Now I don’t feel this way about many movies, but there are just some that are so good and so engaging that you just have to watch them whenever they are on TV, regardless of what point you switch on.
Street Kings is for me, one of those movies. Now, I am not sure if it is the fact that Keanu Reeves is quite simply bad-ass and plays a role so far removed from Theodore Logan it is unreal, or the idea that his undercover team Vice Special, led by Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whittaker) are pretty much untouchable and undetected, are free to break to whatever rules or laws they need to, so long as it produces a result.
I am sure both of those things play a part in my love for this film, but I do feel the main factor is that this movie has a very similar feel to Training Day and donning my tin hat, I think this is on a par with that…..yes I know Denzel was immense in that movie, but I feel Reeves, Whittaker and a special mention to Hugh Laurie as Captain Biggs, really give this movie just as much Hollywood weight.
Ok, we have established the similarities of both movies and it is purely on a personal basis why I prefer this one – a lot of it has to do with the vast array of characters all of whom have a decent amount of screen time and do a great job with what material they have. There are excellent displays from Terry Crews, Naomie Harris, Jay Mohr, The Game, Common, Cedric the Entertainer as well as Captain America, Chris Evans before he was genetically enhanced and instead of just being shoed-in, they are all important roles, adding weight and depth to the overall story, which has to be said, is not ground-breaking, but there is something about this that just makes it stand out above the others.
As for the actual story, as I say, it is pretty simple, Ludlow is a part of the Vice Special team and uses a variety of methods to get the job done, and as long as he does, not matter what the cost, Captain Wander will ensure the unit remains squeaky clean.
After an ex-member of the unit is brutally gunned down in a local store, Ludlow is implicated due to his fractious relationship with the deceased and the fact he was at the scene, and although innocent, the signs don’t look good for Ludlow. Enter, Captain Biggs, a man who specialises in ‘burning other cops’ for Internal Affairs and is intent on exposing Wander and his team for what they really are and so begins a game of chess with Ludlow seemingly being targeted as the man who will go down for the murder of their colleague.
I’m not going to give anything away, but there are plenty of twists and turns in this movie and more than enough action and intrigue to keep you watching until the climax, which is pretty good in my opinion.
I’m sure many of you will disagree with my comparison to Training Day, but if this had come out before that movie…..