As much a dick-swinging contest as a movie, Street Kings is all hopped on testosterone with nowhere to go. The second directorial effort by Training Day writer David Ayer, it’s another LAPD amorality tale that pits crooked cops against slightly less crooked cops. The category occupied by Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves) is initially easy to gauge since he’s plenty eager to shoot first and ask questions later, a policy that’s kosher with his ambitious superior, Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker). But when Tom ends up in the middle of a robbery that leaves his ex-partner dead, he gets to wondering about what’s really going on in his department.

For all the ammo Tom expends during his quest, Street Kings has little impact. Since the characters’ macho posturing and overwritten dialogue play like fourth-rate James Ellroy, it’s a shock to see Ellroy’s name in the writing credits. Miscasting sinks the rest of the endeavour. Reeves is never plausible as a hardcase no matter how many miniature vodka bottles he knocks back. As for Whitaker, he fared better in a similar role in TV’s The Shield, which boasted a far more compelling take on warfare within the LAPD. When the movie is judged next to its hardboiled brethren, Street Kings’ relentless swaggering just seems like so much overcompensating.