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Keanu Reeves leads the charge in Street Kings, as an LA cop wrestling with his conscience. Either that or he's just squinting in the sunlight - it's hard to tell. Anyhow, sunglasses would've come in handy as he misses the shades of grey pivotal to the story by James Ellroy. The novelist behind LA Confidential offers another damning portrayal of the city's police department, but there are few surprises, and even if there were, you wouldn't be able to tell from Reeves' expression.

For starters he doesn't have the ragged look needed for the character of veteran cop Tom Ludlow, known for shooting first and asking questions later. Internal Affairs also have a few questions, posed in a politely menacing way by our very own Hugh Laurie, who turns up the heat when his police informant is gunned down with Ludlow on the scene. Ludlow sets out to clear his name, but the real investigation centres on his controversial approach to work, and especially his strongly-held belief that the end can justify the means, however brutal.

"MONOTONOUS PERFORMANCE"

Ellroy's script carefully weighs up the pros and cons, building tension in the first half at least, and director David Ayer (who wrote the similarly-themed Training Day) pays as much mind to the quieter moments as he does to the bloody violence. Sadly, all this is at odds with Reeves' monotonous performance. "He bleeds blue!" insists Forest Whitaker (doing the obligatory teeth-gnashing bit as Police Captain). Chances are, though, the blue stuff is only the antifreeze liquid that keeps the star from seizing up completely. As he probes deeper into the case, the story becomes increasingly clunky and implausible. Last-minute revelations emerge screaming from around the corner like squad cars you heard coming half-an-hour ago, and it all ends with a dull thud instead of a crash wallop. Long after you've stopped caring, it's finally over and out.

Street Kings is out in the UK on 18th April 2008.