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Original Gangstas (1996)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 7

No consensus yet.

100

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

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Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 2,175

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Movie Info

Larry Cohen, who directed a number of interesting and subversive exploitation films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Black Caesar and Hell Up in Harlem, reunited some of the biggest stars of the blaxploitation era for this tough-minded action opus. John Bookman (Fred Williamson) is a successful football coach who was born in Gary, Indiana but now lives in Los Angeles. When Bookman's father is shot, he returns home for the first time in years to discover that Gary has been all but taken over by

R, 1 hr. 38 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense, Cult Movies

Directed By: Larry Cohen

In Theaters: May 10, 1996 Wide

On DVD: May 15, 2001

Orion Home Video

Original Gangstas Trailer & Photos

Cast

Fred Williamson
John Bookman
Jim Brown
Jake Trevor
Pam Grier
Laurie Thompson
Paul Winfield
Reverend Dorsey
Richard Roundtree
Businessman
Ron O'Neal
Businessman
Charles Napier
The Mayor
Isabel Sanford
Gracie Bookman
Robert Forster
Detective Slatten
Wings Hauser
Michael Casey
Eddie Bo Smith Jr.
Damien
Christopher B. Duncan
Dru Down
Oscar Brown Jr.

Critic Reviews for Original Gangstas

All Critics (17) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (7) | DVD (2)

Original Gangstas leaves you feeling that more could have been made of this 'blaxploitation' reunion, but it's not bad -- and no more and no less substantial than the films of the original cycle.

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Where Original Gangstas works is in its understanding that the stars are playing the characters they created 25 years ago as their older selves.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Salon.com

| Comment

Mary Elizabeth Williams

Salon.com

Top Critic

Think Boyz N the Hood meets The Mod Squad.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Detroit News

| Comment

Susan Stark

Detroit News

Top Critic

The purpose is to entertain, and on that score the film delivers impressively.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post

| Comment

Hal Hinson

Washington Post

Top Critic

A top notch B-movie.

September 10, 2002 Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal

| Comment

Kevin N. Laforest

Montreal Film Journal

Although the leads are intended to be cool and menacing, the result resembles parody; scenes of drugs, guns and fights are likely to make audiences burst out in laughter.

June 5, 2002 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

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Dwayne E. Leslie

Boxoffice Magazine

Despite its good intentions, Original Gangstas isn't very good.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

| Comment

Dan Jardine

Apollo Guide

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Original Gangstas

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How can something with this much promise be so dull? I was hoping for something with the same life and sly humor that you got in so many Blaxploitation flicks, most of which dealt with the same sort of rather depressing subject matter, but this just felt heavy-handed at times and kinda average at others.Maybe worth a

December 22, 2009

Bill Bryant

Flat action film but the cast is great and I'm sure you've seen *everyone* in something before. Cohen is not always the best director but he can assemble casts better than anyone bar Robert Altman.

September 19, 2006