Review: 'Street Kings' is a reality play set against a city

Okay, so Keanu Reeves as a cop with shady methods for getting results wouldn’t have been my first choice either in the role but given a good script one never knows.

Writer/director David Ayer can turn an actor with a good boy image into an Oscar winning bad guy. It worked for Denzel Washington when he starred in Ayer’s “Training Day” (2001). Ayer penned that gritty piece of work along with other cop-oriented flicks such as “Dark Blue” (2002), “S.W.A.T.” (2003) and 2005’s “Harsh Times” (which he also directed).

So why shouldn’t the same formula work again with Reeves?

Here he plays LAPD veteran Detective Tom Ludlow, an over-the-edge, alcoholic cop whose unsavory method of getting the bad guys gets him in plenty of hot water. Not at first mind you because he has a captain (played by Forest Whitaker) who can smooth things over but how long can he cover up?

Apparently only so far.

Things heat up when Ludlow’s former partner (Terry Crews) turns Internal Affairs informant. And in a classic case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time Ludlow is implicated in his former partner’s murder during a shooting at a convenience store robbery.

“Street Kings” is another series that David Ayers has fashioned together but this time the story presented here is based on the works of crime writer James Ellroy. His body of work is just as impressive as that of Ayers’ work and includes “The Black Dahlia,” “White Jazz” and “L.A. Confidential” and now “Street Kings” (which was co-scripted by Kurt Wimmer and Jamie Moss).

When you combine the talent of both men you get a morality play set against a city that leaves little room for optimism. Character development is set up in familiar fashion beginning with the lead character (Reeves) whose wife is murdered and then his own fall from grace becoming the crime ridden individual he swore to put away and now has become in essence that very same person. This definitely is one of Keanu’s better performances with a multi-faceted side to him in the role of troubled cop complete with inner demons.

The movie in many ways is a throwback to those old boys in blue network from the 50s and a bit of a stretch for today’s world of law enforcement.

In a world full of paperwork and being accountable for your every move I like it when the main guy decides to take the law into his own hands and twist it to find and seek revenge on the bad guys. Forget the ACLU or a criminal’s right to a fair trial it just feels good knowing what’s going to happen to them. Is it right?

Probably not but when you know up front who the criminal is and who was victimized I must confess it sure feels right. His methods are pretty gruesome and you have to wonder what kind of pain was the writer (in this case James Ellroy) going through while creating the plotline for his novel that would eventually be turned into a screenplay that would find its way to director David Ayers.

If you’d like to dig a little deeper into a real fascinating person, read Ellroy’s 1996 memoir, “My Dark Places” and you’ll get a glimpse as to what makes him tick as one of today’s premiere crime novelists.

“Street Kings” boasts a fine strong supporting cast that includes Hugh Laurie as the Internal Affairs captain, Jay Mohr as Sgt. Mike Clady and Chris Evans as one of the investigators solving the murder of Ludlow’s partner.

But it’s really Keanu Reeves’ movie all the way and I have to give him credit where credit is due. He surprised even me. Let’s just see if this wasn’t a fluke when he’ll next be seen as Klaatu in the remake of the Robert Wise classic alien visitation film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still” that originally came out in 1951 in glorious black and white. The Keanu version is slated for a December release.

Oh yeah, one more thing to note. The gritty look of LA’s underbelly is shot in depressing shadows that serves as a convincing backdrop to “Street Kings” setting the stage for what follows. Credit goes to cinematographer Gabriel Beristain (who did the same for “S.W.A.T.”) for painting a grim picture of Los Angeles but really, how difficult was that to do in the first place I ask you?

“Street Kings” is rated R for strong violence and pervasive language with crisp running time of 110 minutes. 3.5 out of 5 bagels.

<i>— Writer and movie reviewer Howie Nave is the host and emcee of The Improv at Harveys and host of Howie's Morning Rush on 93.9 KRLT FM. Nave's new DVD: "Howie Nave: Live at Lake Tahoe" is available through his Web site at www.howienave.com