Into the Blu

Street Kings

Author Jamie Shuhyta on August 22nd, 2008

Street Kings Cover Art

Woo… no one can be told exactly what The Matrix is…. oh oops… wrong movie. Ok so every time I see Keanu Reeves all I can ever picture is Neo and that damn Matrix, talk about a lasting role for an actor. But as you know The Matrix hasn’t hit Blu-ray yet, it’s coming in Oct, so today I will review one of Keanu’s other flicks, Street Kings on Blu.

Street Kings hit theaters in 2008 as an action-crime film, directed by David Ayer, and starring Keanu Reeves, Hugh Laurie and Forest Whitaker. It was released in theaters on April 11, 2008. The initial screenplay drafts were written by James Ellroy in the late 1990s under the title The Nightwatchman. The plot revolves around Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) as a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. All of the cops in Ludlow’s unit, including their captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker), bend and break the rules of conduct on a regular basis. Their intention is often to deal with crime in a manner that they perceive to be more efficient, which leads them to routinely lie, falsify reports and manipulate evidence to cover up for their wrong-doings. This makes them feel as if they are the “Street King” in society. Throughout the movie various questionable acts are committed, each making Ludlow consider his place within the force and ultimately leads him to choose which side of the law he is on. Overall it gives the message that sometimes the good guys have to do bad things to be the good guys again in the end.

The movie is filled with some great action sequences, lots of gun fights, raids, car chases and explosions, all while still offering a decent storyline. Acting is really good, even for Reeves who sometimes seems kinda light minded on screen in other flicks. Forest Whitaker is also very strong in character and really shines as the ‘bad’ guy of the story. Overall I really liked the movie a lot, I saw it in theaters when it was released and now again on Blu, and it still grabs and holds my attention throughout. Often movies that offer a ton of action loss their story and become nothing more than brain dead shooters, happily Street Kings does not. The twists and turns in the plot really keep you guessing as to what will ultimately happen. At the end of the movie you will undoubtedly question who really was the ‘good’ cops and ‘bad’ cops. If you haven’t seen Street Kings yet I strongly suggest you buy it for your collection, you won’t be disappointed.

Video

Street Kings is a new release so it should be top notch in video transfer, no disappointment here, as it’s really really good. Every aspect is very strong in its 1080p/24 AVC (MPEG-4) encode. In case you’re also wondering it’s a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio presentation. Fox has given us a great Blu, very close to demo material. Colors, detail, contrast, and clarity are all A/A+ in reproduction. Colors are very lifelike and vivid, daytime scenes are bright and alive, night scenes dark and solid. Shadows and lighting are awesome even when the movie quickly moves from one scene to another. Details are extremely pleasant in the transfer; you can see all the fine details of the characters and their surroundings. I’m a big fan of when backgrounds are so clear you can read all the little details like signs and buildings, you definitely can do that here. As with the colors mentioned above, contrast is super, important because a lot of the movie takes place at night. I will mention that there is some dark heavy grain in some scenes, but this is undoubtedly intentional to give Street Kings its edge look. Please do not confuse this for a sloppy transfer, I ensure you it’s needed to give the film its full effect visually wise. I am also happy to report that I did not see any artifacts or blocky glitches in the Blu-ray transfer.

Audio

As with the video transfer, audio is also ultra top notch for a new release. The track is presented in a few formats; English is in lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French/Spanish via Dolby Digital 5.1. There are also a ton of subtitle options including: English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Korean. All audio is very crisp and clear, especially the dialog throughout the film. Because there is so much action it is vitally important here to not have the dialog becoming drowned out, happily it does not. All actors’ lines come through in a lifelike clarity and definition. The use of the surround channels is also great, you feel and hear sound out of all 5.1 channels. Rears are used effectively to add depth to scenes with explosions and gun fire, also to provide a nice echoing effect to dialog. Your sub will also thank you or maybe hate you after a strong workout! There’s a lot of bass in the lossless track which is oh so very nice. I love when explosions rock the house and Street Kings provides that exact experience. Again with the video, the audio transfer is also pretty close to demo material.

Special Features

There are a TON of extras and specials on this disc; the only grief is that almost all of them are in SD. You do get a few previews and an inside look at Mirrors the movie in HD, kinda a letdown though in the grand scheme of things. With the growing trend these days you do also get a digital copy of Street Kings included. This is what’s included:

Director Audio Commentary Track: Director David Ayer talks shop about his experiences and workings on Street Kings.
Under Surveillance inside the World of Street Kings: This is a bonus view feature which provides a picture in picture experience to the film.
15 Deleted Scenes with Optional Director Commentary: A crazy number of deleted scenes, worth checking out in my opinion.
9 Alternate Takes: Kinda a different extra then usual, you get to experience the movie if it had been shot and written differently.
Street rules: Rolling with Director David Ayer and Tech. Advisor Jamie Fitzsimmons: A featurette that focuses on what background info and research went into making the film realistic.
L.A Bete Noir: A brief lesson in French… no just kidding, it looks at the writing of Street Kings.
HBO: First Look - Street Kings: HBO did a behind the scenes apparently.
Behind the Scenes Clips: More behind the scenes stuff.
City of Fallen Angels: A featurette on the making of Street Kings.
Inside Look: Mirrors The Movie: This one is in HD, but doesn’t really do much for it. It’s an inside look at Fox’s new horror movie Mirrors.
Blu-ray Disc Previews: Presented in HD.
Theatrical Trailers: Both trailers that were made for Street Kings.

Final Thoughts

So obviously you can guess I’m going to recommend this disc to you on Blu. Street Kings features great action, good acting, an involving story and overall provides a great movie experience. The Blu-ray presentation is top notch through and through, with amazing video and boasting audio, you can’t be disappointed. In my opinion…. skip renting and just buy it.