Capsule Film Reviews #67: Street Kings 2: Motor City and The Big Bang.

Street Kings 2: Motor City (2011)
Starring: Ray Liotta; Shawn Hatosy; Linda Boston; Ele Bardha; Kevin Chapman; Clifton Powell; Tiren Jhames; Inbar Lai; Gordon Michaels; Jack Moore.
Directed by: Chris Fisher.
Colour/92 Minutes/NR

This is the direct-to-video sequel to the original theatrical film about dirty cops, starring Keanu Reeves, and the screenplay was written by James Ellroy. All of that is gone, and now we have a film about dirty cops, this time set in Detroit. Ray Liotta was part of an undercover squad attempting to bust a major drug ring. The deal went bad, he was shot, and here we are years later with Liotta disabled and playing the part of an anti-crime mascot for appearances at elementary schools. One of his former partners is killed on the job and a young cop, played by Shawn Hatosy, is tasked with the investigation. Liotta is paired with him. Cue the usual old cop vs. young cop stuff. More of Liotta's old squad are killed. Cue the typical young cop finding out that the old cop is hiding stuff from him, and hey, let's blow the whole mystery 45 minutes into the story and run on a revenge autopilot plot for the rest of the film. That's Street Kings 2. When it's not on autopilot, it's illogical and dumb. It's not the worst film of this type I've seen, but a tubby, unmotivated Liotta brings nothing to the table here, and why the hell do I care to watch this when it's obvious Liotta is the killer? This doesn't live up to the original film, and the original wasn't exactly setting the world on fire. You want a better dirty cop film starring Liotta? Go find Narc from 2002. Avoid. Abort.

The Big Bang (2011)
Starring: Antonio Banderas; Thomas Kretschmann; William Fichtner; Sienna Guillory; Delroy Lindo; Robert Ernie Lee; James Van Der Beek; Robert Maillet; Snoop Dogg; Rebecca Mader; Autumn Reeser; Sam Elliott; Jimmi Simpson.
Directed by: Tony Krantz
Colour/101 Minutes/R

Antonio Banderas is Ned Cruz, a private detective who finds himself being interrogated by some hot-headed detectives, who want to get to the bottom of the murders connected with his latest job. A former boxer and ex-con, Anton 'The Pro' Protopov (Robert Maillet, an ex-pro wrestler who was best known as Kurrgan in the WWF) was serving a life sentence for murder, when he was suddenly released after someone else admitted to the crime. He is now seeking the love of his life, a stripper who wrote him love letters while he was behind bars, and is sitting on a cache of diamonds. Cruz, of course, finds that things are much more complicated than they seem. He must wade through various odd characters as he searches for a women he finds himself falling for as well. Some of the people he talks to drop like flies. Of note, there is an eccentric billionaire conducting atomic fusion experiments with an underground proton collider, in an attempt to find the "God particle" (Sam Elliott); a disgraced actor (James Van Der Beek); a nympho physics freak, who wants to be there when the collider comes online (Autumn Reeser); and a porn director who stars in his own films (Snoop Dogg). The Big Bang is a nice little love letter to noir films of the past, but it manages to add its own little twists to the formula, and it has a great cast, who all manage to make the most of their parts, big or small. Don't get me wrong: there's nothing really new here, but as long as it's done well, does it matter that much? I'd say no. Banderas reminds the viewer that he's actually a really good actor when he's not wasting his talent on Zorro films, and he carries this film well, even if he's sort of miscast here. The film ends with the required, but well-done twists in the plot. A lot of people die. Autumn Reeser gets naked. You could do much worse. Worth renting.