STREET KINGS (Rated R)

Film noir for contemporary times is the easiest description to put on the violent, gritty “Street Kings,” an exercise in the search for the darkest corners of the brutish, nasty landscape of urban Los Angeles.

This brutal action film has a fine pedigree in its creative team. Director David Ayer was the writer and co-producer for “Training Day,” notable for how it turned Denzel Washington into a real tough, troubled character. Moreover, the “Street Kings” screenplay is based on an original story by James Ellroy, who has made a name for himself by uncovering the dark side of Los Angeles in crime novels that were adapted for the big screen, including “L.A. Confidential” and “The Black Dahlia.”

“Street Kings” wastes little time jumping into the fray of the mean streets of the City of Angels. The conflicted, tortured central character is veteran LAPD cop Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), who wakes up each morning with a seriously disturbed stomach and an almost insatiable desire to start sipping vodka from little airline bottles.

This is a guy living on the edge, tormented by his inner demons. After all, Ludlow finds life difficult to navigate after the sudden, mysterious death of his wife. At the film’s opening, Ludlow is flying solo in a dangerous sting operation with a nasty bunch of Korean thugs. Mainly, he’s in search of their hideaway, which appears to be the nerve center for the trafficking of drugs, guns and young victims of a sex slave operation.

In keeping with his apparent rogue status, Ludlow busts into the suspects’ abode with his guns blazing. He doesn’t bother with Miranda warnings or other niceties. But to make the crime scene look good, Ludlow leaves evidence behind that he acted in self-defense while rescuing some underage girls.

Meanwhile, his former partner, Detective Terrence Washington (Terry Crews), appears on the scene for the investigation and immediately suspects that Ludlow has something to hide. Before things get messy, Ludlow’s boss, Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker) steps in to back up his protégé.

Tension rises when it is apparent that Washington may have implicated Ludlow in unsavory conduct that has drawn the attention of Internal Affairs investigators. Soon, Ludlow finds himself being scrutinized by Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie), who grows suspicious that something rotten is happening. Biggs’ skepticism increases exponentially when Washington is gunned down in a liquor store by masked gang bangers. What’s worse is that Ludlow becomes implicated in the detective’s death because he was on the scene when the shootings occurred.

At this point, Captain Wander draws the wagons in a circle, getting members of his unit to help Ludlow clear his name of wrongdoing. For his part, Ludlow is troubled by the violent murder of his former partner, even though he had become a snitch. He sets out to find the killers, while others on the force seem too eager to hamper the pursuit of a serious investigation.

Even if he’s turned into a renegade cop, Ludlow wants to do the right thing, and so he teams up with young detective Paul Diskant (Chris Evans) to go after the truth. An investigation by Ludlow and Diskant takes this unlikely duo into the meanest neighborhoods of the city.

In the rough and tumble world of chasing down street toughs, Ludlow and Diskant hook up with criminal figure Scribble (Cedric “The Entertainer” Kyles), who guides them to a pair of very unsavory characters. Needless to say, the encounter with thugs leads to a blazing gun battle, which happens to be just one of many.

“Street Kings” thrives on a cavalier explosion of gruesome violence, somewhat reminiscent of “Training Day” and any number of brutal cop films where the constant bursts of carnage and bloodshed are palpable.

“Street Kings” is stoked by so much energy and thrills that there’s barely enough breathing room, and the obvious deficiencies of the plot are easily glossed over. But for action junkies, the payoff is just too good to care much about the absence of logic and reason.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

There are “small films,” sometimes underrated or failing the attention of blockbusters, that demand our attention because they are unusually good. “Little Miss Sunshine” was such a gem. A good case can be made to put “Juno,” the story of an unwed teen who decides to carry her pregnancy to full term, in this class.

Hailed with well-deserved critical acclaim, “Juno” is a witty and smart comedy that is lifted by the performance of Ellen Page as the title character, a quirky teen with an offbeat personality.

Apropos of nothing, it is interesting to note that screenwriter Diablo Cody is a former stripper, who seems to have a really good ear for dialogue.

“Juno,” being released in two different editions, will have the usual plethora of deleted scenes, commentaries and special features.

For some strange reason, I feel compelled to tell you that the press release says “Juno” will be the first Fox Home Entertainment DVD at Starbucks company-operated locations in the United States.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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