What's it about: The LAPD scene by night is a hellhole. Or so, director David Ayer will have you believe. Our story begins with Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), a cop who's still aching from the death of his adulterous wife.

We see himu00a0 downing airport bottles of vodka before a set-up. Once done and on rescuing a couple of kidnap victims, he plants evidence and makes it look like he saved the day at risk to his life. Of course, this guy is only the brawns.

The brains behind the operation is his ambitious slimebag of a boss, Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker). The Vice City quad has its own bunch of rotten apples, just that our hero doesn't seem to know who they are.

After an ex-partner riles him over racist comments, he just happens to be at the scene of a crime where his one-time friend is gunned down in cold blood. Guilty over having not done a thing to help, he seeks redemption by seeking out the killers. Does he find the bad guys? Should he?u00a0u00a0

What's hot: The cars in this film have a character of their own and ably reflect the personalities of their owners. A few big music industry names make an appearance here (The Game, Common). The film, by and large, is entertaining.

The film is shot quite well. The background score is catchy and blends right in with the narrative. Of the cast, Forest Whitaker drives up the dry script up a few notches with a superb performance. He completely overshadows Keanu Reeves, whom I will reserve comment for, in the next paragraph.u00a0