Opening

78% Fast & Furious 6 May 24
33% The Hangover Part III May 23
100% Epic May 24
95% Before Midnight May 24
100% We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks May 24
—— Fill the Void May 24
—— A Green Story
—— Alyce Kills May 24

Top Box Office

86% Star Trek Into Darkness $70.2M
78% Iron Man 3 $35.8M
49% The Great Gatsby $23.9M
46% Pain & Gain $3.2M
69% The Croods $3.0M
77% 42 $2.8M
56% Oblivion $2.3M
98% Mud $2.2M
37% Peeples $2.2M
8% The Big Wedding $1.2M

Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
88% The East May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31

New Jack City (1991)

tomatometer

78

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 2

No consensus yet.

audience

73

liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 44,293

My Rating

Movie Info

The ruthless leader of a New York City drug syndicate battles to maintain his power and avoid imprisonment in this fast-moving action drama. While the film's heroes are Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), a pair of tough, streetwise cops, the main focus is their target, drug lord Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes). A criminal businessman with no room for pity or emotion, the flashy but severe Brown has built an empire and transformed an abandoned Harlem apartment building into a well-defended

R,

Drama, Action & Adventure

Aug 25, 1998

Warner Home Video

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All Critics (29) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (7) | DVD (16)

Though this often plays like a 70s cop show, it became a prototype for the bling-heavy gangsta melodramas of the 90s.

October 30, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Filmmakers pull off a provocative, pulsating update on gangster pics with this action-laden epic about the rise and fall of an inner city crack dealer.

October 30, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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It's a superior example of what used to be called blaxploitation, with Van Peebles piling on corruption and carnage for all he's worth.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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The movie was advertised (no doubt wisely) as a slam-bang action adventure, but in fact it's a serious, smart film with an impact that lingers after the lights go up.

August 5, 2005 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The film's use of once-imposing, now-crumbling New York architecture is particularly effective in underscoring the story with an air of widespread urban decay.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
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Mario Van Peebles's drugland feature, a relentless, hold-on-to-your-hat experience, rarely lets up.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

OK Van Peebles flick featuring Snipes.

February 23, 2008
Video-Reviewmaster.com

We all know New Jack City is making the right statement on drugs, racism, the system, etc. But the fact is it's not very good.

October 30, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A cynical director, Van Peebles has style to burn, but his work is too flashy to make sense. This is a gangster-thriller about crack trade in Hralem done as a moralistic melodrama with kinky violence.

September 16, 2006 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

Violent and very engaging.

January 18, 2006 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

Am I my brother's keeper? New Jack City is a perfect blind of movie, music video, acting, and stylized violence. A must own for fans of "mob" movies.

September 2, 2005 Full Review Source: Eclipse Magazine
Eclipse Magazine

Peebles and his crew...turn a pedestrian script into an above-average gangster thriller. (Special Edition DVD set)

August 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

...a purely conventional story, but it unfolds in unique and innovative ways, with particularly good turns from its cast, all of which make it a worthwhile watch.

August 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

It's basically Scarface with a hip-hop mentality, but it's also a slickly entertaining and consistently engaging crime thriller.

August 5, 2005 Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com
DVDTalk.com

Audience Reviews for New Jack City

I think Mario Van Peebles wanted New Jack City to be the black version of Scarface but unfortunately for him, it wasn't. For starters, the acting wasn't very good, especially considering the sizable and talented cast. The fact that Scarface is on the TV constantly doesn't help either. I can see where he was coming from though and I did like his idea of the next wave Blaxploitation film, he does it much better a few years later in Posse but not so well here. I love the era though and I love the music so I have a soft spot for it but it really isn't that great.
April 17, 2013
SirPant

Super Reviewer

Given the drug-based cop drama/urban crime plot, the interracial partnership of the main cops, and the soundtrack being made up of contemporary urban (black) music, you could be forgiven for confusing this film with being a blaxploitation film. I mean, it IS directed by Mario Van Peebles, and there are some references to films from that genre, but surprisingly, it is not. Mostly because it's played straight, with only some humor, and no camp factor. It is definitely a b-movie, but a competently made high end one.

Okay, so the main plot is pretty standard, with two mismatched cops having to team up to take down a powerful drug lord who has taken the streets prisoner with his ultra strong crack. It's still an enjoyable ride though, and it's quite stylish, with some actually pretty decent performances.

Okay, so Judd Nelson is underused, but he's good when he's there. Wesley Snipes is fine, but I feel like he's just doing a VERY low-key and subtle take on Tony Montana. The stand outs are Ice-T who, still very much known for his anti-cop songs is great as a tough streetwise cop, and really gets his acting career off to a great start, though after this it wouldn't pick up again until he portrayed another cop on Law and Order: SVU. The other top prize goes to the outstanding Chris Rock, who gives an utterly memorable and gripping turn as an ill-fated ex-junkie turned informer.

This is overall a really decent flick. It's ultimately nothing new, but very well played, and far better (both as a directorial debut and in general) than it could have been, so give it a shot.
July 15, 2012
cosmo313
Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

    1. Nino Brown: Good, cause you got to rob to get rich in the Reagan era.
    – Submitted by Joe P (6 months ago)
    1. Officer Nick Peretti: Excuse me, is this some kind of black thing?
    – Submitted by Joe P (6 months ago)
    1. Nino Brown: [Referring to his girlfriend] Cancel that bitch, I'll buy another one.
    – Submitted by troy r (22 months ago)
    1. Nino Brown: Sit your five-dollar ass down before I make change.
    – Submitted by Isaac-Hajime Y (23 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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