piece.

Tango (Don Cheadle) was an undercover narcotics detective who wanted out. At the same time, he had an affinity towards Caz (Wesley Snipes), the big fish drug dealer the feds were after.

Sal (Ethan Hawke) was a cop in whatever division is responsible for raids. His wife was pregnant with twins and also sick from the mold in his old house. He would do whatever it took to get the money he needed for a new home, even if it meant robbing drug dealers.

Their three stories were intriguing in their own way. There was some intensity and drama surrounding them all as they all dealt with their own demons. This Antoine Fuqua directed movie was another good one.

It's a dirty world. It's your job to keep it clean. People aren't machines. Try not to crack or fold under pressure. The movie reflects real life. Check it out.

'Brooklyn's Finest' is hardly what you'd call a 'feel-good' movie. It's - mainly - about three different police officers (in Brooklyn, New York, unsurprisingly) and the (very!) different ways they go about doing their jobs. This is hardly a radically-new premise for a film, but what elevates it above other similar stories is its A-list cast, who really give their all.

You have Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke and Don Cheadle as the three 'boys in blue.' One is honest, one is corrupt and one is undercover. I won't say which is which, but it won't take you long to work out once you start watching. What starts off as three separate stories eventually end up colliding as their actions have - sometimes dire - implications on each other's lives. As I say... those three are the obvious stars and, if you like your 'cop movies' dark, gritty and with plenty of high-risk stakes then you should really enjoy 'Brooklyn's Finest.' However, if there are two other people who deserve a mention then they're the (always bankable) Wesley Snipes who plays a local gangster (with his typical charm that makes it hard to hate him) and Brían F. O'Byrne who's another detective on the force. Both of these actors don't have as much screen time as the main three, but really do add some extra screen presence to the proceedings.

'Brooklyn's Finest' probably won't be for everyone. It is very 'adult' in nature and expect plenty of violence and strong language. Basically, if you've seen (and enjoyed, of course) any of Scorsese's or Tarantino's gangster epics then this film could fit into the same category.