Product Details

• Actors: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes
• Directors: Antoine Fuqua
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Overture Films/Anchor Bay Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: July 6, 2010
• Run Time: 133 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (153 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0034G4OSG
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,230 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Brooklyn's Finest" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Fans of the grit of HBO's The Wire, as well as of the mean-streets story intersection plot of Crash, will find a lot to like in the intense crime drama Brooklyn's Finest. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) with a sure hand, Brooklyn's Finest follows three NYPD cops who come from very different places (geographically and personally) as their lives, and the compromises they have made daily to coexist with the mean streets of Brooklyn, dovetail to a climax that will have viewers on the edge of their seats. Fuqua has assembled a stellar cast here, including Richard Gere, a veteran cop just a week from retirement; the always amazing Don Cheadle, an undercover officer whose loyalties to the force may be compromised by his growing loyalties to the groups he's infiltrating; and the film's true revelation, Ethan Hawke, a young corrupt cop whose morals make the stomach turn, though Hawke's performance is nuanced and riveting. Supporting cast members include Wesley Snipes as a badass gangster whom even the police have second thoughts about messing with. Other great performances are turned in by Vincent D'Onofrio, whose wooden delivery works here to make his character all the more menacing; Lili Taylor; and a ravishing, world-weary Ellen Barkin. The action is propelled along by the great performances, the excellent cinematography, Fuqua's deft direction, and the moody score by Brazilian composer Marcelo Zarvos. If the plot is a little far-fetched, even for a crime drama, the stellar performances more than make up for it, making Brooklyn's Finest one of Fuqua's, and certainly Hawke's, finest.

Product Description

Something of a genre homecoming, Antoine Fuqua's latest film once again finds him delving into the gritty, brutal realm of cops and crooks—as he did in Training Day. Tango is an undercover officer on a narcotics detail that forces him to choose between duty and friendship. Having been to hell and back, he wants out, but the powers that be won't let him quit. Family-man Sal is a detective tempted by greed and corruption. He can barely make ends meet, and now his wife has an illness that threatens the life of their unborn twins. Eddie is nearing retirement age and has long since lost his dedication to his job as a cop. He wakes up every morning trying to come up with a reason to go on living...and he can't think of one. Fate brings the three men to the same Brooklyn housing project as each takes the law into his own hands. Crosscutting between multiple subplots, Brooklyn's Finest unfolds violently and passionately as coiled, constantly roving cinematography contributes a measure of unease to the underworld action.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding NY Police Drama March 13, 2010

By Terence Allen VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

"Brooklyn's Finest" is a remarkably entertaining and well-acted police drama from director Antoine Fuqua, who also directed the also outstanding police drama, "Training Day."

The film focuses on three very different Brooklyn cops over the course of a week. Richard Gere plays Eddie, a hardened veteran just a week away from retirement. He has nightmares, he's separated from his wife, and he's just biding his time until his retirement. Ethan Hawke, the hero of "Training Day, plays a narcotics detective desperate to finance a new home to give a better life to his wife, children, and twins on the way. Don Cheadle plays Tango, an undercover cop, who is so deep undercover that he forgets who he really is, and to make matters worse, he now has to setup a high-level drug dealer who saved his life while he was undercover in prison.

These examples of Brooklyn's Finest are all living on the edge, and they all go over the edge one way or another. The acting from these three is superb. Their performances along with Wesley Snipes as the drug dealer, Brian F. O'Byrne as Hawkes' best friend and partner, Shannon Kane as Eddie's hooker with a heart of gold, and a number of others, make this a very enjoyable, but powerfully sad and tragic film.

27 of 31 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Cop Drama With A Great Cast March 8, 2010

By Dr. Feel

Format:DVD

Brooklyn's Finest is about three cops working in different units in the NYC police department, who struggle with the perils of the crime-infested streets, particularly the drug trafficking operations.

Ethan Hawke delivers probably his best performance to date. He plays Sal Procida, a NYPD narcotics officer who's a devout Catholic with mostly good intentions, but is plagued with his own demons as he chases after ruthless drug dealers while struggling to support more kids at home than he can afford on a cop's salary.

Don Cheadle plays the role of "Tango", an ambitious undercover cop working double-duty on a drug sting operation. He's burned out and wants out of the game before it's too late, but he's in too deep and the powers that be on the corrupt police force won't let him escape. Ellen Barkin plays the hard-ass boss lady in charge of the sting operation. She has Cheadle by the balls and couldn't care less about his survival.

Richard Gere plays Officer Dugan, a washed-out, suicidal veteran cop who is just a week away from retirement. His goal (aside from enjoying the services of a certain "professional" whom he likes more than he should) is to maintain his sanity, keep his nose clean and keep his rookie cop partner under control for just a few more days so that he can cash in on his pension with a little pride. But as it turns out, his last week on the job is probably the worst of his entire career.

Wesley Snipes returns to the big screen as the smart, ruthless drug lord "Caz" running the streets of Brooklyn. He's been in the game for too long as well and appears to be losing his "street cred", as he doesn't know who to trust anymore.... His most trusted partner however, happens to be Tango who, unbeknownst to Caz, is working undercover to bust his operation.

Brooklyn's Finest tells a graphic story about each of these characters and the double lives and personal struggles that each one has to deal with on a daily basis. All three are "fine" cops in their own way, but the demands of their dangerous jobs, in a corrupt world, gets the best of them. Neither cop knows the other one, but their fate is ultimately intertwined.

This movie starts out quite slow but it eventually progresses into a very good film. This is a serious cop drama that is very raw in its portrayal of crime and corruption on the mean urban streets. It contains certain elements of other movies, such as "Training Day", "New Jack City", "American Gangster" and "Crash" all meshed together into one powerful movie.

The casting and acting are superb, but the story leaves nothing to the imagination and exploits stereotypes to the max. Highly recommended, nonetheless.

WARNINIG: Contains graphic sexual content, extreme violence and profanity. Not for the easily offended! Read more ›

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fans of "The Wire" Will Enjoy Brooklyn's Finest March 5, 2010

By Compay TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

It's been almost a decade since Director Antoine Fuqua treated us to Training Day, and Brooklyn's Finest proves that he still has the goods. While not destined to become the fan classic that Denzel helped deliver, Brooklyn's Finest offers up an excellent cast and an explosive ending.

Don Cheadle, as an undercover cop, gives a terrific performance while continuing to prove himself as one of Hollywood's most underrated actors. It was also amazing to watch Ethan Hawke as a corrupt officer, but unlike Training Day's Alonzo, you really feel his vulnerability. He's thrown into a pressure cooker early into the film, with tension so real that you can almost touch it. If you're a diehard fan of HBO's The Wire like myself, you're going to love the casting of Michael K. Williams (Omar Little) and Hassan Johnson (Wee-Bey) as Brooklyn dealers, and Isiah Whitlock Jr (Senator Clay "Sheeee*t" Davis) as a city investigator. Wesley Snipes gives a great New Jack City throwback performance as drug kingpin Caz. Richard Gere plays the role of a weathered cop to perfection, despite being handed a script filled with one too many police flick cliches.

Brooklyn's Finest starts especially slow, but really picks up steam past the film's halfway mark. The cinematography and directing are both on point, and Fuqua's use of lighting is excellent. Brazilian composer Marcelo Zarvos (Sin Nombre) did a great job with the score, and the rest of the soundtrack fits perfectly (particularly the Busta Rhymes track during a stash house raid). And like The Wire, police bureaucracy is exposed, corruption is revealed, and the streets take no prisoners.

The film gets four stars instead of five, simply because there are one too many cliches, and the "Crash" concept isn't anything new.... But while the plot is at times implausible and not terribly exciting, the intertwining of characters leading up to the film's conclusion is grim and powerful. Not the best film of 2010, but don't miss this one if you enjoy The Wire. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, Worth a Rental at Least August 19, 2010

By David Girod VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"Brooklyn's Finest" is chock full of great actors, Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke...and with that many names attached the film promises to be pretty good. And that's all it is...pretty good, but not great.

Brought to you by the same guy behind "Training Day", "Brooklyn's Finest" suffers from a "been-there-done-that" feel. The basic storyline follows 3 police officers and how they cope with the day-to-day grind of the job, and how some bow under the pressures where the only difference between the crooks and cops is the uniform.

"Brooklyn's Finest" tackles corruption in the police department, racism, class warfare and a variety of today's ills. And I think that's where it's problem lies. Instead of telling us 1 story really well, it tries to tackle too much and because it introduces so many storylines and elements, none are given the depth they should have received.

Still, this isn't a bad film, it's definately worth a rental, but I don't recommend a purchase as I don't this there is much re-watch value with the film.