Street Kings (2008)

Director:

David Ayer

Writers (WGA):

James Ellroy (screenplay) and
Kurt Wimmer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Their City. Their Rules. No Prisoners.

Plot:

Tom Ludlow is a veteran LAPD cop who finds life difficult to navigate after the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him. |

Plot Keywords:

Hypocrisy | Conflict Of Interest | Koreatown | Beating | Los Angeles California

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Keanu Reeves	...	Detective Tom Ludlow
Forest Whitaker	...	Captain Jack Wander
Common	...	Coates
Martha Higareda	...	Grace Garcia
Cedric the Entertainer	...	Scribble (as Cedric 'The Entertainer' Kyles)
Chris Evans	...	Detective Paul Diskant
Noel Gugliemi	...	Quicks (as Noel G.)
Kenneth Choi	...	Boss Kim
Hugh Laurie	...	Captain James Biggs
Naomie Harris	...	Linda Washington
Cle Shaheed Sloan	...	Fremont (as Cle Sloan)
Amaury Nolasco	...	Detective Cosmo Santos
John Corbett	...	Detective Dante Demille
Terry Crews	...	Detective Terrence Washington
The Game	...	Grill

Also Known As:

Night Watch (USA) (working title)
The Night Watchman (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and pervasive language.

Runtime:

USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Turkish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Iceland:16 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA | Malaysia:18PL | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Argentina:16 | South Africa:16LV | Ireland:16 | USA:R (certificate #44158) | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Regency Enterprises

Trivia:

James Ellroy wrote the screenplay in the mid-1990's inspired by the O.J. Simpson trial. Over the years, Spike Lee, David Fincher, and Oliver Stone were attached to direct the film at various stages of pre-production. Sean Penn was once attached to star. John Ridley contributed to an early version of the screenplay.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Captain Biggs sits across from Ludlow at Ludlow's desk and begins conversing with him, Biggs' necktie alternates from being outside of his lapel to under it, even though he does not move.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Boss Kim: Yo dawg.
Tom Ludlow: Konnichiwa.
Boss Kim: What?
Tom Ludlow: Konnichiwa. Konnichiwa. It means what's up. So what the fuck's up?

Movie Connections:

Features "Drawn Together" (2004)

Soundtrack:

More than i can take

Totally recommended, even for non cop movie fans

I wasn't expecting to like this movie; the cop genre is not my favorite after all, but I did. I really did. It does feel like a B movie or sort of film noir, perhaps because it only cost 20 million to make. But the cast was top notch. As much as I love Keanu Reeves, I always go into any movie of his cringing, "Will he do well? Will he survive this?" And Reeves delivers with aplomb. This is easily his most nuanced role to date - he truly wears the weight of a cop who has seen and done too much on his face. The action scenes were kick ass and I loved to see Amaury Nolasco play against his Prison Break type. All the actors were great, though I thought Forest Whitaker was a little OTT.