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Menace II Society

Menace II Society (1993)

tomatometer

88

Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 8
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 59,245

My Rating

Movie Info

This debut offering from twin brothers Albert and Allen Hughes was one of the most critically-acclaimed urban crime films to appear in the wake of John Singleton's influential Boyz N the Hood. Set in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, the film is narrated by 18-year-old Caine (Tyrin Turner), a drug dealer and car thief who lives with his religious grandparents. After graduating from high school, Caine shows no ambition beyond hanging out with his friends, so his grandparents kick him out.

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure

,

Jul 3, 2001

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

All Critics (34) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (5) | DVD (2)

Don't let the silly styling of the title put you off; this is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts.

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Bleak, brilliant, and unsparing: a full-scale vision of the madness that is tearing up the black inner city.

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
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Fierce, violent and searing in its observation, the film makes previous excursions seem like a stroll through the park.

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
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If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
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Nothing the Hughes brothers have done in their videos for Tone Loc, Tupac Shakur and others prepares you for the controlled intensity and maturity they bring to their stunning feature debut.

May 12, 2001 Comment
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Anyone who views this film thoughtfully must ask why our society makes guns easier to obtain and use than does any other country in the civilized world. And that is only the most obvious of the many questions the film inspires.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comments (2)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Hughes brothers' debut is an exhilarating urban nightmare.

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment

An impressive first feature from the 21-year-old twin brother directing team of Albert and Allen Hughes.

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The most stunning feature debut in the new African-American cinema, even more so than Boyz N the Hood to which the coming-of age feature bears thematic resemblance.

December 27, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

Regrettably, the Hughes brothers' first feature is a compendium of clichés.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

It makes the Hood seem worse than Vietnam.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat

Um retrato impiedoso (e real) de uma sociedade preconceituosa, injusta e massacrante que transforma jovens em ameaças e que, infelizmente, é encontrada em todo o mundo.

April 18, 2005 Comment
Cinema em Cena

Stylistically the film is brilliant, making repeat viewings highly appealing.

November 6, 2004 Comment

One of greatest filmmaking achievements of the 1990s.

September 16, 2003 Full Review | Comment
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Strong stuff, but the film-making's a little rough around the edges.

May 23, 2003 Comment
New Times

A more honest and better made movie than any of the other group of films made about black neighborhoods in the early 90's.

April 28, 2003 Comment
KFOR Channel 4 News
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Menace II Society

"yea, ima git a double burger... and some fries..""ay, ay, nigga what da fuck i say? wit cheese, mutha fucka, wit cheese!"

June 4, 2009
LoughnerWasLucid

Super Reviewer

just short of boyz in the hood as an urban drama with real chops, the film is a bit more reliant on entertaiment than reality than boyz in the hood is. overall however, the film also boasts great performances from nobody's and sells its message better than almost any film of this genre. worthwhile for any film fan

January 26, 2007
sanjurosamurai
danny d

Super Reviewer

    1. Caine Lawson: My grandpa asked me one time if I care whether I live or die. Yeah, I do... and now it's too late.
    – Submitted by redwan a (3 months ago)
    1. Grocery Store Man: i feel sorry for your mother
    2. O-Dog: what you say about my moma
    – Submitted by Ronan B (13 months ago)

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