lindaoak2001
This is an excellent thriller, with enough use of dialogue deftly interspersed with the action scenes to give depth to the characters and draw you in. Some of the monologues seem to tell a story all their own, creating a layered effect to the drama. The cast was very well chosen and put to good use to tell the very dramatic story. It is almost an ensemble cast because they seem to be so connected to each other. Some are obvious, and others you may only notice in reflection or a second viewing. The deft editing made this movie what it is. You may find yourself glued to your chair, breathless, waiting for the next move. Some scenes slow down a bit, while characters share fear, anger and pain, and then you're hit with a big change of pace. Sometimes there's a fade out, or fade in, but sometimes just a jolt. The lead actors, Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur, play two cops who've gotten themselves into a big mess, out of which they can only lie, cheat, steal and kill in order to save their jobs, and their lives. Naturally, this behavior cannot help but hurt others. Jim and Tupac had a great chemistry here. Their acting was top notch. Belushi is really good in comedies, but put him in a heavy dramatic role and he really blooms. Tupac could have had a great career in acting had he not died so young. He is missed. There is a certain amount of comic relief here and there, which helps with the tension created by the chaos of crooked cops, drugs and murder. They will take you by surprise, no doubt. James Earl Jones is a wonderful addition to the cast, his character gently weaving the drama together to quite a surprising anti-climax. I know this type of film is not necessarily for everyone. Maybe fans have gotten a little tired of the bad cops story line. Personally, however, I think it's one of the very best on the subject to come out of Tinsel Town. Some reviewers felt it had no realism, but I think it had a bit too much. Some scenes are so realistic that my back crawls a bit. Cops are only people, and there are some good and some bad. This film is gritty and could be hard to take for some. But is IS good. No matter how many times I see it in the listings, I manage to sit down for at least some of it. Bottom line: great screenplay, excellent editing, dynamic acting and insightful and gifted directing. Highly recommend.
Luca Orsetti
I'm a big fan of Tupac Shakur and listen to his music a lot. One thing is for sure, and that's that he is one of the best rappers ever. I was starting to become curious if his acting was as good as his rapping so I wanted to watch this movie. At first, I dind't really expect much from it but it turned out to be a really good movie instead!Tupac plays as a street thug/criminal in most his movies except for this one where he plays as a police officer. This adds what I personally think, a very nice twist to the movie.Tupac and James argue a lot because their opinions differ pretty much, this is what actually makes the movie funny in a way. The movie can be very unpredictable in some moments too.I really recommend this movie to the people who like movies from the Crime genre and of course to Tupac fans like me.
DunnDeeDaGreat
Gang Related had me a bit exicted back in 97 it was the last movie performance of Tupac and he's the only good thing in this slow paced and somewhat predictable movie. James Belushi makes a horrible bad guy and Dennis Quaid is watsed. See this one just for Shakur's performance.
jimjam20-2
All I gotta say is that for a movie starring a rapper, it wasn't bad. Surprisingly good support in this one, with James Earl Jones, Dennis Quaid & Gary Cole. It's not worth a whole hell of a lot, I can't even remember why I saw it.
