Antoine Fuqua has not been since in the director's chair since Shooter, which starred Mark Wahlberg, back in 2007.
But all that changes this week as he returned to the cop genre of movie for his latest project Brooklyn's Finest, which brings together an impressive cast of Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh a move to New York saw him kick off his career as he got an on set education working as a production assistant on local productions in the city.
It wasn't too long before he was behind the camera himself working on commercials as well as music videos.
he became one of the industry’s most sought after directors, he has helmed videos for Prince, Usher, Stevie Wonder and Toni Braxton.
He won an MTV Award for Best Rap Video and two prestigious Music Video Production honours for his video for Coolio, Gangsta's Paradise. His commercial clients include Pirelli, Armani, Reebok, Nike (Jordan Brand) and GMC.
In 2008 he moved into feature films and The Replacement Killers, which was his debut movie, not only introduced him as a new filmmaker but Chow Yun Fat to American audiences.
But it was Training Day in 2001 that really established himself as one of a new generation of filmmakers who produced stylised and gritty pictures.
In a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, those who have sworn to uphold the law are breaking them to clean up the streets.
Denzel Washington plays L.A.P.D detective Alonzo Harris, a veteran narcotics officer whose methods of enforcing the law are questionable, if not corrupt.
Training Day follows Harris (Ethan Hawke) as he trains rookie Jake Hoyt over a period 24 hours. Ethical dilemmas arise for Hoyt as well as the audience as questions present themselves as to whether or not Harris' methodology for ridding the streets of South Central Los Angeles of drugs is right or wrong.
The movie was a critical and commercial hit, opening at #1 in America, and Washington went on to pick up a Best Actor Oscar while Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
With expectation on his shoulders in recent years Faqua has struggled to produce a movie that could match or top Training Day.
2003 brought Tears of the Sun, starring Bruce Willis, which focused on the killing of innocent people in the African civil war.
There were rumours of onset tension between Willis and Faqua and the movie was heavily criticised by the critics and struggled at the box office.
Next he moved onto the legend of King Arthur, bringing together a good British cast of Clive Owen, Keira Knightley and Ioan Gruffudd.
The Roman Empire is stretched across many nations, including Britain. In their conquest for more land, the Romans went into Sarmatia where they fought the very brave Sarmatian cavalry.
The Romans, impressed by the Sarmatian's weaponry and fighting skills, included them into their army as knights.
After 15 years of serving and fighting for the Roman Empire the Sarmatian Knights, lead by Arthur/Artorious Castus, are about to receive their freedom as the Romans are leaving Britain. But the Knights must carry out one final order before they are free.
A Roman priest and his family, especially his son Alecto, must be rescued from the invading Saxons. But there is another danger lurking on the road to freedom - the Woads, British rebels who hate the Romans.
Despite another movie that received a panning by the critics King Arthur put in a good box office performance as it took $203 million worldwide.
Shooter was the last time that we saw Faqua behind the camera as Wahlberg starred in the Jason Bourne style movie.
The critics weren't as cruel this time around but the film struggled at the box office, taking just over $95 million.
But Brooklyn's Finest could sees Faqua turn his fortunes around as this gritty police drama sees him back in the genre that made him famous.
Burned out veteran Eddie Dugan is just one week away from his pension and a fishing cabin in Connecticut. Narcotics officer Sal Procida has discovered there's no line he won't cross to provide a better life for his long-suffering wife and seven children.
And Clarence "Tango" Butler has been undercover so long his loyalties have started to shift from his fellow police officers to his prison buddy Caz, one of Brooklyn's most infamous drug dealers.
With personal and work pressures bearing down on them, each man faces daily tests of judgment and honour in one of the world's most difficult jobs.
When NYPD's Operation Clean Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, all three officers find themselves swept away by the violence and corruption of Brooklyn's gritty 65th Precinct and its most treacherous criminals.
During seven fateful days, Eddie, Sal and Tango find themselves hurtling inextricably toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny.
And Faqua has a string or projects in the pipeline including Consent To Kill and a biopic picture about rapper Tupac Shakur.
Brooklyn's Finest is out now.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw