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Reviews Counted:147
Fresh:54
Rotten:93
Average Rating:5.1/10
Consensus: Street Kings contains formulaic violence but no shred of intelligence.
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:2008
Box Office: $26,351,341
Synopsis: In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner,... [More]
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Forest Whitaker
Director: David Ayer
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An archetypical Los Angeles detective story
Even with the race dynamics not very scrambled, David Ayer's latest film looks a lot like Training Day.
Street Kings feels like Lethal Weapon mashed up with The Shield, only without the former's goofy '80s vibe or the latter's relative authenticity.
"L.A. Confidential" for Dummies...
A general emptiness nags as the story progresses, undermining the solid performances and weaving in a seriously ugly message.
Movies like "Street Kings" are sitting ducks in a shooting range for film critics who laugh all through the movie only to condemn it for being so damn entertaining.
Não trai seu universo cínico, alcançando um equilíbrio que torna seu desfecho satisfatório, mas (e aí está a diferença)jamais esperançoso.
There's plenty of empty bravura, and Reeves is fundamentally blank and uninteresting.
Depressing and sickeningly violent.
A by-the-numbers, cynical, bad cop-worse cops drama, made even less appealing by Reeves's mannequin-like presence.
"Are there any square cops out there?" says a supporting character in David Ayer's actioner. The answer, of course, is no - and this violent yarn is all the better for it. Next time out, though, he should probably assign himself a less familiar beat.
Last-minute revelations emerge screaming from around the corner like squad cars you heard coming half-an-hour ago, and it all ends with a dull thud instead of a crash wallop. Long after you've stopped caring, it's finally over and out.
You can almost see the writers (Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer – creator of sci-fi mish-mash Ultraviolet – and first-timer Jamie Moss) charging at one another with false antlers in a challenge to come up with the toughest soundbite.
What could have been endearingly daft remains merely forgettable.
Another mean, violent and decently acted slab of Ellroy-flavoured criminality, with an impressively battered Keanu Reeves, but Ayers is no Curtis Hanson.
If Ellroy weren't such a good writer of novels about the dark side of the American psyche, he'd be preposterous. Then again, perhaps he is perfect for these times and the city of most of his nightmares, Los Angeles.
The movie boils down to a lot of tough-talking men trying to out-tough-talk each other. It's well-staged action stitched together by nonstop pissing-match dialogue.
It isn't exactly the most original film but its cast and emphasis on the action makes it an entertaining diversion for a few hours.
Watchable thriller with a surprisingly good performance from Keanu, although the plot isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is.
August 16, 2008:
Another wooden performance from Keanu Reeves in high-impact splatter flick. 
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August 08, 2008:
While military man turned director Ayer implicates our culture steeped in violence and the damaging effects of trained killing, whether by police or in war, he's assembled such a deplorable LAPD rogues gallery, it's hard to tell which one is the worst.
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