| Street Kings | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Ayer |
| Screenplay by | |
| Story by | James Ellroy |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gabriel Beristain |
| Edited by | Jeffrey Ford |
| Music by | Graeme Revell |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 109 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million[2] |
| Box office | $66.5 million |
Street Kings is a 2008 Americanaction thriller film directed byDavid Ayer, and starringKeanu Reeves,Forest Whitaker,Hugh Laurie,Chris Evans,Common andThe Game. The initial screenplay drafts were written byJames Ellroy in the late 1990s under the titleThe Night Watchman.
The film was released in theaters on April 11, 2008, and was followed by adirect-to-videostand-alone sequelStreet Kings 2: Motor City in 2011, withClifton Powell returning as a corrupt cop.
Tom Ludlow, analcoholic undercover detective for theLAPD's Vice-Special unit, arranges an arms deal with Korean gangsters suspected of kidnapping two teenage girls. He provokes the gangsters into beating him and stealing his car, allowing him to track them to the gang's hideout. Ludlow storms the hideout and kills the gangsters, staging the scene to make the shootings appear justified, and rescues the captive girls. While Captain Jack Wander and the rest of his unit congratulate him, Ludlow is confronted by his former partner, Terrence Washington, who disapproves of the unit'scorrupt tactics. Ludlow is later approached by Captain James Biggs ofInternal Affairs, but Wander warns that Washington has reported Ludlow to Biggs.
Ludlow follows Washington to a convenience store, where they are ambushed by two gunmen under the pretense of a robbery. Accidentally shot when Ludlow returns fire, Washington is killed by the gunmen. Wander advises Ludlow to remove the surveillance footage, telling the press Ludlow was first on the scene but too late to save Washington. Temporarily reassigned to fielding civilian complaints, Ludlow enlists the help of Detective Paul Diskant, determined to find the killers himself. Washington is implicated in stealing drugs from theevidence room and selling them to the gunmen, identified as criminals Fremont and Coates.
Joined by a reluctant Diskant, Ludlow brutalizes informants until a drug dealer, Scribble, leads them to the bodies of the real Fremont and Coates in a shallow grave, killed long before Washington. Giving the surveillance footage to Washington's widow, Linda, Ludlow reveals that he lost his own wife and vows to avenge Washington. He and Diskant pose as dirty cops, forcing Scribble to arrange a meeting with the killers masquerading as Fremont and Coates. Diskant recognizes them, but he and Scribble are killed in the ensuing gunfight. Ludlow kills both assailants, but sees on the news that they wereLos Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies.
Declared a "cop killer", Ludlow is arrested by fellow detectives Santos and Demille, who admit to killing the real Fremont and Coates and planting evidence to frame them for Washington's murder. Ludlow realizes that Washington was actually informing on Wander, who is really behind the evidence room theft. Before Santos and Demille can execute him, Ludlow manages to break free and kill them both. He saves Linda from Sergeant Mike Clady, sent by Wander to recover the surveillance footage and kill her, subduing Clady and locking him in his trunk.
Ludlow confronts Wander at home, handcuffing him after a brawl. Wander confesses that he has incriminating evidence against high-ranking officials to use to become LAPD chief and, eventually, mayor. Revealing a stash of ill-gotten money and blackmail documents hidden inside his walls, Wander declares his actions were for the sake of Ludlow and their unit, but Ludlow shoots him dead. Biggs arrives, admitting he used Ludlow to bring down Wander on behalf of those in power, and tells him that the department still needs him.
In 1997,David Fincher had entered negotiations to direct the film, under its original titleThe Night Watchman from a screenplay byJames Ellroy forNew Regency andWarner Bros.[3]
In 2004, it was announced thatSpike Lee would be directing the film for a 2005 release.[4] In 2005, it was announced thatOliver Stone was in talks to direct the film.[5] However, Stone later denied this.[6]Training DayscreenwriterDavid Ayer took over the project.
On February 5, 2008, it was announced thatFox Searchlight Pictures changed the film's title fromThe Night Watchman toStreet Kings.[7]
OnRotten Tomatoes 37% of 150 reviews of the film are positive with average rating of 5.11/10. The site's consensus reads, "Street Kings contains formulaic violence but no shred of intelligence."[8] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 55 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9]
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $12.5 million from 2,467 theaters, finishing second at the box office. It went on to gross $26.4 million domestically and $39.2 million internationally for a total of $65.6 million.[10]
The DVD was released on August 19, 2008, as a single-disc offering with director commentary, and 2-disc special-edition set with numerous documentaries, interviews and adigital copy of the film. It is also available onBlu-ray disc with all the special features of the 2-disc DVD version. By January 2009, the film had made $14.6 million from DVD sales.[2]
The film is followed by a sequel,Street Kings 2: Motor City, released direct-to-video in 2011. Other than both featuringClifton Powell (playing different roles), the films are unrelated.
Works byJames Ellroy | |
|---|---|
| Stand-alone |
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| Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy |
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| L.A. Quartet |
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| Underworld USA Trilogy |
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| The L.A. Quintet |
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| Fred Otash series |
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| Short story collections |
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| Non-fiction |
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| Original screenplays |
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| Film adaptations |
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