Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Brooklyn's Finest Blu-ray Movie Review

Another winner from one of Hollywood's best directors.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 9, 2010

Righter and wronger.

If someone were to make a short list of the most under-appreciated filmmakers working in Hollywood today, Antoine Fuqua's name would have to be among the first listed. His films work in a compelling middle ground between tight and electric action and captivatingly deep thematic elements that together reveal his uncanny ability to craft pictures that find just the right balance between slick action and meaningful drama. While The Replacement Killers and Shooter rely more on taught action, his three finest films -- Tears of the Sun, Training Day, and Brooklyn's Finest -- achieve that desirable balance, these pictures a showcase of Fuqua's gifted ability to blend purpose into violence and craft movies that linger with a haunting resonance long after their conclusions. Brooklyn's Finest isn't Fuqua's best -- that honor remains with Training Day -- but it's quite possibly his most complex and disquieting picture. It's another movie, like Training Day, about the fallibility of those sworn to uphold the law and the sweeping repercussions of their actions, the picture supported by impeccable direction and a collection of actors that bring several complexly-woven characters to seamless life.

Life was so much easier when I bought companies and sold them off in pieces.

Within the New York Police Department's 65th precinct lies a high-crime area where the separation between law and order and the criminal element is often wiped away by the blood and tears that soak the landscape. Brooklyn's Finest tells the story of three law enforcement officers working the streets and each with their own personal problems and agendas that have forever altered not only their perception of Brooklyn and the NYPD but have also drastically reshaped their personal ideals and values. Twenty-two-year veteran Eddie (Richard Gere, Primal Fear) is a week away from retirement. He's also depressed and suicidal, his years on the force having deprived him of energy and vigor; his career is seen as a failure, but he's been selected to break in several rookie officers whom the department has selected to work the 65th precinct. Tango (Don Cheadle, Traitor) is an undercover agent whose loyalties have come into question. His time away from home has him on the brink of divorce, and he admits that his infiltration into the city's criminal element and into the inner-circle of drug kingpin Caz (Wesley Snipes, Rising Sun) has threatened to permanently redefine his allegiances. Sal (Ethan Hawke, Assault on Precinct 13) is a husband and father struggling to make ends meet on his lowly cop salary. His wife is pregnant with twins and a defect in the family's home is making her sick. Sal has resorted to pocketing drug money at the scene of several busts to help pay the bills and afford the new home his wife needs. With the department already on edge and the borough turning on those sworn to protect it, each officer must find their own personal truths through the chaos of the 65th precinct and hope to make it through another day as a member of Brooklyn's finest.

Brooklyn's Finest isn't a movie that's going to change Hollywood's landscape, but it's also well beyond the realm of the "credibly average" fare that so dominates the Tinseltown scene. This is a thematically smart but emotionally bleak and visually dark picture that epitomizes all that's good about the Cops-Gone-Bad sub-genre; it captures a spirit of despair and pain that few other films of this sort can claim while also telling several compelling stories made all the better by some of the better acting to come along to the genre since Fuqua's masterpiece Training Day earned Denzel Washington a Best Actor Oscar and co-star Ethan Hawke a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Indeed, it's the film's impeccable acting -- in support of several compelling characters -- that plays the largest part in making Brooklyn's Finest an instant classic of the Cop movie genre. Hawke's character is easily the film's most engaging, and his performance is its best. In Brooklyn's Finest, he plays a character that seems like a hybrid of his and Washington's in Training Day; he's a cop on the edge, engaged in criminal side activities, but his conscience doesn't allow for him to fall completely off the deep end. His is a disturbing but enthralling arc that leaves the audience both spiteful of and compassionate towards the character, a sign of brilliant acting and even better writing to be sure.

While Brooklyn's Finest enjoys exceptional characterization and praiseworthy acting, the picture also excels as a haunting glimpse into a world ripped apart at the seams that separate loyalty to a code and personal beliefs and needs. Though each of the film's three primary characters have sworn an oath to protect others and uphold the law, they are all victims of their own professions, each one's life having been torn to pieces in some way by their affiliation with the police department. For Eddie, his long service has figuratively drained him of his life force; for Tango, the fine line between both sides of the law has not only blurred, it has completely vanished; and for Sal, the temptations of corruption in light of his personal struggles prove too much to bear. It's no coincidence that some of Brooklyn's Finest's promotional materials resemble a chainsaw blade with its lead characters depicted inside of it; the film is unquestionably about a place and a system that have ripped apart the very fabric of several lives once dedicated to a greater good. It's that dichotomy between light and dark, good and bad, and right and wrong that defines the picture; it's a story of degrees, of "righter" and "wronger," of the idea that in a world that's as dangerous, depressed, uncertain, unlawful, and unjust as this, even those sworn to rid it of its most dangerous and damaging elements cannot escape that which they so admirably attempt to combat.

Brooklyn's Finest Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A strong film-like 1080p transfer makes Brooklyn's Finest quite the looker on Blu-ray. The 2.40:1-framed image boasts wonderfully deep and detailed blacks throughout while also showcasing natural and impressive flesh tones. Fine detail is one of the transfer's many strengths. The urban jungle serves as a palette for the Blu-ray to paint an incredibly handsome picture; Brooklyn springs alive as the 1080p image seemingly captures the texture of every brick and paved street while interior shots are awash in the tiniest of nuances that make this one of more finely-tuned pictures on the market. Additionally, the image captures the lines and pores on every face while showcasing the finest stitches and textures of various styles of clothing. Though Brooklyn's Finest is a somewhat dark picture both thematically and visually, the brighter daytime scenes see no shortage of color; whether adornments on police uniforms, bright-colored clothes, or the many shades seen around the cityscape, the Blu-ray delivers nearly impeccable color reproduction. Only a few unstable color gradations in darker scenes bathed in an unforgiving red light prove a hindrance to an otherwise brilliant and wonderfully filmic Blu-ray transfer from Overture Films.

Brooklyn's Finest Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Brooklyn's Finest arrives on Blu-ray with a high quality PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack that doesn't set a new audio reference standard but does feature sometimes compelling but always positive and crisp audio. Though it excels in delivering perfectly clear and consistently intelligible dialogue through the center channel while offering plenty of environmental effects across the front half of the soundstage, the track lacks a pronounced rear channel element. That's not a detriment to the experience; it's never quite as engaging and seamless as the best of them, but one's ability to become lost in the story isn't negated or lost due to the absence of a more potent surround structure. Additionally, music enjoys pinpoint clarity and smoothness. The track accelerates during several action scenes; a train rumbles through the listening area in one scene and Hip-Hop music muscles its way into the soundstage on several occasions, each accompanied by a potent low end. Gunshots are nicely pronounced and suitably powerful, too. The track delivers a consistently pleasant and spacious experience; while it doesn't offer a seamless 360-degree sound field, it's a solid listen that suits the material very well.

Brooklyn's Finest Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Brooklyn's Finest yields several supplements, the collection headlined by an audio commentary track with Director Antoine Fuqua. Similar to the style of his other commentaries, Fuqua delivers an informed but tonally hushed commentary. He shares plenty of information on a myriad of topics at a leisurely pace, speaking on the purpose behind his style and shots, his characters, shooting locations, the emotional and thematic content of the film, and much more. Fans of the film and director both will greatly enjoy this track. Next up are five featurettes. The first, Chaos & Conflict: The Life of a New York Cop (1080p, 6:49), features cast and crew discussing the three main characters that appear in the film. Boyz N the Real Hood (1080p, 5:48) looks at the importance of shooting in authentic locations around Brooklyn. An Eye For Detail: Director Featurette (1080p, 6:34) looks at the quality, pace, structure, and style of Antoine Fuqua's work. From the MTA to the WGA: Writer Featurette (1080p, 5:16) profiles Brooklyn's Finest first-time screenwriter Michael Martin. The last featurette, Three Cops and a Dealer: Character Profile (1080p, 8:00), looks at the story, its characters, and what the cast brings to each part. Also included is a collection of deleted scenes (1080i, 31:11); the Brooklyn's Finest theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:32); and additional trailers for Spartacus: Blood and Sand, The Crazies, Pandorum, Law Abiding Citizen, and The Ultimate Fighting Championships. Disc two of this set contains an iTunes-friendly digital copy of Brooklyn's Finest. Sampled on a second-generation iPod Touch, the video appears sharp and nicely detailed with good colors, while compression artifacts plague only a few scenes. The audio is suitably spacious and clear, though the action scenes, obviously, lack the heft and power afforded to the track by larger speakers and an uncompressed presentation. Overall, it's suitable for on-the-go viewing.

Brooklyn's Finest Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Brooklyn's Finest is a thematically riveting yet emotionally disheartening picture about the harsh realities of the lives of three NYPD officers, each of whom in some way has seen the luster of the job fade and the pressures on them build inside the dangerous 65th precinct. Antoine Fuqua once again finds a spellbinding middle ground between exciting action and riveting drama in Brooklyn's Finest, his latest picture supported by a stellar cast perfectly playing several challenging and well-written parts. This Starz/Anchor Bay release yields a top-quality 1080p transfer, a solid uncompressed soundtrack, and a fair collection of extras. Genre fans and those appreciative of fine cinema both need to make a date with Brooklyn's Finest. Recommended.