Blu-Ray Review: ‘Street Kings 2’ Makes Original Look Like Masterpiece

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CHICAGO – 2008’s “Street Kings” may not have been a critical darling or commercial smash but it’s the kind of action film that surely did real well on Blu-ray and DVD. And it’s a movie I happen to think was underrated in its balls-to-the-wall chronicle of police corruption and take-no-prisoners style. So, I was curious when a straight-to-DVD sequel starring Ray Liotta and Shawn Hatosy popped up. I’m here to warn you against the same curiosity. This is a total waste of time.

Blu-Ray Rating: 1.5/5.0

“Street Kings 2” is a sequel completely in name only. Clifton Powell appears in both films and both deal with corrupt cops, but this is nearly as ludicrous a follow-up as the awful “S. Darko,” a semi-sequel to “Donnie Darko.” Wait, you say that was directed by the same guy? Yes, Chris Fisher is apparently carving his own unique niche — direct-to-DVD sequels that make the original look like a masterpiece. This is nowhere near as horrendous as “S. Darko,” which was simply unwatchable, but it’s still a waste of time.

Shawn Hatosy, underrated on the fantastic TNT series “Southland,” stars as a Detroit cop named Dan Sulllivan. He gets drawn into a web of lies when he is asked to investigate the death of an undercover cop. He’s paired with the dead officer’s suspicious former partner, veteran cop Marty Kingston (Ray Liotta). While Sullivan is trying to solve the case, it becomes clearer that Kingston has a lot to hide.

Street Kings 2 was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on April 19, 2011
Photo credit: Fox Home Video

Loaded with so many cliches that it sinks under their weight, “Street Kings 2” simply isn’t interesting. There are a few action scenes (including a shoot-out on a People Mover train) but the piece is surprisingly slow. Most of it involves shots of Hatosy figuring out that he’s sinking into some pretty dark corners of the police force. But we’ve seen this a hundred times before and ninety-nine of them felt more believable.

Hatosy and Liotta do their best but you’d be better off watching “Southland” or revisiting the times when Ray simply had his heart in this kind of material (“Narc,” “Smokin’ Aces”) more completely. He can’t hide the fact that even he’s bored by this material. You will be too.

Special Features:
o Deleted Scenes
o Murder Scene Deconstructions
o Creating a Convincing Cop Story
o An Explosive Opening
o Motor City Setting
o Weapons Check Personality Profile

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]