REELGUY'S DVD REVIEW: "Brooklyn’s Finest" pulls you in and tears your heart out.

You’ve got to love a morality tale without any clear or easy answers. That gives actors the opportunity to "act the hell" out of their roles and give these characters real-life dimension. That’s exactly what happens in Antoine Fuqua’s "Brooklyn’s Finest," it is an actor’s showcase on the mean streets of New York. And what a collection of actors in a smaller budgeted film: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and a respectable return to the big leagues for Wesley Snipes. Fuqua has dredged the underbelly of police departments before with his modern classic "Training Day" and equally finds his groove in this film. The movie is a slow-burn and not for those with short attention spans, but the pay-off in the end is worth the wait.

Three police officers in Brooklyn live three different stories within the confines of the movie. The mastery of the plot and the Fuqua’s direction is that while the officers’ paths occasionally cross, these are actually three different short stories woven into one. Gere is Eddie, a cop reaching retirement within the week and not looking to be heroic or "get himself killed" right before earning his pension. This role is a completely different kind for Gere, since Eddie is a shell of a man who lacks the self-assured confidence Gere seems to bring to every other role. Cheadle plays Tango, an undercover cop that is getting too close to the drug-dealers and killers that he interacts with everyday. When Caz (Snipes), an inmate from the slammer who once saved Tango’s life, is released and back on the streets, Tango becomes torn between his oath to his job and a debt to a friend. Hawke as Sal is a role-reversal from the part he played as the good, rookie cop in "Training Day." Here, Hawke gets to be the corrupt cop on the take who steals money from the dealers he arrests. Sal also has children and a sick wife, and he needs the money to move them away from the city--more money than he makes as a cop.

All four actors bring their A-game in this film, expanding their characters into real people with real personalities and problems. Every imperfection is balanced off against a positive personality trait, making these characters truly human. The intertwining of the stories at the end, along with each character’s eventual fate, is inspired filmmaking by a master director. Fuqua proves that "Training Day" was not a fluke with another incredible police drama that pulls you in and tears your heart out. An essential rental.

Rated R for bloody violence throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language.