Summaries

Synopsis

Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) are a pair of police officers working the urban beat in the city of Bulwark. During a drug bust, the older, more volatile Ridgeman becomes unnecessarily rough with a suspect, using his foot to jam the man's face into a fire escape. They also pour cold water on and mock the suspect's partially-deaf girlfriend. The former act is caught on video, and the two men called before their superior, Lt. Calvert (Don Johnson). Although Ridgeman asks that Lurasetti be spared from any sort of reprisal, Calvert is forced to suspend both men without pay in order to appease the media. With Ridgeman's wife Melanie (Laurie Holden) unable to work due to illness and Lurasetti preparing to propose to his fiancee, the men resolve to use the criminal connections they have developed through their time in law enforcement to make cash that will sustain them until their suspensions are lifted. Through Friedrich (Udo Kier), a wealthy businessman and criminal associate who owes him a favor, Ridgeman gets a lead on a score from Lorentz Vogelman (Thomas Kretschmann).

Meanwhile, recently released ex-con Henry Johns (Tory Kittles), hoping to finance better opportunities for his drug-addicted, prostitute mother and his bright but wheelchair-bound little brother, joins up with his childhood friend Biscuit (Michael Jai White) for a mysterious but lucrative job. Their employer turns out to be Vogelman, who uses them as getaway drivers and lookouts for a bank robbery. Ridgeman and Lurasetti tail Vogelman's crew, quickly identifying the telltale signs of a bank robbery; though Lurasetti considers calling the robbery in, Ridgeman convinces him to allow them to carry out the job before robbing them in turn.

Holding up the bank for a score of gold bullion, Vogelman and his cronies sadistically execute several employees, including Kelly Summer (Jennifer Carpenter), a teller on her first day back from maternity leave. The brutality does not sit well with either Henry or Biscuit, who quickly realize they are likely expendable to Vogelman. Lurasetti is also wracked with guilt over he and Ridgeman's inaction as they tail the robbers to a rendezvous point in the countryside.

As the bank robbers arrive at their checkpoint, Henry and Biscuit turn on them, leading to a shootout in which Biscuit is killed, one of Vogelman's henchman is wounded, and Henry escapes. Ridgeman and Lurasetti arrive, and an extended standoff with the bank robbers ensues. Vogelman blackmails his hostage by threatening her family, having her crawl to the off-duty cops and shoot Lurasetti when his guard is down. Ridgeman kills the hostage, and a dying Lurasetti listens to a voicemail from his girlfriend in which she refused his marriage proposal. Ridgeman finishes off Vogelman and his crew all by himself, but is ambushed by Henry, who recorded a video of Ridgeman killing the hostage as blackmail material. After a brief physical altercation, the two call a truce, agreeing to clean up the crime scene together, bury their friends and split the gold. They cooperate, and the job is nearly done when Ridgeman pulls a gun on Henry, demanding he delete the video he recorded despite Henry's insistence that his word is good. Panicked, Henry pulls his own gun and shoots Ridgeman in self-defense. Henry chastises a dying Ridgeman, but assures him that Ridgeman's family will be taken care of regardless.

Nearly a year later, Henry is shown living in a lavish mansion with his mother and brother. Ridgeman's wife and daughter receive a package in the mail, sent by Henry, containing a cigar box full of gold bullion.