New Jack City

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New Jack City

R

1991

1h 41m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

80%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Drug tycoon Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) and his minions, known collectively as the Cash Money Brothers, have rapidly risen to the top of the New York City narcotics trade. Under Nino's heartless leadership, the drug operation has grown into a multimillion-dollar empire. Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), two police officers who know their way around the streets of Harlem, aim to bring Nino and his cohorts down. To do so, though, they'll have to play by Nino's rules and go undercover.

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Critics Consensus

Stylishly directed by Mario Van Peebles, New Jack City offsets its melodramatic streak with electrifying action and a cavalcade of effective performances.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Oct 30, 2007

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

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Variety Staff

Variety

Oct 30, 2007

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.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Jan 26, 2006

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.

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Chance Solem-Pfeifer

Willamette Week

Feb 5, 2025

Cooper’s script detests the city-conquering gangster Nino Brown (Snipes), but Mario Van Peebles’ camera is in love with him. The result is an indelible villain, memorialized by wild Dutch angles and prodigious overhead cinematography.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Jul 20, 2024

3/4

'New Jack City' is steeped in Blaxploitation filmmaking, and is a good deal more stylish and more fun than, say, 'Boyz N the Hood,' released the same year.

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

Aug 20, 2023

I mean, what else can one say about a film in which even Judd Nelson is an enjoyable presence?

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown Jun 6, 2026

Drug crime and cops early beginnings with Snipes & Ice T

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Christopher C.

@PapaTangooo May 20, 2026

“We ain’t got a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of!” Hard times . . .

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Enrique R.

@NostalgicNerd Apr 12, 2026

The most underrated gangster movie of all time! Performances are great, cause you got Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, Ice-T, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and other stunning actors. Storyline is pretty good, the only tiny problem is the pacing. But it’s entertaining, it’s fun to watch and it’s a 90s classic. Overall, I give New Jack City a B+ or a 8.5/10.

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Jai N

@PharohJ Jan 23, 2026

New Jack city was an almost realistic raw and gritty tale of the crack era in the inner city of alot of major cities in the early 1990s. A lot actors began their careers and made there first forays into the acting world.

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Dec 8, 2025

I really didn't like this movie. It's not what I thought it was gonna be, which was disappointing.

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Tyler P.

@TylerPhoenixMD Dec 1, 2025

Raw. Gritty. Amazing.

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Mario Van Peebles

Director

Wesley Snipes

Nino Brown

Ice-T

Scotty Appleton

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Nick Peretti

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Synopsis

Drug tycoon Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) and his minions, known collectively as the Cash Money Brothers, have rapidly risen to the top of the New York City narcotics trade. Under Nino's heartless leadership, the drug operation has grown into a multimillion-dollar empire. Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), two police officers who know their way around the streets of Harlem, aim to bring Nino and his cohorts down. To do so, though, they'll have to play by Nino's rules and go undercover.

Director: Mario Van Peebles
Producer: George Jackson, David McHenry
Screenwriter: Thomas Lee Wright, Barry Michael Cooper
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Jacmac Films, Warner Brothers
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 8, 1991, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 31, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.1M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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