At the Movies with Fatwayne

Oh my! If this is the best Brooklyn has to offer, may the Lord have mercy on us! This film has very little to give us in the way of characters to admire or otherwise care about. It is a dismal story of three characters on their way to nowhere and going there in one heck of a fast lane. Unfortunately for them, they all arrive at their destinations (fates) at the same time with disastrous consequences. This is a brooding story featuring people who represent the dregs of humanity.

The stars are all accomplished actors and it is a pity that they agreed to participate in this brutal movie. Richard Gere portrays Officer Eddie Dugan who is a veteran cop just days away from his retirement. He is reticent to take any chances at this late stage of his career. He is also totally lost and verges on the cusp of suicide.  Then we have Don Cheadle (Clarence “Tango” Butler) who is a undercover cop working the drug beat. He wants out since he is becoming accustomed to the life and is making friends. He needs to get away from his undercover assignment and move up to a promotion and a desk job. Ethan Hawke (Det. Sal Procida) is a cop and a man who is desperate to offer his family a better life at just about any cost. He is a man who is blind to the blessings that he has. Wesley Snipes (Casanova “Caz” Phillips) is Tango’s target but also his friend. Caz is a brutal drug dealer who the police want to bust. Ellen Barkin plays the tough as nails federal agent (Smith) who is interested only in her career and is the control for undercover agent Tango. Their fates are intertwined and will come to a concussive ending when they all meet in the disappointing conclusion of the film.

If you have any familiarity with me by way of my past reviews, you know that I judge a film by the way I feel upon exiting the theater. When I left this viewing I felt depressed and badly in need of a shower to wash all of the filth off me! Mankind has much more to offer than this pitiful portrayal of man at his lowest moral strata.

Rated    -  R  -

Quotes from Brooklyn’s Finest

Fatwayne’s Rating    -       -