Corrupt cops kill each other in 'Street Kings'

"Street Kings"

Rating: 3 out of 5

When it comes to his movies, Keanu Reeves is pretty hit-or-miss. In his last few films, he's gone from a drug addict to a romantic lover, and now he's in a role as a corrupt LAPD cop in "Street Kings," killing in the name of the law.

This time Reeves barely pulls it off but he still manages to play a convincing role as the lead officer Tom Ludlow, who's looking for blood as a means of justice. Just like in "A Scanner Darkly," Reeves is the one who's been had, except this time he's sober - well, sober enough - to figure it out.

After the death of his wife, Ludlow starts taking the law into his own hands by shooting first and asking questions after the bad guys are dead. His boss, Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker), protects him from any legal trouble for not following police procedure, something he thinks his former partner Washington (Terry Crews) is trying to turn him in for.

When Ludlow goes on a mission to slap around Washington a bit to put him in his place, the gas station the two are in gets shot up, taking down Washington and making Ludlow look like the killer. Of course, the Captain patches things up again nice and neat so Ludlow escapes harm-free.

But then things get fishy. When Ludlow finds Washington's killers dead, it's up to him to figure out who is still working under their names and get revenge.

That's where Captain James Biggs comes in to play. Hugh Laurie - the doctor detective on television's "House" - has a role that is pretty standard procedure for him, though he drops the television smirk and gets a little serious. Whitaker, who's seen better movies, is all right in this film, but he really doesn't have a lot of script to work with - not enough screen time to really develop his corrupt character.

And then there's Reeves, whose previous on-screen work drags him away from the corrupt, cop-killing type, but there's something about him that just seems to fit in "Street Kings." He seems so weighed down by justice that killing doesn't bother him a bit, even if it is one of his most violent films.

When it comes to script and action, the movie is pretty stock. The violence isn't too gruesome, with only a few shots of dead bodies and close ups of freshly-wounded, bleeding corpses. "Street Kings" has potential to be a psychologically thrilling drama, but it's really only just thrilling: It doesn't have mind-bending, intriguing detective work; just a lot of guns and dying.

"Street Kings" is a movie fueled by testosterone alone. The only women are cast in supporting roles, such as Ludlow's girlfriend, and sometimes they aren't even there at all. It's a bloody man versus man chase that nobody really wins in the end, with plot twists and the like.

There's only one real question to ask of the movie: Does Reeves lose in the end? The answer changes the more he kills, which is what makes this movie watchable, if not necessarily exciting.

Julie Engler can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or julie86@siu.edu.