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.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
- Scribble
- (as Cedric 'The Entertainer' Kyles)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKeanu Reeves did all of his own stunts in the film with no stunt doubles.
- GoofsWhen Ludlow is tied up and being shot at by the other cops outside the house in the hills, the red plastic cases of the squibs are clearly visible as they explode around him.
- 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.
- Alternate versionsGerman theatrical release is cut in one scene to qualify for a "not under 18" rating. The scene where Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) hits an adversary in a head with a shovel brutally is shortened to remove a few graphic shots. The cuts are later restored on video and is released as the "Director's Cut" edition.
- SoundtracksPop
Written by Rhymer, Kim Tae Wan and Young 1
Performed by Enjel feat. Annie K
Courtesy of Einsdigital
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.
- C-Younkin
- Apr 12, 2008
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- King's X
- Filming locations
- Habachihana Grill - 1045 S. Hill Street, Los Angeles, California, USA(Captain Biggs interviews Ludlow during lunch)
- 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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![Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Chris Evans, Hugh Laurie, Common, Martha Higareda, and Game in Street Kings (2008)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOThlNTUxOTItNzlhYi00YWQ4LTgzYTgtZWZiNWIyZjQyZDhlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTcwOTQzOTYy._V1_QL75_UX90_CR0,0,90,133_.jpg)