Street Kings (2008) - Synopsis

LAPD corruption comes under the spotlight in Street Kings, the taut police action thriller released this Spring by Twentieth Century Fox.

Keanu Reeves (The Matrix Trilogy, Speed, Point Break) stars as troubled veteran LAPD officer, Tom Ludlow, in this dark tale of good cop versus bad cop.

Directed by David Ayer (Harsh Times), Street Kings also features a first class supporting cast including Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, The Crying Game) as Captain Wander, Ludlow’s supervisor, Hugh Laurie (House, Stuart Little) as Internal Affairs Captain Biggs, Chris Evans, Jay Mohr, Naomie Harris, and rappers Common and The Game who are joined by comedian Cedric the Entertainer taking on the role of an edgy street informer.

Unable to overcome the death of his wife, Tom Ludlow’s life is thrown further into turmoil when evidence wrongly implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer. He teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Chris Evans) to track down the real killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles and realises that if he is to clear his name he must confront the corrupt cop culture that he has been part of for his entire career – ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.

Street Kings marks the first exciting writing collaboration between award winning novelist James Ellroy (The Black Dahlia, LA Confidential) and Kurt Wimmer responsible for the cult action sci-fi thrillers Ultraviolet and Equilibrium with talented new co-writer, Jamie Moss, also working on the screenplay.