FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

SnoopyStyle Montoya Santana (Edward James Olmos) is in prison as he recalls his life. His parents were zoot-suiters beaten by regular society. Her mother is raped by soldiers and Montoya is 16 years old 16 years later. He starts a gang with his friends J.D. and Mundo. During a break-in, J.D. is shot and the guys are thrown into juvenile hall. Santana kills his rapists on the first night. It earns him lots of respect and also a stay in Folsom State Prison once he turns 18. In Folsom, Santana (now played by Olmos), J.D. (William Forsythe) and Mundo (Pepe Serna) have a powerful gang called La Eme. They are ruthless. They use their power inside the prisons to leverage expansion once they are on the outside. Santana eventually has a change of heart.There is a nice sense of realism. It helps that the movie is inspired by some real people. It's not glossy. It doesn't glamorize the thug life but it's also not that gritty. Olmos has a quiet demeanor which does take away some of the energy. This is not some fun gangster movie or necessarily a scary prison movie. Edward James Olmos as a director is relying more on a simplistic style. He doesn't have the skills to make this cinematic. It feels sincere. It feels familiar.

Dalbert Pringle American Me is, to say the least, one hell of a rough and raunchy movie-ride.American Me drags the viewer straight down into a literal cesspool of crime, where 'cut-throat' violence and murder prevails.To give you some idea of what you're in for with this flick - There are a total of 6 - Yeah. That's right - 6 rapes in this flick. Of these 6 rapes (all violent, of course), only one is a heterosexual rape. With American Me's running time of 2 hours, that averages out to be about one rape every 20 minutes. Is that good, or bad? I guess it all depends on your own personal view of homosexual rape. For me, one rape would've be quite enough. I get the message. Thank you, very much.Set in Los Angeles, American Me ambitiously attempts to cover 30 years in the life of a Chicano Gang Leader named Santana. Of those 30 years covered in this flick (from the age of 19 to the age of 49), Santana spent a whopping 18 of them behind bars in Folsom Prison, California. All of Santana's crimes were, in one way, or another, related to heavy-duty drug dealing and/or armed robbery.While serving time in prison Santana, a real shrewd and ruthless operator, quickly became the undisputed ringleader of what was known as the Mexican Mafia. It was, literally, he who ruled over the drug dealing and murder inside Folsom. Any in-mate who ever dared to double-cross Santana, for whatever reason, was unmercifully subjected to the most unbearably violent gang rape imaginable, and, then ultimately murdered. Any murder ever arranged by Santana was always carefully orchestrated so as to appear as if it were purely accidental.Of his time spent outside of prison, Santana just couldn't cut the mustard. He sincerely did try to turn over a new leaf, but, no way. He just couldn't seem to avoid getting caught up in the same old 'cat-and-mouse' game of crime, all over again. It didn't take long for Santana to be pounding the beat behind bars, again, serving, yet, another long term of sentence.Santana is eventually stabbed to death in prison, where his own men betray him and even take part in his murder.As movie-entertainment, American Me has a fierce, raw power, all of its own. With its eyes wide open, American Me doesn't flinch from reality once. It forces and compels the viewer to watch all of the unpleasant, gut-wrenching horrors of prison-life, defying anyone to turn their eyes away from the atrocities on the screen.Released in 1992, American Me is an impressive directorial debut by Edward James Olmos, who also played the part of the hardened criminal, Santana.

bmacneel I had trouble even giving this movie a 4. I'm really confused as to why everyone loves this movie. First of all, the poetry thing was terrible. It's a superficial attempt at giving the gangster protagonist an "artistic side". In this way, we're immediately supposed to love him and pray for his transformation. This type of thing should be developed in a plot and not just thrown in as a device. Having him reflect his life through rhymes doesn't give a character depth, it just reveals the intentions of the filmmaker. The rhymes stop once the subject becomes trickier, but that's where the real poetry should begin. There is a difference between simply manipulating the audience and revealing details to them over a period of time.Moreover, the film lacks creativity with known plot standards. Extremely brutal scenes with a protagonist we're supposed to sympathize with. In an apocalyptic finale, our Christ figure sacrifices himself for the good of future generations; future generations who rebuke him and commit the same sins. Thus, the endless cycle of violence ensues. It's the tale of every gangster film and I'm not saying the cookie-cutter is bad; I'm just begging for creativity when one approaches the cookies. Scorsese did it with style. He gave us the option to sit as outside viewers and judge our character for his actions. Jack Lamotta's poetry was terrible, but Scorcese knew that. Tarantino gave us strange dynamic characters and off the wall dialog.One can't just take a genre and reproduce it with Mexican characters and nothing more creative than Spanglish and expect the film to be a success. One can't even expect it to be a proper portrayal of Mexican-American crime culture. Human beings are more complex than this.That being said, gangster films are tough this day in age. I'm always slightly skeptical because the filmmaker has to be original, or it will be a flop like this film.

bkoganbing Edward James Olmos both directs and stars in American Me with a mostly Latino cast which depicts a Chicano life influenced both by circumstances and bad choices. The story with a prologue depicting his parents during the Zoot suit riots during World War II right up to almost the present time. Olmos plays a gang leader and we see his rise and fall in the criminal profession which starts with an arrest as a juvenile.It's a stoic and intense portrayal that Olmos gives to his own direction. Olmos did his own research for the part, but more than that he lived it being born and growing up in the Mexican American area of East Los Angeles.In the story Olmos and his two running buddies, William Forsythe and Pepe Serna while in prison found a Mexican American gang, La Primavera and in prison they pretty much are the Latino inmate population. As they gradually finish their sentences and are released the gang takes it shape and control of various rackets in the Barrio. Of course they also have to deal with other gangs, black gangs, Aryan Brotherhood, and some rival Chicano crews. That last sets in motion the downfall of Olmos.The story is narrated in flashback by Olmos writing a letter to his younger brother while he's back in prison. It's a mournful plea for the kid not to make the same choices he did. American Me is a very good film, the personal project of a very talented man.