An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.An undercover cop, disillusioned by the death of his wife, is implicated in the murder of an officer and must struggle to clear himself.
- Director
- Writers
- James Ellroy(screenplay)
- Kurt Wimmer(screenplay)
- Jamie Moss(screenplay)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- James Ellroy(screenplay)
- Kurt Wimmer(screenplay)
- Jamie Moss(screenplay)
- Stars
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Videos14
Cedric the Entertainer
- Scribble
- (as Cedric 'The Entertainer' Kyles)
Noel Gugliemi
- Quicks
- (as Noel G.)
Daryl Gates
- The Chief
- (as Daryl F. Gates)
- Director
- Writers
- James Ellroy(screenplay) (story)
- Kurt Wimmer(screenplay)
- Jamie Moss(screenplay)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFor the phone book scene, a foam rubber phone book was made so that Keanu Reeves could smack Grill played by The Game with. The Game insisted that Keanu use a real phone book and after one take in which he smacked him with which actually hurt him, they switched back to the foam rubber one quickly after that.
- GoofsWhen Ludlow shoots the Korean guy who was sitting on a toilet, he falls has his pants on and the toilet seat is actually down. Later, when Ludlow plants the weapon on the guard at the desk, the toilet seat is up.
- Quotes
Thug Kim: Konnichiwa is Japanese. It's insultin' to Koreans.
Tom Ludlow: How am I supposed to tell if you can't?
Thug Kim: Fuck's that supposed to mean, white boy?
Tom Ludlow: It means you got eyes like apostrophes, you dress white, talk black, and drive Jew. So how am I supposed to know what kind of zipperhead dog-munching dink you are if you don't?
Boss Kim: Yo. D'you know who the fuck we are?
Tom Ludlow: Yeah. You're a couple panheads buyin' a machine gun out of a trunk.
- SoundtracksPop
Written by Rhymer, Kim Tae Wan and Young 1
Performed by Enjel feat. Annie K
Courtesy of Einsdigital
Top review
Explosive entertainment
"Street Kings" definitely has the street-cred. Keanu looks real bad-ass, Forrest Whittaker looks like he's digging back into the character he played on "The Shield", writer director David Ayer is no stranger to life on the cop circuit, having written "Dark Blue" and "Training Day among others, and the movie also brings on the token rappers for good measure in Common and The Game. But does it work? Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a Vice detective on a Special Forces unit in LA, led by Ludlow's friend and former partner Captain Wander (Forrest Whittaker). Ludlow's a dirty cop, but he feels in a good way. He'll execute and then tweak the crime scene if it means taking the low-lifes off the streets for good.
His former partner Terrance Washington (Terry Crews) doesn't see it that way though, as he is in the midst of ratting him out to the head of Internal Affairs, Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). When he finds out, Tom follows Washington around, walking right into a convenience store robbery where Washington is gunned down execution style. Wander tells Tom he'll take care of it, but Tom is a man who values justice more than anything. He partners with a homicide detective named Diskant (Chris Evans) to follow the evidence and solve the murder.
The movie, by David Ayer, couldn't be more hard-core. It's filled with riveting gun-battles and fights and it's a movie not afraid to show some real brutal violence and blood. The verbal exchanges between characters are also exceptionally written, heated and intense with a good ear for dialogue. My favorite line by far this year is "Why don't you do the department a favor and clean your mouth out with a buck-shot." And the story pulls off a compelling morality play, sending Tom up a ladder of murder and corruption, and at the same time, climbing him further toward his own redemption. Sure, you can probably see the ending coming if your paying close enough attention, but think about it, the movie couldn't end in a better way.
This is the kind of movie Reeves is excellent in, giving his character edge and toughness but also never losing track of the character's underlying moral dilemma. Whittaker is also incredible in this movie, sinking his teeth into a character who's basically portrayed as "The Godfather" of LA. Hugh Laurie shows up every once in a while, the character feels underwritten though. Chris Evans does a decent job, Cedric The Entertainer and Jay Mohr are nice additions who add some comedy, and it's a small role but Naomie Harris deserves a shout-out for playing the down-to-earth voice of reason character.
"Street Kings" is hard-nosed, gritty film-making. The cast is right on the money, the writing and direction is terrific, and the action couldn't be more exciting. The year is still young but this is one of my favorite films so far.
His former partner Terrance Washington (Terry Crews) doesn't see it that way though, as he is in the midst of ratting him out to the head of Internal Affairs, Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). When he finds out, Tom follows Washington around, walking right into a convenience store robbery where Washington is gunned down execution style. Wander tells Tom he'll take care of it, but Tom is a man who values justice more than anything. He partners with a homicide detective named Diskant (Chris Evans) to follow the evidence and solve the murder.
The movie, by David Ayer, couldn't be more hard-core. It's filled with riveting gun-battles and fights and it's a movie not afraid to show some real brutal violence and blood. The verbal exchanges between characters are also exceptionally written, heated and intense with a good ear for dialogue. My favorite line by far this year is "Why don't you do the department a favor and clean your mouth out with a buck-shot." And the story pulls off a compelling morality play, sending Tom up a ladder of murder and corruption, and at the same time, climbing him further toward his own redemption. Sure, you can probably see the ending coming if your paying close enough attention, but think about it, the movie couldn't end in a better way.
This is the kind of movie Reeves is excellent in, giving his character edge and toughness but also never losing track of the character's underlying moral dilemma. Whittaker is also incredible in this movie, sinking his teeth into a character who's basically portrayed as "The Godfather" of LA. Hugh Laurie shows up every once in a while, the character feels underwritten though. Chris Evans does a decent job, Cedric The Entertainer and Jay Mohr are nice additions who add some comedy, and it's a small role but Naomie Harris deserves a shout-out for playing the down-to-earth voice of reason character.
"Street Kings" is hard-nosed, gritty film-making. The cast is right on the money, the writing and direction is terrific, and the action couldn't be more exciting. The year is still young but this is one of my favorite films so far.
helpful•9232
- C-Younkin
- Apr 12, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- King's X
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $26,418,667
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,469,631
- Apr 13, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $66,476,363
- Runtime1 hour 49 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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