I vaguely remembered Brooklyn’s Finest when I watched it upon initial release in 2009. Since then, I have seen it two more times, and each time I was left wondering what drew me to watch it another time.
The first thing that I like about the film is the setting, Brooklyn. I also really like the cast, lead by Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, and Don Cheadle. After those two things, this is just your standard cop movie with some pretty messed up storylines. As each singular story angle unfolds, they end up intertwining for the film’s finale.
When I say this is a standard cop movie, I mean the corrupt cops meet their demise, and the good cops end up doing bad things to ruin everything. Amazingly a handful of the main characters won’t make it to the end credits, but you wouldn’t expect any less since this is the NYPD we are talking about.
Brooklyn’s Finest doesn’t do enough to stand out in a jam-packed genre with repetitive stories. NYPD is one of the most famous departments globally, and there is really every type of personality behind the badge. It’s a tough job protecting one of the largest cities in the world, so the stress is bound to break down even the best cops. This film doesn’t sugar coat anything and digs deep into the dark side of the job.
There are so many other movies with better stories and characters, and there are far worse selections you could watch. Brooklyn’s Finest is just another movie with cookie-cutter characters and storylines. 5/10
Ten Stars or Less 