Street Kings (2008)

	Directed by: David Ayer	COUNTRY USA GENRE Crime/Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Street Kings RUNNING TIME 109 minutes
	Produced by: Lucas Foster Alexandra Milchan Erwin Stoff
	Written by: James Ellroy Kurt Wimmer Jamie Moss

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Detective Tom Ludlow	Keanu Reeves
Captain Jack Wander	Forest Whitaker	½
Captain James Biggs	Hugh Laurie	½
Detective Paul Diskant	Chris Evans	½
Scribble	Cedric 'The Entertainer' Kyles	½
Sgt. Mike Clady	Jay Mohr
Detective Terrence Washington	Terry Crews
Linda Washington	Naomie Harris
Coates	Common
Gill	The Game
Grace Garcia	Martha Higareda	½
Detective Dante Demille	John Corbett	½
Detective Cosmo Santos	Amaury Nolasco

Review

Street Kings feels like a stern and realistic crime series, wants to be a deep and nuanced portrait of racism and greed in Los Angeles, but ultimately acts like a formulaic 1980s cop thriller. There are positives and negatives to be drawn from all these characteristics. The realism and dramatic potential are there for not unsubstantial portions of the running time, and this is a testament to the writers' and the director's knowledge of the environments they portray. The genre conventions work both ways; they make Street Kings a tight and well-paced film, but they also result in uncritical, sometimes ridiculous narrative threads that ultimately deeply undermine an otherwise rather interesting story. Keanu Reeves will never be a great thespian, but these sorts of unassuming roles suit him well, and he still looks damn good.