In "Street Kings," Keanu Reeves plays jaded bad boy cop Tom Ludlow. This LAPD detective is about as hard-edged as they come (at least he would be if it wasn't for Reeves' inherent likable placidity). From the off, he's kicking down doors and wasting entire gangs in gratuitous action set pieces that border on comedy in their fetishization of violent death. Ludlow isn't entirely reprehensible, however. He possesses enough redeeming qualities that audiences can root for him as he unwittingly discovers just how corrupt the LAPD can get (it's a lot, it's very corrupt).
And it appears everyone outside of the U.S. has been doing just that, rooting for Reeves' tortured LA cop as he navigates the criminal underworld and fends off an internal affairs investigation. According to FlixPatrol, "Street Kings" was the third most watched movie globally for August 24, 2023, and enjoyed particular popularity on South America's west coast, where it was the number one most watched film in Chile and Peru.
It might be sitting at just 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, but David Ayer and James Ellroy's collaboration certainly seems to have proven a hit with streaming audiences. But then, notorious flop "The Snowman" also experienced a similar revival when it hit Netflix earlier this year. Still, "Street Kings" is no "Snowman." Ayer's direction might be overwrought at times, but the film is at least consistently entertaining, with some decent twists that you'll probably see coming but which at least keep you watching to see if you were right.
