MOVIE REVIEW - Brooklyn's Finest

I love surprises at the box office, and the new cop thriller Brooklyn's Finest is a real nice surprise.

BF is the fictional story of three veteran cops in one of the worst areas of Brooklyn. There is the veteran patrolman (Richard Gere) who is one week from retirement. An undercover cop (Don Cheadle) deep in the drug world. And a third cop (Ethan Hawke) on the anti-drug task force. Their stories in the movie are all unrelated at the outset. Then over the course of this two hour movie their stories slowly, and brilliantly become intertwined. All leading up to an end you won't be able to figure out, and you won't want to anyway.

BF is a movie on a slow burn. It methodically moves along, telling the story skillfully and thoroughly in an easy to follow fashion. The main characters are developed wonderfully, in both the good and bad of each. Even the fringe characters are explained well, as the supporting cast of Will Patton, and Wesley Snipes are well cast and deliver good performances.

BF deals with the pressures that these three cops feel on a daily basis, and what they have to do to survive not only on the job, but in their lives. This movie too, goes deep into the underbelly of an incredibly ugly drug culture and exposes just how awful it can be. This is a serious, heavy drama that is not for the squeamish movie goer. It deals with subjects many would just assume not know about. But if you're really into deep cop drama, Brooklyn's Finest could be your movie.

BF has plenty of violence, shooting, blood, slow death, and is very graphic. Outside of the violence, it deals with several very adult situations, and lifestyles that will not be appetizing to some. Brooklyn's Finest is rated R and well deserved. This is tough matter for many, and way too much for teens or young adults. This is not a movie that sets out to be a good example, and is unashamed of it. That turns out to be its strength in so many ways. It dares to deal with horrible subject matter that does exist in our world, and refuses to water it down for the sake of a box office buck or a lesser rating.

Violence, rough language, death, graphic sex, serious recreational drug usage and corruption. This is Brooklyn's Finest. It makes no apologies, but it keeps you on edge the whole time. This movie is for a select audience who like this kind of movie and willing to go to the streets with it.

Overall, these kind of heavy cop movies are generally not my favorite. But Brooklyn's Finest is frankly, a great story line, fine performances, and thoroughly well told. This may turn out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year. Well done.