Street Kings (2008)

Director:

David Ayer

Writers (WGA):

James Ellroy (screenplay) and
Kurt Wimmer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Their City. Their Rules. No Prisoners.

Plot:

Tom Ludlow is a veteran LAPD cop who finds life difficult to navigate after the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him. |

Plot Keywords:

Hypocrisy | Police Harassment | Ethnic Slur | Blood Splatter | Masked Man

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Keanu Reeves	...	Detective Tom Ludlow
Forest Whitaker	...	Captain Jack Wander
Common	...	Coates
Martha Higareda	...	Grace Garcia
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Scribble (as Cedric 'The Entertainer' Kyles)
Chris Evans	...	Detective Paul Diskant
Noel Gugliemi	...	Quicks (as Noel G.)
Kenneth Choi	...	Boss Kim
Hugh Laurie	...	Captain James Biggs
Naomie Harris	...	Linda Washington
Cle Shaheed Sloan	...	Fremont (as Cle Sloan)
Amaury Nolasco	...	Detective Cosmo Santos
John Corbett	...	Detective Dante Demille
Terry Crews	...	Detective Terrence Washington
The Game	...	Grill

Also Known As:

Night Watch (USA) (working title)
The Night Watchman (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and pervasive language.

Runtime:

USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL | Germany:18 | Argentina:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Sweden:15 | USA:R (certificate #44158) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Ireland:16 | South Africa:16LV | Canada:13+ (Québec) | UK:15 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Regency Enterprises

Trivia:

James Ellroy wrote the screenplay in the mid-1990's inspired by the O.J. Simpson trial. Over the years, Spike Lee, David Fincher, and Oliver Stone were attached to direct the film at various stages of pre-production. Sean Penn was once attached to star. John Ridley contributed to an early version of the screenplay.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Captain Biggs sits across from Ludlow at Ludlow's desk and begins conversing with him, Biggs' necktie alternates from being outside of his lapel to under it, even though he does not move.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Boss Kim: Yo dawg.
Tom Ludlow: Konnichiwa.
Boss Kim: What?
Tom Ludlow: Konnichiwa. Konnichiwa. It means what's up. So what the fuck's up?

Movie Connections:

References Serpico (1973)

Soundtrack:

More than i can take

The police are the Street Kings and Keanu Reeves is their enforcer

(Synopsis) Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), a veteran LAPD Detective, works in a Special Vice Squad Unit in Los Angeles. Ludlow has been suffering from depression since his wife died. On top of that, his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews) is murdered by two gang members. Ludlow goes on a wild and reckless quest through the mean streets of Los Angeles to track them down and get justice for Washington. Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) is Ludlow's supervisor who must keep him from going over the edge and out of the cross-hairs of Internal Affairs Captain James Biggs (Hugh Laurie).

(My Comment) Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker were excellent in playing their parts. In the first 10 minutes, we get to see how good Ludlow is in using his guns. The movie races at such a fast pace, and it is so intense at times that you don't know who is the good guy or the bad guy. There are some great shootout scenes, and whatever you do, don't get in Ludlow's way, because he will take you out. Usually, the police have this cop culture of protecting each other. After they imply that Ludlow had something to do with the murder of Detective Washington, he begins to question his loyalty to his fellow officers, especially, when they hang him out to dry. At that point the movie gets real interesting. The only problem I had with the script was that it put the tough cop Ludlow in a gloomy mood the whole movie. I would have preferred him to be a cop with self-control and strength of mind. If you enjoy cop dramas, you will like this one, because it has so many twists and turns and back stabbing to keep you interested and wanting more. You will love some of Ludlow's interrogation techniques of the bad guys. (Fox Searchlight, Run Time 1:49, Rated R)(8/10)