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Empire (2002)
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Reviews Counted:25
Fresh:5
Rotten:20
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: In terms of the gangster genre, Empire's story is yet another tired retread.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence, pervasive language, drug content and some sexuality
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Dec 6, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $17,504,595
Synopsis: EMPIRE, the debut film from director-writer Frank Reyes is a Latin GOODFELLAS, chronicling the rise and fall of Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo), a Puerto Rican drug-dealer working the violent streets... EMPIRE, the debut film from director-writer Frank Reyes is a Latin GOODFELLAS, chronicling the rise and fall of Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo), a Puerto Rican drug-dealer working the violent streets of the South Bronx. With an eye for money and a head for business, Victor dreams of one day achieving the wealth and success of a legitimate businessman. When Victor discovers that his girlfriend Carmen (Delilah Cruz) is pregnant, he jumps at the chance to give up the dangerous drug trade and joins forces with two new friends, Jack (Peter Sarsgaard)--a flashy Wall Street Investment banker, and his girlfriend Trish (Denise Richards). Jack offers Victor a new way of life and promises him access to "sure thing" investments. Eager to go legit, Victor quickly embraces Jack's standards of living. He gives up the streets of the Bronx for Jack's slick Soho loft and moves into the fast-talking, money-driven world of Wall Street. However, Carmen misses the warmth and familiarity of her roots in the South Bronx and Victor is torn between his own ambition and his desire to please her. Ultimately, he realizes too late that Jack and Trish are not all who they seem to be, and his best-laid plans begin to falter as he is forced to accept the magnitude of their betrayal. [More]
Starring: John Leguizamo, Denise Richards, Peter Sarsgaard, Ruben Blades
Starring: John Leguizamo, Denise Richards, Peter Sarsgaard, Ruben Blades, Isabella Rossellini, Sonia Braga, Treach, Fat Joe, Nestor Serrano, Delilah Cotto
Director: Frank Reyes
Director: Frank Reyes
Screenwriter: Frank Reyes
Producer: Daniel Bigel, Michael Mailer
Composer: Ruben Blades
Studio: Arenas Entertainment
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Reviews for Empire
Yes, we're walking those mean streets again. Good thing we're taking a few unanticipated turns.
A yawningly familiar melodrama about an enterprising hustler who's undone by his own ambitions.
This is the most predictable plot twist since The Greatest Story Ever Told. You really know this one is coming and it just ruins the whole movie.
This movie ... doesn't deserve the energy it takes to describe how bad it is.
Tries to pass off a scattered, cliched approximation of the real deal.
Another excuse to trot out the usual ghetto-melodramatic bromides: What Happens When You Leave the Old Neighborhood Behind and Remembering Who Your Real Posse Is and, most of all, Respecting the Woman Who Loves You Best.
The characters ... are paper-thin, and their personalities undergo radical changes when it suits the script.
A standard crime drama enlivened by its sense of time, place and character.
It has the right approach and the right opening premise, but it lacks the zest and it goes for a plot twist instead of trusting the material.
[Reyes] pushes his shopping cart through the ghetto-drug-flick warehouse, where all the merchandise has been picked over like a Filene's sale rack on the day after Thanksgiving.
You never believe for a minute that the character actor and comedian from Moulin Rouge and Summer of Sam is actually a once-ruthless drug dealer trying to go straight.
It winds up moving in many directions as it searches (vainly, I think) for something fresh to say.
Latest News for Empire
June 22, 2005:
"Empire" Director to Remake Fritz Lang Film
Reuters beings some remake news: Director Franc Reyes (2002's "Empire") has been tapped by Fox & Regency to helm a remake of Fritz Lang's 1956 thriller... More...
December 13, 2002:
What “Empire” lacks in depth it makes up for with its heart. ![]()
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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