This film isn't difficult to watch because as a viewer you assume multiple characters are being built separately to eventually combine. The building part is not done badly, the acting is OK, and the music builds some tension. But then they the multiple stories never combine. The film just ends. 2 stars for basic film/acting quality, 1 extra because I actually found it funny how bad this story is.

I got inspired to talk like a gangster while I watched this, as it has quite a lot of gangster lingo.Nawmsayin'? You know, I found this movie right here to be like, you know, it's like entertaining and sh*t, but it's nothing special nawmsayin'?It prolly won't get stuck up in yo' head like a hot slug, seemsayin? But it's aait, B. It's aait.OK, seriously. This movie is pretty entertaining. The acting is good, it's nicely paced. The action is solid. I like the sound design. Good, crisp, shooting sounds and what not.I do got some beef with the plot, though. I appreciate what they're trying to do here, but it's just a little too much. Some of the stuff that happens make you think like, damn, those are some major ass coincidences! It's just not believable. And that's not something I'm usually bothered by, but since this is supposed to be realistic and grimy, it kind of pulls you out a little. Now, it is cool to see each main characters "story", and it is rather engaging, but the story as a whole is just a little hard to swallow. There are also some, how to put it, inconsistencies with some of the characters. Not that much, but enough for me to notice. Anyway, you can do a lot worse than this, but there are better alternatives out there too. At the moment I got a thing for these kinds of movies, cops, gangsters, corruption, the works, and I think "Street Kings" is a way better movie. Although not totally the same. "Training Day" is also an obvious pick. And I like "Sabotage" too.

Brooklyn's Finest (2009): Dir: Antoine Fuqua / Cast: Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes, Lili Taylor: Excellent cop drama thriller about image. It follows three distinctive cops who are poised to go the wrong directions. Richard Gere plays a veteran officer of 32 years who is a week away from retirement but hates his job. His only friend seems to be a prostitute. He guzzles liquor in the morning and forces himself to undertake the daily tasks, which includes rookie training. During one of his down moments he is redeemed when he comes across a sex dungeon where three women are held prisoner. Ethan Hawke plays an officer who is married and has two children and twins on the way. He murders drug dealers and steals the money to pay for a home for his family. Unlike Gere who will find redemption, Hawke further falls from grace until ultimate consequence take effect. Don Cheadle plays an undercover officer who yearns for a desk job. He is promised such if he sets up a criminal friend who just got out of prison. When he decides against the setup it is too late and he learns what true law corruption is. Wesley Snipes plays a criminal whom Cheadle is reluctant to bring down due to a past friendship. This is one of the best performances by Snipes who is not guilty, but deemed guilty only by law officials. Lili Taylor plays Hawke's wife who is pregnant with twins and worried about their living conditions. Directed with insight by Antoine Fuqua who previously made Training Day. The film examines the flaws of these officers and the duties they are assigned to fulfil. Score: 10 / 10

David Ayer probably wishes he wrote this movie instead of going on to do butcher an amazing James Elroy story and turn it into the painfully interesting Street Kings.Brooklyn's Finest is dark, gritty and brutal. The opening scene is the biggest indication. You get character development, chatting and not going into plot and what is going to happen next and then you get a bullet through the skull. This shows you what you're in for. Story with violence driving it.The three main cops (Gere, Hawke, and Cheadle) are vastly different from each other. Gere plays a veteran pushing retirement who drinks away his past and only adds to his pain and has a vice that would he perfect for the vice squad. Hawke plays a very Denzel- in-Training Day-like character, the major difference is that Hawke's character rationalizes his actions as a means to better his family life. Cheadle is probably the least corrupt of the three and is the character with the larger moral conflict. The three do not ever work together once throughout the film and their paths cross at multiple occasions but mainly in the finale.Wesley Snipes is amazing here. His character is very reminiscent of Niño from New Jack City, but much more grounded and less neo-noir. Wesley makes a very good bad guy and the way he stares at characters commands fear and respect. Ellen Barkin in a small role is very much an amazing ice queen who isn't afraid to tell you to your face she will blackmail you as she is in bed with you.Antoine Fuqua had amazing success with Training Day and since has been really been receiving underrated praise for his direction. Tears of the Sun and Shooter were films that I enjoyed fully. His style is almost homage like. Crane shots, medium shots, very little tracking, and cut-backs. It works because it helps tell the story and show reactions. Fuqua has an amazing talent for using brutal violence and not being shy about it. Bullets penetrate and exit a body with blood spurting out, but it isn't to a "shock value" effect as much as just to emphasize the brutality of the story.Story-wise the "separate stories that finally intersect" is used well here as these are three unique characters with their own unique story. The ending is somewhat shocking and predictable, but it leaves you satisfied. If I may be so bold, it is almost a commentary for racial tension that many New Yorkers exists within the NYPD and the racism that is very much there as well.Unlike Street Kings, Brooklyn's Finest doesn't type cast nor does it miscast it's actors. Everyone plays their roles perfectly, and Richard Gere gives his darkest performance ever.If you enjoyed Training Day and wanted more, this is for you.