Brooklyn’s Finest is the latest film from acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua. The movie follows the lives of three New York cops all at different stages of their careers. When watching this film I couldn’t help but think about the movie Avatar. Both movies take familiar and somewhat recycled plot elements, yet they present them in a way that is so engaging that it almost makes them seem fresh. Brooklyn’s Finest is filled with cop cliches but it is so well executed that you can almost overlook many of these familiar elements and appreciate the movie as a whole.
BF follows the lives of three New York cops. Sal (Ethan Hawke) is a family man struggling to make ends meet in his household. When things get tough, he finds himself down a road of corruption from whihc there is not turning back. Eddie (Richard Gere) is the grizzled old veteran cop a week away from retirement who is saddled with a rookie partner for his remaining time on the force. Then there is Tango (Don Cheadle) who has been undercover so long he is losing his sense of identity and the line between who he is and who he is pretending to be is becoming increasingly blurred. Masterfully, all three of these plots intertwine at the end for the film’s climax.
While we’ve all seen similar characters to those mentioned here, the way they are portrayed by the actors is what really makes them so effective in this film. The entire cast does a great job making their roles believable. Another bright spot in the cast is the return of Wesley Snipes as Caz, a former drug dealer who was just released from prison. This is Snipes first role on the big screen since…Blade Trinity. It is nice to see him back in a major movie flexing his acting chops. Snipes is one of those rare actors who is an excellent physical presence as well as a commanding personallity. My only gripe is that his role in this film is fairly limited, but his interactions with Don Cheadle are some of the more interesting scenes of the entire film.
Overall, this is a pretty good flick. It doesn’t really break any new ground in terms of originality, but it is a well written and well acted film that is entertaining throughout.
