Plot

Upon discovering a den of corrupt policemen, a fresh-faced journalist makes shaky allies in a jaded reporter and investigator for a powerful district attorney.

Josh Pollack, a naive and ambitious reporter, is convinced the F.R.A.T., an elite force within the Edison Police Department, is corrupted. Working on a homicide case, he begins to unearth evidence which suggests that the entire justice system is willingly turning a blind eye to the abuses of the this force. When his life and that of his girlfriend are threatened from his research, he join forces with his editor, a once-famous reporter, and a renown private detective to bring down the F.R.A.T. and every one behind it.—Ploy P.

Josh Pollack (Justin Timberlake), a naive and ambitious reporter, is convinced the F.R.A.T., an elite force within the Edison Police Department, is corrupted. Working on a homicide case, he begins to unearth evidence which suggests that the entire justice system is willingly turning a blind eye to the abuses of the this force. FRAT consists of Captain Brian Tilman (John Heard), Officer Raphael Deed (LL Cool J), Sergeant Francis Lazerov (Dylan McDermott).

On the surface FRAT are heroes as they take on an army of heavily protected bank robbers and bring them down with precision. But at night, they rob crack dealers and making away with their cash. The dealers cant report the theft, and have to leave town as they have to answer to higher ups in their own chain of command. The dealers beg to take them in, else they will be killed. So, Deed and Lazerov kill one dealer and put the gun in the other's hand and makes it looks like a murder.. At court, the surviving dealer (Isiaha Charles (Damien Dante Wayans)) thanks Deed, and Josh sees this. Josh's editor Moses Ashford (Morgan Freeman) wont allow him to print the stories implicating FRAT unless he brings in evidence. He admonishes Josh and asks him to speak to Isiaha or his mother or someone who knows.

Detective Levon Wallace (Kevin Spacey) also does not condone FRAT's activities. Josh finds that FRAT evidence is not made public. Isiaha's mom is found paralyzed with a stroke in her apartment, so Josh has no choice but to approach Isiaha himself. Isiaha agrees to spill the beans if Josh can help him reunite with his mother. Josh is able to establish holes in the FRAT story, that there was no 911 call that they responded to (as they claimed in court). Moses approaches District Attorney Jack Reigert (Cary Elwes) with the evidence but he refuses to act on it. Secretly Jack is in Tilman's debt as Jack was found in one of FRAT's raids on a whore house employing minor girls.

When his life and that of his girlfriend Willow Summerfield (Piper Perabo) are threatened from his research (Lazerov assaults the couple, when they were coming out of a nightclub where Deed was also present with his girlfriend Maria (Roselyn Sánchez)), he join forces with his editor Moses Ashford (Morgan Freeman), a once-famous reporter, and a renown private detective to bring down the F.R.A.T. and every one behind it. Wallace joins Moses and tells him that Willow is in a coma. Wallace tells Moses to hide Josh at his country house, when they ward off a second attempt on his life at the hospital. Isiaha is killed inside the prison.

Wallace tells Moses that FRAT has confiscated $ 12 MM in cash in the last 5 yrs. FRAT overpay for everything, from ordinance, to digital security to services. All of their suppliers are founders of the Edison foundation. Edison is a Political Action Committee and all over-payments end up in the foundation. Wallace says that FRAT guys are all unmarried, and so Deed is not likely to be involved, since he was at the dance with his girlfriend (to whom he just proposed). Lazerov finds that Josh has been hidden at Wallace's country house and attacks him there. But Josh manages to escape by setting his car on fire. Josh manages to hook up with Wallace and Moses. They know that Deed is their only chance now, since Isiaha is dead. Meanwhile Tilman meets Lazerov and admonishes him for hitting Willow and then dragging Wallace into it. There was no case as Isiaha was dead, but now Wallace is up FRAT's ass, as Lazerov attacked his house in the country. Lazerov is very angry that he served Tilman for 15 yrs and now Tilman is yelling at him.

Meanwhile Deed meets Josh secretly and tells him that even the courts are involved in the corruption racket. Willow dies in the hospital from her injuries. Wallace sets up a FBI task force and confiscates all of FRATs evidence. Meanwhile Lazerov gets nervous and threatens Deed against saying anything to Maria. The 2 get into a brutal fist fight inside the police office and Lazerov pulls a gun on Deed, when Tilman intervenes and kills Lazerov. Deed enters FRAT offices at night, and steals data from the main computers. The next day Deed marries Maria and Deed hands over the evidence to Josh. Tilman had Deed followed, and later that night, in a FRAT meeting, Tilman orders Deed to kill Josh.

But Deed is later confronted by Wallace, who asks Deed to "end it" that night. Tilman sends his assassin to kill Josh, but Deed protects Josh by shooting the assassin. Soon, they are under attack from the full FRAT unit. Deed manages to kill everybody in a brutal gunfight. Tilman has Josh over gunpoint, but Deed shoots TIlman by asking Josh to duck. DA Jack confronts Wallace and thinks the investigation is over. Until Moses points to the evidence linking systematic over-payments to firms, via laundered drug money, ending in Edison foundation for campaign funds. Jack asks Wallace to remove all traces of Edison and the story never runs. Deed quits the police force.