Directed by: David Ayer
Premise: A flawed police detective (Keanu
Reeves) with good intentions investigates the death of a fellow officer
and begins to uncover connections between the department and gangland.
What Works: Street Kings is an
effective police thriller in the vein of the street films of the 1960s
and 70s like Shaft, The
French Connection, and Dirty
Harry although told through contemporary filmmaking styles. Street
Kings’ story was written by James Elroy and the contemporary
setting and gritty violence of the film is a step away from the setting
and tone of other Elroy’s adaptations like L.A.
Confidential. Ellroy and co-screenwriters Kurt Wimmer and Jamie
Moss create a competent balance between action and drama and delve into
police relations with the urban community in an intelligent way. Keanu
Reeves, who has had an choppy acting career, gives one of his best
performances in this film, stretching himself just enough as an actor
and maintaining the credibility of the character. The other performance
in the film that is particularly strong is Forest Whitaker as Reeves’
police commander. The role is written with more complexity than is
usually expected from a film like this and Whitaker’s performance
elevates the film to a higher level. As a film, Street Kings is
put together well, moving along briskly and transitioning smartly
between scenes.
What Doesn’t: Street Kings is a
police procedural without any of the procedure. The film spends no time
on the actual science of police forensics or corroborating witnesses or
anything else resembling actual detective work. Although the story moves
along well, it also sacrifices narrative cohesion and leaves some
sizable holes along the way.
Bottom Line: Street Kings is part of a resurgence in street films in the past year (following the success of The Departed) that includes We Own the Night, The Brave One, Death Sentence, and American Gangster. This is about as good as any of those films and makes for a solid police film, even if it is more like Death Wish than Zodiac.