CARD SHARK'S REVIEW OF:
BROOKLYN'S FINEST (2010)

OPENING THOUGHTS

    I have to admit I was excited to see this movie as soon as I saw the trailers. But then again how could I not be? I mean another cop drama from the director who brought me Training Day? Combine that with an excellent line up of stars and I would have thought this would have killed at the box office. Nonetheless this movie was at the top of my list of rentals the second it came out.

ACTING

    ETHAN HAWKE is one of those actors that never ceases to surprise me, luckily I am usually pleasantly surprised. This movie is no exception, he plays the part perfectly. His role may be a little manic, but the motivations are clearly defined and you start to believe that he has gone a little bat-shit crazy. Watching him in this film made me wonder if he just doesn't get offered big roles anymore or if he just picks passion projects.
    RICHARD GERE has been off of my movie radar for quite a while. The last movie I remember him making was back in the year 2000. I know he's made a lot of things since then, but nothing I have cared to see. He was perfect for this role though. My only hope is that I can see him appear in more good roles like this one. He's not an actor that I particularly like, so believe me when I say that is really saying a lot about the performance.
    DON CHEADLE on the other hand is pretty much acting gold. He does really well in this movie and somehow he always seems to have the best part of the cast surrounding him while he does his thing. He both was awesome and smooth in this role. I really like Cheadle as an actor but whenever he flies solo like in Traitor or Hotel Rawanda, I end up feeling disappointed. I just don't think he is able to carry a whole movie by himself, luckily in this movie he plays one of three lead parts and does a great job.
    WESLEY SNIPES showed up in this movie and that alone left me completely shocked. I was not expecting him to be in anything, mostly because I thought he was still in jail. For about half the movie I kept saying to myself, "That guy looks like Wesley Snipes." Then in the next scene I would correct myself saying, "Nah, that's not him." Well, looks like I was right the first time. When I looked him up I found out he was supposed to be in The Expendables but couldn't leave the country due to his legal troubles. Now what's Van Damme's excuse?

DIRECTION AND SCRIPT

    ANTOINE FUQUA firmly directed this thing the only way he knows how. This film was reminiscent of Training Day, which was ok by me since what he did in Traning Day worked really well. I liked how he inter-spliced the stories of the main characters and he did a nice job creating  several tense moments throughout the movie. I definitely want to see him do more of these cop dramas.
    MICHAEL C. MARTIN wrote the script for this thing, and this is where I have most of my complaints. The stories themselves did not flow very well together. They eventually come together at the end, but during the course of the film they seem bumpy and uneven.

THE VERDICT

    This one is definitely worth renting. I enjoyed the performances and the direction, but the script is what held this movie back the most. Some people will be bored by the story line, but I can tell you I was engrossed the whole time. I may have had more fun watching The Wire on HBO, but this is a good diversion as well.
 
 

RATING: B

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