An extremely violent thriller about a jaded cop including hair-rising scenes , gruesome crimes and breathtaking chases. This nail-biting thriller packs plot twists, noisy action, pursuits , shootouts, and continuous intrigue .An undercover cop, LAPD detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) , disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself. Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) always covers for Ludlow, as do even his somewhat jealous colleagues. Along the way , Tom is confronted by his former partner, Terrence Washington (Terry Crews) . After technically excessive violence against a vicious Korean gang during the liberation of kidnapped child sex slaves, Ludlow becomes the target of hotshot Internal Affairs captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie) , who feels passed-over after Wander's promotion to chief. But some members of the elite task force find themselves being taken down one by one . When Tom is wounded , at the Hospital he's healed by a particular nurse who turns out to be his girlfriend, Grace Garcia (Martha Higareda). Later on , Detective Tom Ludlow meets Detective Paul Diskant (Chris Evans) and both of them join forces to investigate the sinister events. Ludlow works his way through the twisted rungs of the police and the deadly streets of Los Angeles for answers that only lead to more questions. And other cops and members of drug gangs are also gunned down . Their City. Their Rules. No Prisoners.
Nice action film displays action-packed, thrills , fast-paced , shootouts , wild fighting images , police brutality and spectacular chase sequence in South Central . James Ellroy wrote the surprising screenplay in the mid-1990s with the same formula of his previous works and inspired by the O. J. Simpson trial. James Ellroy's script for Street Kings (2008) bears certain resemblance to the screenplays for L. A. Confidential (1997) and Dark Blue (2002) . It's a noir movie whose plot is really complex and twisted , the ordinary issue in which certain law enforcement members suspected of being corrupt who are slain one by one and a deranged cop is given a major murder case by a corrupt commander/supervisor who sends him on a wild goose chase looking for fictional suspects and/or pinning the crime on criminals with prior records, only to learn that his boss is the real culprit. While the film was praised for its acting performances, action sequences, and dark tone, the script was criticized for its clichés about police corruption. Keanu Reeves is nice giving an efficient acting as a ruthlessly efficient, unorthodox undercover cop and haunted by the death of his wife . Keanu even did all of his own stunts in the film with no stunt stand-in. And a fundamental fun is to guess which prestigious , famous actor appears here and there, showing his charm and acting skills, including the following : Hugh Laurie , Chris Evans, Cedric the Entertainer, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews , Naomie Harris, Common , John Corbett, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Monks , Clifton Powell , among otheres.
This bone-chilling motion picture was professionally directed by David Ayer , though it has too much dark scenes , and it was shot in grueling 42 days . Ayer is a prestigious writer and director with successes enough , writing or directing films as : Fury , SWAT , Training day , The Tax Collector , U-571 , Fast and furious saga, Suicide Squad , among others. The film is followed by an inferior sequel, ¨Street Kings 2: Motor city¨ (2011), released direct-to-video in 2011 by Chris Fisher with Ray Liotta , Shawn Hatosy , Scott Norman , Clifton Powell, Kevin Chapman . Rating : 6.5/10 . Decent thriller.
