Film Review: BROOKLYN’S FINEST (2009)

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Writer: Michael C. Martin
Running Time: 132 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Drama/thriller
UK Release Date: 11^th June 2010

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 15^th July 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I can’t remember just how this one got on my ‘To See’ list, but I’m very glad it did. Not well received by the critics but, for me, a worthy watch! A film from the director of Training Day (2001), it has the same gritty quality with an interesting take on the very contrasting lives of three New York police officers. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

We follow the lives of three very different New York Police officers. First there’s Eddie, a uniformed officer at the end of his career; he just wants to finish his time and retire. He’s is love with a prostitute, Chantel, and wants to take her away from that life. Next there’s Tango, an undercover officer who desperately wants out. He is in with gang leader Cal and things are hotting up as suspicions grow about who is the traitor in their midst. His handler, Lt. Bill Hobarts seems to be dragging his feet while FBI Agent Smith is only interested in the big score. Finally there’s Sal, a detective who works drug raids and has a sick wife who is expecting twins. He desperately wants to move house and needs a lot of money very quickly. Will Eddie find the piece of mind he needs to rest his demons? Will Tango get his promised promotion and out of undercover work? What lengths will Sal go to in order to get the money he so desperately needs? Their paths will cross, but who will survive?... Well, you guessed it, I’m not going to tell you here or the Spoiler Police (Brooklyn Division) will have me on traffic duty (again).

Very well made with that gritty feel to it that Antoine Fuqua is renowned for. A decent score by Marcelo Zarvos, interspersed with rap and other ‘street’ tunes sets the tone. All the performances were excellent; in particular Richard Gere as the world-weary Eddie, Don Cheadle as the street-wise Tango and Ethan Hawke as the up-tight Sal. Wesley Snipes did a great job too as Cal, as did Brían F. O'Byrne as Sal’s partner, Ronnie Rosario. Also worthy of note were; Will Patton as Lt. Bill Hobarts, Michael Kenneth Williams as Red, Shannon Kane as Chantel and Ellen Barkin as Agent Smith. Oh, and look out for a nice little cameo from Vincent D'Onofrio as Carlo.

I must say that the critics must have had a bad day or something when they reviewed this one. I’m usually pretty much in agreement with them, but I think they missed a trick here. Yes, the three threads don’t tie together in a neat bow but they’re not supposed to; that’s life, it doesn’t always go the way you want it to (seldom does actually). The performances are great and there are some really superb visual moments too. I liked the plot, yes, maybe a little haphazard here and there, but not as bad as some would have you believe. For me, well worth a look… RECOMMENDED.

My Score 7.1/10

IMDb Score: 6.7/10 (based on 32,232 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1210042/

MetaScore: 43/100: (Based on 33 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 42/100 (based on 140 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 47/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 98,882 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brooklyns_finest/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
Det. Sal Procida: What happened to the cops?
Carlo: Nothin. They were were right even though they were wrong. And I was wrong only *because* that I was right. Ya see? You get that now. You get that, right?
Det. Sal Procida, Carlo: Righta and wronga.

Gutta: Giuliani ain't clean up the city. Video games and television did. That's what cleaned up the streets. Come on, man, 'cause ya'll remember when everybody was outside. If you was two years old, if you was a hundred and two, you was outside.

Det. Sal Procida: Change that skirt. People are gonna start to think we're Catholic only on Sundays.

Tango: I'm a cop, B.

Det. Sal Procida: [in the confessional] I don't want God's forgiveness. I want his fuckin help!

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.brooklynsfinestthemovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: SHOOTER (2007)

Director: Antoine Fuqua
Running time: 120 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Thriller/Action/Drama
UK Release date: 13th April 2007

Watched on DVD Sunday 3rd July 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film is based on a novel by Stephen Hunter caller “Point of Impact”. It charts the betrayal of a marine sniper and his efforts to clear his name. Originally set around the time of the Vietnam War, the film brings events up to date and into the 21st Century. There’s plenty of action and explosions, and even a damsel in distress, so it covers most of the bases. I’ll give you my thoughts after a brief summary.

Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger is on a mission in Africa when is spotter, and best friend, Donnie Fenn is killed. Left to die by his superiors, he eventually gets out and immediately resigns his commission. Three years later he’s living alone in the mountains with his dog when a Colonel Isaac Johnson comes to him with a proposal. There has been a threat on the President and they believe only a highly trained sniper could carry it out. They want Swagger to scout out possible locations and report back to them. They play on his patriotism and eventually he agrees. On the day the threat is due to become real; they insist he attends in order to advise them. Little does Swagger know, he is about to be set up. Injured, he escapes and, with the help of a couple of friends, he plots his revenge.

A very well made film with some nice action scenes, stunt work and CGI. A decent plot with plenty of twists and turns, not all of them too predictable, thankfully. Performance wise, I thought Mark Wahlberg did a decent job as Bob Lee Swagger, as did Michael Peña as FBI agent Nick Memphis. Of the bad guys, the pick of the bunch were, Danny Glover as Colonel Isaac Johnson and Ned Beatty as Senator Charles F. Meachum. Oh, and I should also mention the damsel in distress, Kate Mara as Sarah Fenn.

As revenge thrillers go, this is pretty run-of-the-mill stuff. There are no stand-out performances, outstanding dialogue or even radical plot-twists. One thing that did strike me though, was the total lack of humour, not even one wise-crack from a bad guy… quite disappointing. But having said all that, it does do what it says on the tin and I did find it quite entertaining. It’s never going to win any prizes, but still… Recommended.

My Score: 6.7/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0822854/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shooter/
Official Site: http://www.shootermovie.com/
Trailer: