Just having Keanu Reeves in the cast doesn't automatically spoil a film.

It doesn't usually help, however, and "Street Kings" could have used plenty of assistance.

Reeves stars as Tom Ludlow, a tough, weathered L.A. cop who operates as part of a special vice squad that bends the laws almost beyond recognition to get the really, really bad guys. Forest Whitaker is Captain Wander, the leader of the group, who has a talent for sweeping the dirt under the carpet.

This sort of police work offends certain people, including Ludlow's ex-partner, who has been spotted chatting up the local internal affairs officer (Hugh Laurie of "House").

That would seem to make the ex-partner's subsequent bloody execution a good thing, but Ludlow becomes a suspect in the case and has to solve it to clear his not-so-good name.

Reeves looks the part and does a good job killing people in some gritty action scenes, but he continues to do what most community theater actors have learned to avoid: reading his lines as if he's reading lines. He just seems completely unnatural -- with his words and gestures -- on way too many occasions.

The talented Whitaker goes in another direction, overacting, as he tries to wrangle every bit that he can out of a jumbled and predictable script. Familiar TV faces John Corbett, Jay Mohr and Amaury Nolasco ("Prison Break") make up the rest of the special squad, while Chris Evans ("Fantastic Four") fares better than anyone as an idealistic young detective who joins forces with the bitter Ludlow.

"Street Kings" features a muddle of crosses and double crosses as it deals with police corruption, but it's obvious almost from the first scene where the film is ultimately going to end up. The journey isn't anywhere close to interesting enough to make up for the predictable conclusion.

Maybe a great lead actor could have made "Street Kings" compelling and worthwhile "¦ Probably not, but we'll never know.

Rental Recommendation: The brilliant "L.A. Confidential" was based on a novel by James Ellroy, who was a co-writer for "Street Kings." Grade: A+.

E-mail Steve Ouellette at:

ouellette1918@gmail.com