On B List of Movie Reviews

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Brooklyn's Finest (2009)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 1/26

BrookFine
1/26: Brooklyn's Finest is the dirty cop's version of Crash.

At the beginning, there was too much fake acting, alarming me of what's to come. For each actor, I thought of a film that he was so much better in: Richard Gere (Internal Affairs), Don Cheadle (Colors), Ethan Hawke (Training Day), and Wesley Snipes (New Jack City). I couldn't believe how much there was left after checking the timer.

Yet the drama felt so compelling that the longer the show went on, the better everybody got. Therefore, I enjoyed the film, especially the location shooting, and wondered if this was what these police officers go through in New York City. It's reasonably safe to say this is an anthology because there are three parallel threads going on at once. Ethan Hawke's is the clearest while Richard Gere's somewhat leans toward Taxi Driver and Don Cheadle's is more murky than not. No matter what, I like them all.

Speaking of Training Day, which was also directed by Antoine Fuqua, I would feel better if Brooklyn's Finest was officially classified as a sequel because of Ethan Hawke's character. He being so confused by Alonzo Harris to the point of not knowing the difference between "righter and wronger" would've made sense.

It never happens that an established A-list white star is shown having sex with a black woman, so that was a big surprise to me for Richard Gere. On the other hand, how about Ellen Barkin? Her face looks like a disaster, requiring at least five pounds of makeup, and she was 54 years old at the time. Oddly, I heard a song being played, and that's the movie she was in: Sea of Love.

All in all, Brooklyn's Finest is a well-rounded picture while Training Day is essentially a one-man show.