OK Van Peebles flick featuring Snipes.
New Jack City (1991)
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Reviews Counted:28
Fresh:22
Rotten:6
Average Rating:6.4/10
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Synopsis: A violent, kinetic gangster film with a strong anti-drug message, NEW JACK CITY is set in the mid-1980s during the height of the crack epidemic. Two street-wise undercover cops (Judd Nelson, Mario... A violent, kinetic gangster film with a strong anti-drug message, NEW JACK CITY is set in the mid-1980s during the height of the crack epidemic. Two street-wise undercover cops (Judd Nelson, Mario Van Peebles) go after Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes), a ruthless drug lord with extravagant taste in home furnishings. Desperate to bring down his multi-million dollar cocaine empire, they send Pookie (Chris Rock), a former street hustler and rehabilitated crack addict, into Nino's drug factory as an undercover spy. When the plan misfires, the cops must face Nino and his henchman in a bloody showdown. [More]
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Judd Nelson, Mario Van Peebles, Chris Rock
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Judd Nelson, Mario Van Peebles, Chris Rock, Vanessa Williams, Michael Michele, Tracy Camila Johns, Ice-T
Director: Mario Van Peebles
Director: Mario Van Peebles
Screenwriter: Thomas Lee Wright
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Reviews for New Jack City
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.
Though this often plays like a 70s cop show, it became a prototype for the bling-heavy gangsta melodramas of the 90s.
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.
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.
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.
...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.
It's basically Scarface with a hip-hop mentality, but it's also a slickly entertaining and consistently engaging crime thriller.
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.
It's still entertaining, but New Jack City now feels about as edgy as an old razor. And it's just as disposable.
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.
Latest News for New Jack City
October 31, 2007:
Total Recall: American Gangster's Paradise
This week, Ridley Scott's American Gangster starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington hits theaters. With its story of a drug kingpin and the cop who's trying to take him... More...
February 07, 2007:
"Goonies 2?" "Gremlins 3?" "Scooby-Doo 3???"
We've been hearing all sorts of rumors about Warner Bros. unleashing a direct-to-video sequel to "The Lost Boys," and that particular project does seem to be moving... More...
November 24, 2004:
Wesley Snipes on Upcoming Projects
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