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Post by Toasted Cheese on Jun 12, 2017 12:00:07 GMT
This was a bit of a sleeper hit when it was first released. The directorial debut of Mario Van Peebles, who also starred and the film boasts a terrific lead performance by Wesley Snipes. The film is competently directed, is never boring and entertaining to watch, but having not seen it for years and after viewing it recently, I find it a tad half baked and uneven. It really needed to have some work done on it's screenplay and the characters needed more nuance and to be fleshed out. It was also over too soon and much of this I put down for the need to see more of Snipes strut his stuff as Nino Brown, the megalomaniac head of his crack empire. He was let down by the rest of the mediocre cast and stood out like a sore thumb.
I also found the film a bit phony and cheesy in parts, was jarringly edited and perhaps a tad too gaudy with it's presentation. It came over as more of a late 80's slick action flick, than a gritty anti-drug message film, as what it really needed to be. Chris Rock was fun to watch, but over the top and comical for a performance that was supposed to be dramatic with a serious edge, and Ice T tried his best with what he had, but needed some more acting lessons. Judd Nelson was a wasted character, uninteresting and came across as his usual smug self. He didn't really add any substance, other than being a white cop in a black world that knew the ropes and that was it.
This film could have been an undisputed classic, had more effort gone into the script and story, and a more skilled and polished presentation been rendered. Perhaps Van Peeples didn't need to star, so more focus could have been on his directing and working his way through the script which should have been hot to the touch and almost on fire, rather than just soggy and smoldering.
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Post by fangirl1975 on Jun 12, 2017 15:52:15 GMT
Haven't seen it. "Urban" dramas aren't my cup of tea.
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Post by _ on Jun 12, 2017 16:12:33 GMT
Loved it at the time. Highly recommend the STARZ television series Power (2014) which plays like a modern and realistic remake.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Jun 12, 2017 22:03:37 GMT
Haven't seen it. "Urban" dramas aren't my cup of tea. They are not normally ones I actively hunt out to view, and I wasn't overly impressed at the time of it's release, but word of mouth and the passage of time can be a teller. With the exception of Snipes, this one was always pretty much going to be average, but it is still entertaining.
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Post by Reynard on Jun 27, 2017 18:00:10 GMT
This was a bit of a sleeper hit when it was first released. The directorial debut of Mario Van Peebles, who also starred and the film boasts a terrific lead performance by Wesley Snipes. The film is competently directed, is never boring and entertaining to watch, but having not seen it for years and after viewing it recently, I find it a tad half baked and uneven. It really needed to have some work done on it's screenplay and the characters needed more nuance and to be fleshed out. It was also over too soon and much of this I put down for the need to see more of Snipes strut his stuff as Nino Brown, the megalomaniac head of his crack empire. He was let down by the rest of the mediocre cast and stood out like a sore thumb.
Couldn't agree more about the screenplay needing more work and that the movie is over too soon. First 30 minutes or so are really good, after that the whole thing descents more and more into generic blaxploitation / action thriller clichés. Mario Van Peebles was already really good at handling actions scenes at this point. However rushed storytelling and clichéd character development make it quite uneven. Still worth watching. I'd rate it 6/10.
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Post by itsthatguyme on Aug 1, 2017 22:07:20 GMT
Though the acting is pretty terrible across the board. ( Snipes aside ) it's one of the best movies of the Genre. ( urban drug , gang movies i.e. Boyz in the Hood , Colors etc )
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Post by Stammerhead on Aug 7, 2017 21:36:24 GMT
I enjoyed it as a (then) modern update on the Blaxploitation genre and most of the bad ponts you mention support that but I don't think I've watched it since then.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Aug 10, 2017 19:15:08 GMT
Haven't seen it. "Urban" dramas aren't my cup of tea. Then what compelled you to post anything at all in this particular thread, and put quotes around the word urban?
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Aug 10, 2017 19:22:55 GMT
This was a bit of a sleeper hit when it was first released... I suspect that Mario Van Peebles wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Same thing with his follow up movie Posse. He wanted to make a serious movie AND an action movie simultaneously. You have to be a strong director to pull it off and Van Peebles unfortunately is/was not.
These movies are good in that they are about the black experience by a black director with a mostly black cast. They may not have said it very well, but they had something to say. But either Van Peebles real wheel house is action (so he couldn't help himself but to interject some into movies in which they didn't belong), or it was his attempt to pander to a wider audience by giving them some shooting up.
For a good example, an excellent movie of the kind which crosses back and forth, is Training Day.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Aug 11, 2017 1:18:49 GMT
This was a bit of a sleeper hit when it was first released... I suspect that Mario Van Peebles wanted to have his cake and eat it too. Same thing with his follow up movie Posse. He wanted to make a serious movie AND an action movie simultaneously. You have to be a strong director to pull it off and Van Peebles unfortunately is/was not.
These movies are good in that they are about the black experience by a black director with a mostly black cast. They may not have said it very well, but they had something to say. But either Van Peebles real wheel house is action (so he couldn't help himself but to interject some into movies in which they didn't belong), or it was his attempt to pander to a wider audience by giving them some shooting up.
For a good example, an excellent movie of the kind which crosses back and forth, is Training Day.
I think it was Clint Eastwood who endorsed Peebles and asked that he be given a go by the studio. It is unfortunate that the sum whole wasn't greater than it's parts, because with a little more spit, polish, skill and fine tuning, we could have gotten something that would have made a much more indelible impression and stronger impact. I haven't seen Training Day.
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Post by fangirl1975 on Aug 12, 2017 15:56:48 GMT
Haven't seen it. "Urban" dramas aren't my cup of tea. Then what compelled you to post anything at all in this particular thread, and put quotes around the word urban? I wanted to share that I hadn't seen it and explain why. I put quotes around the word urban because the film industry tends to use it as code for films geared toward the African American demographic because such films stereotype them as all being city dwellers.
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Aug 16, 2017 23:48:04 GMT
Then what compelled you to post anything at all in this particular thread, and put quotes around the word urban? I wanted to share that I hadn't seen it and explain why. I put quotes around the word urban because the film industry tends to use it as code for films geared toward the African American demographic because such films stereotype them as all being city dwellers. Perhaps that is your own perception. I know that I am open and aware enough to think outside of the box regarding any social milieu and the environment the characters are inhabiting, regardless of race or ethnicity.
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Post by HumanFundRecipient on Aug 17, 2017 18:01:46 GMT
As has been stated previously, Wesley Snipes's performance is the best thing about it.
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Post by geode on Aug 28, 2017 14:45:50 GMT
I wanted to share that I hadn't seen it and explain why. I put quotes around the word urban because the film industry tends to use it as code for films geared toward the African American demographic because such films stereotype them as all being city dwellers. Perhaps that is your own perception. I know that I am open and aware enough to think outside of the box regarding any social milieu and the environment the characters are inhabiting, regardless of race or ethnicity. Is it better termed blaxploitation?
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Post by Toasted Cheese on Aug 28, 2017 21:23:18 GMT
 Perhaps that is your own perception. I know that I am open and aware enough to think outside of the box regarding any social milieu and the environment the characters are inhabiting, regardless of race or ethnicity. Is it better termed blaxploitation? Is blaxploitation what New Jack City was emulating though?
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Post by geode on Aug 28, 2017 21:55:48 GMT
Is it better termed blaxploitation? Is blaxploitation what New Jack City was emulating though? I have never seen it, so I really can't comment.
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Post by geode on Aug 10, 2019 6:52:10 GMT
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