*Editor’s Note*

I’ve reviewed a lot of movies on this site. I will continue to do so, but in a more elaborate way. You can find reviews for movies all over the internet, but what is going to separate my blog from other sites reviewing movies, is that I’m going to significantly change the format of my reviews. I’m not only going to review the entertainment aspect, but am going to try and dig deeper and think critically about the films that are being sold to us as entertainment. Whether you like it or not, these films are made to change our minds about things, some good and some bad. I’m going to try and explore this in detail, beginning with this review, so hold on tight. If this sucks to you, too bad, I’m tired of simply glossing over obvious metaphors and propaganda. Plus, I like to think and write.

There is always a dilemma in these cop drama films. The pseudo bad cop, the antihero if you will, always has a conscience issue in the midst of clearing out bad guys, vigilante style. Some of them deal with this notion by being alone and dreary, always depressed, and drinking heavily. Others just snap and kill relentlessly until someone new bursts in on the scene and they change their ways or get caught.

Street Kings involves a little bit from column a and a little bit from column b, as far as cop drama’s are concerned. Our main character played by Keanu Reeves is a tough guy vigilante cop who is the best in his department. He works solo, but he cleans house and takes no prisoners. His victories overshadow his reckless behavior and the precinct lets him do whatever he wants, while covering him if anyone snoops around. This continual blatant disregard for morality and police work begins to wear down our anti-hero to the point where he is against the wall and he doesn’t know why, but one thing is for sure, he’s going to get to the bottom of it…even if it kills him.

Here’s a trailer for the movie Street Kings available now on dvd:

Street Kings has some nice vehicular shots. The camera works well with the driving sequences and offers a fresh look at police pursuit and driving. If you’re familiar with the camera work done in “Collateral” and “Spun” you’ll enjoy the car cinema shots. They are fluid and actually done with some major class, despite the rest of the shots that are frantic and sometimes edited with a box cutter, rather than through other subtle methods.

We get some major cameo’s in the film, first by hip hop artist The Game and secondly by another hip hop icon, Common. If these two wanted to personify their existing “thug” images they do so greatly with their cameo’s; both playing stereotypical gang members, and therefore living their lyrics, if only for a brief time on screen. I wouldn’t call it acting, as they seem to rely on their past experiences to carry them through some tough scenes with a rogue cop, played by none other than Keanu “woa” Reeves.

We have some heavy hitting sequences with Forest Whitaker, as he can act when the pressure is on. He delivers a heavy handed turn of events, and you swear he’s on the good guys side and not playing dirty. However, as the movie continues, the pendulum swings into his face and the swerve is on!

Reeves does a good job trying to be John Constantine again, but overall he lacks the credibility and fierce prowess that is needed for the role. I would prefer a more tough guy Ray Liotta in the lead role, or dare I say, get Michael Chiklis to do it, as he does it so well on “The Shield”.

Street Kings is an odd choice of title as the kings that run the streets are really just a metaphor for the police, and while I am all for the whole idea of anti-establishment, renegade justice, and the whole “Fuck The Police” Los Angelestic lifestyle poetry, I don’t think that this movie captures the essence of the movement that they are trying to portray. Street Kings does send across a powerful message of hope for those that are trapped in what seems like enviable positions. Which is a stretch, I’m quite aware of that, but it’s there somewhere in the underlying rubble that is this film.

There are three things I took away from Street Kings that I would like to mention (and will most likely use as a catalyst for the rest of my reviews on this site from now on, as I’m getting deeper into the thought of movies rather than just throwing random thoughts on this blog…oh well)

Corruption is wrong, no matter how you slice it. Even if you’re throwing prisoners into jail, there are still methods in place that you need to adhere to. This is made possible by the law, and as we know the law wasn’t made for those that follow it, but for those that break it. It’s easy to be in a position of power and abuse that power. Some have stated that power corrupts and absolute power absolutely corrupts. We see this in history many times as the rise of cults, leaders, dictators and even religious sects have placed our world into a fear rattling abyss that has the media touting the demise of our financial structures and our kids in direct line of pharmaceutical fire. This is the world we live in, and Street Kings provides a nice setting for that, while pushing you into what very well maybe a real life scenario as the average person really doesn’t know anything about the life and times of a police officer on the streets.

Secondly, there is no turning back from certain points. Once you have lost your innocence, there is no turning back. As a Christian I was taught this as a youngster, and then after crossing the lines of ignorance into what I believed was knowledge, I realized that my innocence could never return. Solomon, arguably the wisest man in history, once said that there is great sorrow in knowledge. It’s true. Once you know too much and have done too much, there is no wiping away the past. For our anti-hero, after discovering that the corruption of his precinct reaches to the highest of posts, there is a point of no return. Even if he avenges himself and his partners who have died in vein, our hero is left standing there with out a place to go to next, because as the buildings tumble around him, and the screen fades to black our hero still has to come into work the next day and still has to deal with perpetual evil.

Lastly, as mentioned on my closing sentence on the last paragraph, the idea of perpetual evil is on the forefront of this film. Whether you’re religious or not, you have to agree with the fact that there is a level of evil that abounds in the streets of urban and suburban America. You can paint things nicely, and live in a great community but tragedy strikes us all in different ways. Take for instance the film “The Village” where a utopia is birthed out of people that wanted to separate themselves from tragedy, what becomes of all the effort? Nothing. Tragedy still struck and in the closing moments of the film we realize that while their intentions were pure, the overall aspect of evil and tragedy rang out true. Is that to say that these films are pointing into a hopelessness and helpless arrangement and we should cry ourselves to sleep in the fetal position? No.

Street Kings is easy to gloss over. The film is not that great. However, like with a lot of culture that we just slip through our eyes and minds, it has a lot to say if you think about things a little more than the surface. If you judge film critically with more than just an entertainment mindset, you begin to peel away layers of influence that we take for granted. While Street Kings isn’t going to win awards, we can still see various themes presented and pushed upon us in ways that we allow the director and writer to get into our lives. I recommend Street Kings if you like cop drama’s, otherwise it’s just another passing phase in our over saturated “police corruption” line up of films, some of which are better than others.