Street Kings Movie

'Street Kings' is a predictable, clichéd cop flick

If filmmakers received awards for cliché ideas and dialogue, David Ayer would be forced to buy a new mantle.

"Street Kings," his sophomore directorial effort, is -- to use language even he would understand -- as predictable as the day is long. Melodramatic shouting matches. Stereotypical characters. Ludicrous plotting. It's all there.

The film focuses on Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), a Los Angeles police detective of the Dirty Harry variety, meaning he shoots, kills, and then decides how to clean up the mess. That's fine with his captain, a fast-climbing cop named Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) who revels in the commendations he receives due to Ludlow's questionable-but-effective methods.

Still, Ludlow is a good guy "» or at least viewers are supposed to believe he is. You know, it's the old ends justify the means argument.

In this case, viewers are supposed to believe that Ludlow can place civilians and fellow officers in danger, shoot nearly everyone in sight, and run around like a general madman for the greater purpose of avenging the death of a former partner.

We're also supposed to feel bad for him because his wife died while running around with another man, but this subplot is so poorly developed that it should have been cut.

Of course, one doesn't go to a film like "Street Kings" for wise editing. One goes for a handful of decent shootouts and a healthy dose of Keanu Reeves.

And people will go to this film despite the fact that there are plenty of better police dramas -- "The Departed," "We Own the Night," "Narc" -- with equally good action scenes.

They will also go despite the fact that Keanu Reeves isn't Matt Damon, Joaquin Phoenix or Ray Liotta (stars of those other movies) even when in top form.

But I'm being unfair. Reeves does as well as can be expected with his apparently un-losable surfer boy accent and the atrocious dialogue screenwriters James Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer and Jamie Moss threw his way.

Heck, they even make the great Forest Whitaker look like a soap opera hack, and that's tough to do.

Bottom line. "Street Kings" is a police mystery that many viewers will solve 15 minutes after plopping their butts in their multiplex seats.

Forrest Hartman writes about film for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Send your movie questions to askforrest@rgj.com . To read more of his articles, visit www.ForrestHartman.com and www.rgj.com/movies . If you write in with a question, please tell us your location. Also, check out Hartman's blog at www.rgj.com/blogs/film .

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