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Movies / Upcoming / Street Kings
Street Kings

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Street Kings (2008)

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Reviews Counted: 138

Fresh: 49

Rotten:89

Average Rating: 5.1/10

Consensus: Street Kings contains formulaic violence but no shred of intelligence.

Rated: 15

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release: 18-04-2008

Synopsis: In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry... In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews). Academy® Award winner Forest Whitaker plays Captain Wander, Ludlow’s supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Chris Evans) to track Washington’s killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays off when the two Detectives track down Washington’s murderers and confront them in an attempt to bring them to justice. --© Fox Searchlight [More]

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Forest Whitaker

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Forest Whitaker, Common, Terry Crews, Amaury Nolasco, Naomie Harris, Jay Mohr

Director: David Ayer

Director: David Ayer
Screenwriter: James Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer
Producer: Erwin Stoff, Alexandra Milchan, Lucas Foster
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

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1 - 4 of 9

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Reviews for Street Kings

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Ratings Image

A general emptiness nags as the story progresses, undermining the solid performances and weaving in a seriously ugly message.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
04/20/08
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

There's plenty of empty bravura, and Reeves is fundamentally blank and uninteresting.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
04/18/08
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Depressing and sickeningly violent.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
04/18/08
James Christopher
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A by-the-numbers, cynical, bad cop-worse cops drama, made even less appealing by Reeves's mannequin-like presence.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/18/08
Leigh Singer
Channel 4 Film
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Ratings Image

"Are there any square cops out there?" says a supporting character in David Ayer's actioner. The answer, of course, is no - and this violent yarn is all the better for it. Next time out, though, he should probably assign himself a less familiar beat.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
04/18/08
Neil Smith
Total Film
Ratings Image

Last-minute revelations emerge screaming from around the corner like squad cars you heard coming half-an-hour ago, and it all ends with a dull thud instead of a crash wallop. Long after you've stopped caring, it's finally over and out.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/18/08
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

You can almost see the writers (Ellroy, Kurt Wimmer – creator of sci-fi mish-mash Ultraviolet – and first-timer Jamie Moss) charging at one another with false antlers in a challenge to come up with the toughest soundbite.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
04/18/08
Elliott Noble
Sky Movies
Ratings Image

What could have been endearingly daft remains merely forgettable.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
04/18/08
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Another mean, violent and decently acted slab of Ellroy-flavoured criminality, with an impressively battered Keanu Reeves, but Ayers is no Curtis Hanson.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/18/08
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Watchable thriller with a surprisingly good performance from Keanu, although the plot isn't nearly as clever as it thinks it is.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
04/17/08
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

Competent but fatally lacking in the element of surprise. [Blu-Ray]

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
08/19/08
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
Ratings Image

If you can forgive its stale dialogue, which at times seems so egregiously leaden that it might have been better suited to a Mad magazine parody, 'Street Kings' is a tense, aggressively absurd thriller.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
08/13/08
Rossiter Drake
San Francisco Examiner
Ratings Image

While military man turned director Ayer implicates our culture steeped in violence and the damaging effects of trained killing, whether by police or in war, he's assembled such a deplorable LAPD rogues gallery, it's hard to tell which one is the worst.

Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
08/08/08
Prairie Miller
NewsBlaze
Ratings Image

Ayer's rapid pacing and solid work by the cast distract us from the script's shortcomings.

Full Review Source: Illinois Times | comment Comment
06/28/08
Charles Koplinski
Illinois Times
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment Comment
06/19/08
Graham Killeen
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ratings Image

I don't think there were really any bad scenes, but I found the overall film emotionally empty.

Full Review Source: Sin Magazine | comment Comment
06/08/08
Austin Kennedy
Sin Magazine
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
06/06/08
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium
Ratings Image

[In the] surprisingly engrossing 'Street Kings,' we are presented with cops who live up to our worst nightmare of excessive force.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
06/05/08
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
Ratings Image

The movie has a million flaws, but if you can look past them and enjoy a fun, gritty, violent, racist and entertaining dirty cop film, then you will have fun with it.

Full Review Source: WJFK-FM (CBS Radio) | comment Comment
06/01/08
Kevin McCarthy
WJFK-FM (CBS Radio)
Ratings Image

Anyone looking for a good shoot-'em-up film should not leave the theater disappointed, but those seeking something thought-provoking might want to stay away.

Full Review Source: Watertown Daily Times | comment Comment
05/20/08
Adam Tobias
Watertown Daily Times
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Street Kings

August 16, 2008: Another wooden performance from Keanu Reeves in high-impact splatter flick. Opens in new window
More...

August 08, 2008: While military man turned director Ayer implicates our culture steeped in violence and the damaging effects of trained killing, whether by police or in war, he's assembled such a deplorable LAPD rogues gallery, it's hard to tell which one is the worst. Opens in new window
More...

April 23, 2008: UK Box Office Breakdown: Craig's Fool Has Disasterous Opening
Daniel Craig's new film - Flashbacks of a Fool - suffers a disastrous opening weekend, coming in at only 11th in the charts. Fool's Gold and Happy Go Lucky are the big successes More...

April 17, 2008: Box Office Guru Preview: Chan & Li Face Off Against Sarah Marshall
After four straight weeks of the box office falling significantly behind last year's pace, the marketplace is finally set to post a win thanks to a trio of new releases... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for Street Kings

Watch it, ignore RT ratings..
by: ortucis 9/25


I'm starting to lose faith in Rotten Tom.
by: MillYellZ 9/4


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(2008/NAR)-Teen-friendly PROM NIGHT remake knocks STREET KINGS down a notch???
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Real Boba
(2008/NAR)-Teen-friendly PROM NIGHT remake knocks STREET KINGS down a notch???
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hit or miss....not quite sure
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