The cops and criminals genre has been done to death, and Hollywood's offerings as of late suggest that they have completely run out of ideas. With the exception of The Town (itself somewhat of a retread of Michael Mann's Heat), I can't even think of a movie from this genre worth mentioning that's come out in the past five years. Brooklyn's Finest is no different. Instead of one cliched narrative, we get three, each connected with the other only through the film's central themes. There's the crooked cop who has had it with the system who he perceives just as corrupt. There's the undercover who's in too deep and it's destroying him mentally. And there's the beat cop who is on the cusp of retiring. He has no intention of making any difference in his profession, and just can't wait until the week is over, but before it is, he may just yet have a chance to do something heroic. The plus side to the film features some strong performances by Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, and Richard Gere. Hawke is especially good, because he's essentially playing the Denzel Washington character from Training Day, and he pulls it off well. Interesting, since he played the heroic rookie in that film. Director Antoine Fuqua sets a very serious tone, so much so that the third act feels as epic as a Greek tragedy. The film was shot in an actual slum in Brooklyn, and the slang seemed, at least to me, to reflect the lifestyle and forms of speech in this neighbourhood. But ultimately, no matter how good the visual flair or acting is, it doesn't save the film from feeling predictable. There is nothing that has been said about life in the ghetto, the corruption in the police force, or the personal toll that the job takes on its officers that hasn't been said before. It's extremely hard to engage in a story when we too easily recognize the character archetypes, and the direction the narrative is going to take.