"'Street' Fighting Man"
by Scott Mantz

"Street Kings"
Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker
Directed by David Ayer

Above the Law! Keanu Reeves is out for justice in "Street Kings"

If clichés were bullet holes, then “Street Kings” would look like the victim of a drive-by.

Talk about a movie that’s full of stereotypes involving gang bangers and dirty cops in the city of Los Angeles, “Street Kings” is so derivative that screenwriter James Ellroy and director David Ayer should be sued for plagiarism.  Then again, they’d only wind up suing themselves, since they’re pretty much plagiarizing their own superior work.

Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a self-destructive LAPD cop who can’t stay focused after the death of his wife.  He still rises to the occasion every day in an effort to protect the law – which he does by constantly breaking the law – but when he is implicated in the bloody murder of a rival officer, he is forced to fend for himself as he questions the motives of those around him.

“Street Kings” has moments of gritty violence and adrenaline-fueled intensity, but the story is so routine that it ends up feeling like a poor man’s “Training Day.”  There’s no doubt that director David Ayer is on familiar turf after writing “Training Day” (as well as the cop drama “Dark Blue”), but he and screenwriter James Ellroy (author of “LA Confidential”) never stray far enough from their comfort zone to make “Street Kings” a unique and engaging piece of work.

Even the main characters are all-too-familiar.  Keanu Reeves plays the last man standing in a department full of corruption, Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four”) is the police detective who suspects that Reeves may be onto something, and Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker is the powerful vice captain who may be on the take.  Their performances are fierce and committed, but the characters are too one-dimensional to take an emotional hold.

After making his directorial debut with the disturbing “Harsh Times” (starring Christian Bale), there’s no doubt that David Ayer has something to say about the gritty underbelly of Los Angeles.  And even though he says it loud and clear, he’s just repeating himself with “Street Kings.”

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