palabras RON HENRIQUES

Corrupt or vigilante cop films are almost as old as cinema itself. It took the Denzel Washington vehicle 'Training Day' to properly bring the genres into the 21st century and what followed were the usual clones. "Street Kings" is one of the better ones and that's due in large part to the direction of David Ayer who wrote 'Training Day' and also helmed 'Harsh Times'. Though the promotional ads prominently highlight Ayer's participation, they fail to mention the picture was written by celebrated crime novelist James Ellroy and cult action director Kurt Wimmer. Ayer no doubt played a part in punching up their story, but what places the film above average is another winning performance from the underrated Keanu Reeves.

As Tom Ludlow, Reeves is an LAPD cop who deals his own brand of justice in unlawful ways. As the picture opens, his cocky attitude causes a weapons deal with a group of Korean criminals to go sour, ending with him minus his car and bloody on the sidewalk. That's exactly what he wants since he electronically tracks the car to their location and enters their residence, systematically taking them down in a gun fight. Sounds rather cold-blooded, but its soon revealed these crooks kept two young girls caged who they planned to enter into a prostitution ring. Ludlow has obviously done this kind of take-down before, with the media making him a controversial hero as his Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker) beams like a proud papa.

Wander has the power to finesse any mess Ludlow leaves in the wake of operations like this yet more trouble arrives in the form of his ex-partner Washington (Terry Crews) who its rumored wants to rat out their little operation to internal affairs. Ludlow wants to be sensible and have a man to man talk, but as he's ready to approach Washington in a local mini-mart, two gang-bangers show up and gun him down. It doesn't look good for Ludlow who was not only known to have a grudge against the victim, but was present when he was gunned down. Though Wander tries to take the heat off him by temporarily sticking him in a desk job, Ludlow can't shake the desire of wanting to pay back those who took down Washington. The incident looks more like a professional hit than a botched robbery and if they were targeting Washington, what additional enemies did he have? Ludlow also begins to feel the heat from Internal Affairs and though Wander wants him to lay low, his best medicine may be in the form of Hugh Laurie who isn't playing Dr. House, but a Police Captain investigating the unit.

Against Wander's orders, Ludlow begins sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, starting with investigating officer Paul Diskant (Chris Evans) who it turns out shares the same ideals of dealing out justice. Diskant think Ludlow is snooping around because he wants to destroy any evidence linking him to Washington's murder, but is surprised the man wants to find and kill whoever the perpetrators are. Those perpetrators could very well be connected to the very department they both work for.

'Street Kings' doesn't turn into a buddy cop movie with Reeves and Evans going around bashing heads like you might expect. That would be a little too easy. Instead the story focuses on the struggle of his character who it's revealed to have once been an idealistic young rookie who turned cynic after the death of his wife. Whitaker's Captain Wander may seem like a father figure for Reeves, but time reveals he's a bad influence who may have his own agenda. Evans, once the pretty boy of silly comedies, has actually matured as a dramatic actor and manages to provide excellent support as well as Jay Mohr, Amaury Nolasco and Sex and the City's John Corbett, all members of his team who clearly have no morals.

As Reeves journeys deeper into the gangland underworld, there are also appearances by familiar faces such as comedian Cedric the Entertainer and music superstars The Game and Common whose brief performance comes way out of left field, but effectively alters the story. In a story centered around aggressive men, there's a female presence in the form of Naomie Harris as Crews' widow (who despite her anger can identify with the struggle within Reeves) and Martha Higareda as his hospital nurse girlfriend.

Whitaker gives another wide-eyed (well one eye at least) performance that's become quite repetitive within his career, but he's actually the perfect foil for Reeves and you believe he's the master in control of the attack dog. Reeves can be aggressive in his pursuit of the killers, but what makes him stand out from most actors is his ability to be still. Do you think Neo from 'The Matrix' would have worked if he was played by a manic and overly energetic actor? [I disagree with Ron on this one, to a certain extent. Reeves was the perfect Neo, but in this movie, I feel he holds the story back with his "stillness." Common acts more in 5 minutes of screen time than Reeves does in the whole movie. -ed]

It's easy to read what's going on behind his eyes, which makes it easy to identify with Reeves. He speaks volumes without saying words and that's a feat most actors can not pull off. Its unclear whether Ludlow's pursuit will change him in the end, making him a better person or worse. That only adds to the power of the story, because when well written characters in a world like this try to change it for the better, sometimes it changes them.

originally appeared on latinoreview.com