Brooklyn’s Finest Review: Far From Brooklyn’s Finest
March 10, 2010 by Bilal Mian
Filed under feature overlay, Movies
What do you get when you take the director of the critically acclaimed movie Training Day, Antoine Fuqua, and top actors Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes? You get the recipe for an amazing cop movie….. That’s what I hoped for when I went to see Brooklyn’s Finest this weekend. Sadly those expectations were not met.
Brooklyn’s Finest follows the lives of three police officers working in New York. We have Eddie (Richard Gere) an old washed up cop a few days away from retirement who no one seems to appreciate, Sal (Ethan Hawke) who is trying to make ends meet to get his family a new home and help his ailing wife, and Tango (Don Cheadle) who has spent so much time working undercover that his past life has fallen apart. The narrative of the film pushes the lines of good cop/bad cop. Eddie sees a helpless woman be taken away as he arrives home one day, but does not do anything since he knows it best for him to stay quiet and to himself. Sal needs money to move his family out of a mold-infested house that is killing his wife so he starts taking money from raids on drug dealer locations. Tango feels as if he is losing his way in the criminal world as his loyalty to Caz (Wesley Snipes), the crime leader on the streets, becomes more important to him than the undercover case he is working on. Following the three stories, the film diverts the attention of the audience as it goes back and forth between each. By crosscutting between scenes, anticipation is brought up, but ultimately it became a major problem for me.
I spent the majority of the first half of the movie wondering what the point was and where it was going. You have Eddie spending elongated scenes with a prostitute, which honestly lead to more of an awkward time in the theater than a fun experience. To be honest I really didn’t care much for Eddie like the rest of the world in Brooklyn’s Finest. His story carries many themes, lessons, and is the most tragic, but in the end it is boring to watch. However, I can’t say the same for the story for Sal and Tango. If the movie had followed the story of these two instead, the experience would have been a lot more memorable. While the story was not that great, I can’t say the same for the acting.
The acting in Brooklyn’s Finest is top notch. None of the actors dropped the ball when it came to delivering their lines or bringing out the emotion in their scenes. Out of all the actors I have to say Cheadle delivered the best. He attaches himself to his role so well I couldn’t help but believe he was an actual person struggling with identity crisis. The movie could have followed Cheadle and Snipes alone and it could have be remarkable.
In the end Brooklyn’s Finest suffers from bad pacing and having too much going on. It is not a terrible movie, but it isn’t a great one either. Sadly, this movie is far from Brooklyn’s Finest.
Writer’s Note: Thinking about bringing young ones along with you to the movie? Just a heads up, the movie contains heavy nudity and sex scenes. I honestly would consider thinking twice before bringing someone underage.
I watched the movie last night and I must say it is a pity it was too short as the acting was excellent and that made the movie gripping. and very interesting distribution of roles. I subscribe to the above though that Gere, in the scenes with the prostitutes, although might have add up to the psychological profile of the character , it spoiled my American gigolo image of him.
the only problem with this movie is the end, a kind of “castigo mores”, where you are punished for your wrong doings and are winning, equals alive, for doing good. Too clichee in this respect.
Marcus,
First I’d like to say thanks for a well written and respectful comment. Its rare to see such a thing on the internet now a days.
I actually had no expectations walking in. I also never saw Training Day….(adds to-do list). I try not to compare movies to the others unless it is sequel based. I believe each film should be judged without a comparison to another.
I agree with you that the story is easy to understand and follow, but just as I was being drawn in to one they would cut to the other. I understand it needed to be done, but it wasn’t preferable to me. Again thats my opinion and I’m glad you mentioned it.
Oh I agree with you on the acting. Gere, Cheadle, and Hawke brought it full force. I didn’t mean to disrespect any of the other actors, but Cheadle’s performance was my favorite. Like you mentioned Gere did a terrific job with everything. Looking back at it, his performance as Eddie makes me believe that is who he is. Oscar worthy, hmm possibly, but the year is still young.
I think I might have cut out one of my thoughts in the edit, but I felt that this movie would have made a great book. There are many themes and the characters are very deep.
The scenes with the hooker were great for character development, but I felt the sex scene itself to be very long and uncomfortable. It didn’t help either have my uncle sitting next to me lol O_o.
Thanks Again Marcus for your comment. I hope to see more comments from you in the future.
- Bilal
Just saw this movie. Will be writing a post on this.
Perhaps you should mention a “great cop movie” so that we can see by which standards you are judging this film. I watched the film not expecting “Training Day” part 2, but the same attention to detail, emotion, and real locations that Fuqua is known for. I feel you, at times you wonder where it’s complex plot is going, but if it was simple and easy to understand you most likely would brand it “predictable”. I feel you on your review and your entitled to your own opinion, don’t get me wrong. But I personally am wondering if Gere might be oscar worthy, and I loved the scenes with him and the hooker ever heard of a movie called “Pretty Woman” it seemed poetic for Fuqua to give his take on the man who wants to save a hooker. Further more, yes Eddie seems a bit boring, but he even solidifies that trait himself while training new recruits by telling them your heading to your pension keep your head down and mouth shut. Later we see this ideal is somewhat a “fine” quality that the other officers highlighted lack, given Gere is seen as sort of the last man standing and is a hero for saving a missing girl.
Now Tango was sort of tough to get into, especially next to Wesley Snipes, but in the end we accept his extreme choices because he’s asked to “take his life back” and indeed he takes back the life he built as an undercover. All of which beautifully shows the struggle of real life under cover or detective work. All of this again is brought home in Ethan Hawks character by showing the needs of having a family in tow, and the almost daily temptation to cross a line to get what you need to survive. In the end maybe Tango and Sal fail where Eddie had true courage, or in this case Eddie had the tools that Sal and Tango lacked.
Sure it’s no best picture, but I really think you need to give credit to an amazing group of actors, and an in depth character study of a world some of us don’t care to see or know. Further more Fuqua’s form is shown to be refined and complex, if not perfect yet.So this makes me think in a way this isn’t that cop movie your looking for maybe its a movie about intention and courage.
much respect,
Marcus Collar
Napa, CA