Waist Deep turns out to be a shallow waste.
Waist Deep (2006)
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:20
Rotten:56
Average Rating:4.3/10
Consensus: A well-meaning B-movie that suffers from a cliche-ridden script and poorly drawn characters that fail to inspire much sympathy.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence and pervasive language.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Jun 23, 2006 Wide
Box Office: $21,318,194
Synopsis: This sun scorched, bullet-blasted South Central L.A. story follows the car- and corpse-strewn trail of an ex-con turned security guard O2 (Tyrese Gibson), who gets carjacked while his son is still... This sun scorched, bullet-blasted South Central L.A. story follows the car- and corpse-strewn trail of an ex-con turned security guard O2 (Tyrese Gibson), who gets carjacked while his son is still asleep in the backseat. The thugs hold the child for ransom, and O2 has 48 hours to come up with a hundred grand. His only lead in getting the kid back is Coco (Meagan Good) the cutie who distracted him at the traffic light. Together they bicker, fall in love, and launch a plan to take down a vicious gang leader named Meat (The Game) while they roll along on a bank-robbing spree. Director Vondie Curtis-Hall keeps the action humming and swathes his gritty South Central locations in a thick haze of urban grime and chaotic spontaneity, making it reminiscent of 1970s cult classics like BLACK CAESAR and THE WARRIORS. Tyrese is more than up for the job here as the tough but tender O2; he and the very sexy Meagan Good generate major onscreen chemistry. Larenz Tate plays O2's dope-head cousin, and Kimora Lee Simmons has a funny cameo as a fencer of hot designer dresses. Her husband, Russell Simmons, was one of the producers. [More]
Starring: Game, Tyrese Gibson, Paul Terrel Clayton, Meagan Good
Starring: Game, Tyrese Gibson, Paul Terrel Clayton, Meagan Good, Eric Lane
Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Director: Vondie Curtis-Hall
Producer: Ted Field, Preston L. Holmes
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Studio: Focus Features
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Release:
Mar 22, 2009
DVD Features:
- Region [unknown]
- Snap Case
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
- Subtitles: English, SDH, French, Spanish
Additional Release Material:
- Deleted Scenes
- Music Video: "Bad Girls" Music Video
Featurette:
- 1. Analysis of a Scene
- 2. Drive by Filmmaking
Reviews for Waist Deep
Skillfully directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall, Waist Deep is a taut, grittily entertaining B-movie reminiscent of the gangster films that Warner Bros. used to crank out with assembly line efficiency in the 1930s and '40s.
Waist Deep is unapologetically a B movie, its narrative premise placed carefully on the borderline between the wildly implausible and the completely absurd.
Would most likely have made for a decent late-night Cinemax staple, but its stabs at higher significance only bring on the giggles.
For its ever shifting attitudes toward men, women, and murder, Waist Deep is one of the sloppiest movies ever to reach the screen.
That sappy sentimentality juxtaposed with plenty of gritty gangster stuff drives both the tone and the plot of Waist Deep.
What do you expect from the man who not only directed Glitter, but spent an entire DVD commentary track defending the film?
I could almost recommend this action movie as an entertaining ride, but I wouldn't pay theater-price to see it.
There are ridiculous moments in Waist Deep (the ending, a fairy-tale coda to a relentlessly grim tale, is laugh-out-loud funny). But it's also an extremely handsome film that has been made with style and energy.
It seemed impossible that Vondie Curtis Hall could direct a movie that‘s as bad as Glitter, but he has: Waist Deep. And Mariah Carey is nowhere in sight.
Hall’s heart lies not in guns and chases but in finding redemption for his city-ravaged characters.
If the daydreams of a teenager playing Grand Theft Auto could be made into a music video, the result would resemble Waist Deep.
While the plot is overtly absurd (nearly every scene leads to a shoot-out, beating, or car chase), the film never lets up on those "Save Our Streets" demonstrations.
Waist Deep is what used to be called a B movie, back in the days when there were double features... It's a hard little melodrama, done well.
From its non-committal title downwards -- we’re a bit worse than ankle deep, but not quite neck deep -- the film includes a final shot that is almost surreal in its implausibility. Waist Deep? More like Deep Waste.
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