Compared to other gangster and crack-epidemic films of the same era, this one just seems so fake and over-the-top. Wesley Snipes does a decent job, but the script and acting are quite weak. It's so cheesy too with the slow-motion "noooooo" moments and the whole Pookie getting back on crack part.
Compared to Boyz n the Hood or Goodfellas, this movie is just so weak. That is why it does not have a great rating...because it's not a great movie.
I didn't find the acting weak, but I never quite understood the whole filty-rich lifestyle that Nino had. I know he was making about $8,000 a week, however this might not be the right thing to say, but were there really a lot of black drug dealers that live that lifestyle in real life?
I'm not saying that he should have lived in the ghetto, but he really flounced his lifestyle around out in the open too much, which I think made it an easy target to get caught by the police.
I would like to say the police raid scene with all the crackheads working around like zombies was over the top, but I seen some *beep* like that on the south side of Newark, so it's not over the top.
You mentioned "Goodfellas", I saw that movie, and from that movie which is based off of real life events they didn't live in mansions. I believe they lived in Ozone Park, Queens, not a house on the hill, and those guys made a lot of money as well.
My job is to inform, not persuade- Dan Rather
Bumby Johnson, Nicki Barnes, Frank Lucus, Rich Porter, Alpo, AZ Faison, Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff (the real Nino Brown), Lorenzo Fat Cat Nichols. These are the famous ones from the 50's to the 80's. I don't know about now. But i do know that they flaunted their wealth and lived lavish off the misery of others like depicted in this movie.
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The Key to life is to not lose your keys.
When they shut down the Apartment Building Compound Nino said, "We just had to shut down a Million Dollar a Week operation". That's $52 Million a year in 1989 Money. So yeah he's living pretty filthy rich.
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It was an independent movie, with a low budget and not a lot of star power. At that time, Ice-T and Judd Nelson were arguably the best known of the whole group.
SciFi-for those who understand the space outside the box is less crowded.
Explain it to them Miss MiChiMi
Got to. This America,man.- The Wire
I totally agree with the OP. At times I felt like I was watching a parody of a gangster film. It was laughable and embarrassing to watch. Judd Nelson was definitely the worst actor in this. The way he always tried to act cool but it came off as so cheesy. You just realize how dumb this movie is.
shareWell it's from 1983, but Scarface is pretty poorly acted (by most of the cast) and over the top and VERY dated. I think the only performances I liked in Scarface were from Robert Loggia, Michele Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer & Miriam Colon.
sharelook up the "chambers brothers gang" from detroit sometime...you will see just how "fake and over-the-top" this movie is (total sarcasm). the nino brown character and some other elements of the film werew inspired by the chambers brothers and their dominance of the crack trade in detroit during the mid-late 80s.
"He must've thought it was white boy day. It ain't white boy day, is it?"
And also Felix Mitchell from East Oakland, the 69 Ville.
It is kind of dated and preachy, but I think Snipes's performance was FAR better than decent. Chris Rock was believable as a fiend.
Ice-T? LOL. Bad as usual.
Imagine that. A movie filmed in the early 90's...dated??? Who does that?
shareI am a big fan of film from the 80's and early 90's; this film was so awful, and the acting so poor it was hard to watch. It does not even rate with other great flicks from the same period.
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