We don’t see films like Street Kings too much anymore- solid little crime thrillers that aren’t overly pretentious or overly cheesy, and sit nicely somewhere in the very entertaining middle. With types like Keanu Reeves, Forrest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Common, Chris Evans, Jay Mohr, and even Cedric the Entertainer free to chew as much scenery as they could fit in their mouths, the film was dense with fun and was fixed the the chassis of a well-composed corrupt LA cop story by Kurt Wimmer. A few years later and we know have Street Kings 2: Motor City about to hit Blu-ray and DVD on April 19th, with a synopsis that runs as follows-

Street Kings 2: Motor City moves the action to Michigan and explores the world of dirty cops on the violent streets of Detroit. Marty Kingston (Liotta) is an undercover narcotics detective who is shot and barely survives a drug bust gone wrong to save the life of his partner. When his partner is killed by a masked gunman four years later, Marty must team up with the hotheaded homicide detective Dan Sullivan (Hatosy) to investigate a string of brutal cop murders and hunt down the cop killer. The investigation that ensues is shrouded in deception and loaded with plot twists that question the line between the rules of law and justice.

Detroit is a perfect place to tell a story like this as the city has found itself in a crisis that troubles its culture and identity right along with its economy. You can feel the turmoil and the decay and the hope for something better pulsing through the city, as I found out when I visited last year to spend an evening on the set of Street Kings 2. If the production manages to capture even a small portion of that energy in the film, then it will be a fine backdrop for a seedy story of corruption. Street Kings 2 was directed by Chris Fisher, who has a solid portfolio of TV work, and whose last feature-length film was S. Darko. I have no doubt he was thankful for the textured backdrop against which he got to work.

In any event, CHUD has two exclusive images from the film, which you can check out below and click to see larger.

You can also check out the trailer below, and look for more info when the discs are up for pre-order.

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