It is a well-known fact, as of now, Martin Scorsese’s film “The Departed” has the top spot for gritty hardcore police films.  But since 2006 Antoine Fuqua has been working on his next real cop movie that should blow the audiences socks off.  The problem is “The Departed” had so much depth and more than enough character to go around, and “Brooklyn’s Finest” just does not deliver.

Fuqua did a good job recruiting for “Brooklyn’s Finest” with a cast more diverse than “Training Day.”  But the problem is the characters don’t have the depth the plot requires.  Gritty cop movies require more character depth than that of regular cop movies because the characters are so much more complex than that of the average punch line spitting sidekicks of past cop movies.

The cast has the talent with actors like Wesley Snipes, Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere and even Denver’s own Don Cheadle.  Snipes is making his first major film debut since “Blade Trinity” in 2004.  Snipes is showing the audience his roots with an old-fashion rough-neck villain character like past roles from “New Jack City,” and “Demolition Man.”

Although Snipes may be back, the cast member who sticks out like a sore thumb is Richard Gere.  Gere is playing soon to be retired NYPD officer who has nothing but regrets from a career of letting life pass him by.

Ethan Hawke, on the other hand, plays the opposite. Hawke plays an officer who has everything to lose but pursues perpetrators as if he has nothing to live for.

The movie comes off as a cross between “Crash” with a similar plot and “The Departed,” with plenty of amusing profanity.  What makes this movie even less entertaining than even “Street Kings” with Keanu Reeves is how much it drags you along through pointless plot points that don’t sway audiences either for or against the characters.  All the characters are so coarse audiences are unable to connect with any of them and are forced to simply watch and wait — then the movie ends.

The only point audiences are able to pickup from this movie that makes viewers reflect on is:  How do you treat life when you’re worth more dead than alive?

For a different take on the film, visit McMillan’s Take: Doing right thing easier said than done