BootDigest
Such a frustrating disappointment
Stellead
Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful
Allison Davies
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Jackson Booth-Millard
Actor Vondie Curtis-Hall, who I've seen in Broken Arrow, debuts as writer and director with this drug based film, the last to star rapper Tupac Shakur before his death from shooting, during post-production. Basically, in Detroit, Barbara 'Cookie' Cook (Thandie Newton) has overdosed on her first time using heroin, and her best friends and band mates Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore (Shakur) and Alexander 'Stretch' Rawland (Tim Roth) decide to kick their habit. To do this they want to enrol on a detox program, but this is becoming very difficult as they sent from place to place. The big problem is that Spoon and Stretch are being searched for by the police after it looks like they are suspects to a murder. Also the drug fuelled men who really committed the murder, gangster D-Reper (Curtis-Hall) and his Henchman (Tom Towles) are after them as well. In the end, Cookie wakes up from her drug-induced coma and walks out of the same hospital where it looks like Spoon and Stretch are finally going to get what they want. Also starring Who Framed Roger Rabbit's Charles Fleischer as Mr. Woodson, Howard Hesseman as Blind Man, James Pickens Jr. as Supervisor, John Sayles as Cop #1 and Eric Payne as Cop #2. Shakur and Roth make a really good double act, Newton has her moments in the flashback sequences, and it is a darkly funny take on inner city life and some drug use, a good black comedy. Worth watching!
tohu
There's a sarcastic phrase people use here in the UK that goes, "How very different from the home life of our own dear Queen!" It definitely applies to this movie! Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth play two small-time drug-addled crooks who have a bad experience, so they decide to get clean. They're completely sincere and determined to do it, but the film is about how difficult it is, in practical terms, to get off drugs in today's USA. Despite all the political hype and the government programmes and the well-meaning organisations, when a guy actually walks in off the street and says 'Get Me Off Drugs', he faces a bewildering maze of stifling bureaucracy and indifferent public officials which seems designed to set him straight back on the cycle of despair.So the film is sometimes frustrating to watch. It's grim in parts too. But it's also very funny. Tim Roth is as good as ever, but Shakur is a revelation. His earlier films were not so good, but here (his final movie before being murdered) he seemed to hit a groove. The chemistry between the two leads is great. The film is really about friendship as much as anything else.Gridlocked is different to any film you've ever seen. At 91 minutes it doesn't out-stay its welcome, and the pacy direction keeps it moving along nicely. It's not a classic but it is well worth seeing.
insomniac_rod
Extraordinary chemistry between Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur is the best feature about this movie.The situations are really interesting with a bit of black humor and some action going on. Tupac Shakur, against all criticism, delivers a solid, believable, likable performance. Tim Roth is amazing and delivers a badass performance as the "cool" junkie with a bad attitude.I really dig how they care for each other and how they help each other whenever there's trouble. The drug sub-plot is also interesting and very good carried on.Years ago I mentioned on another review that this was the best on-screen duo of 1997. I still think the same.
jonnythemoose
This is a good film. But, pay attention to the certificate rating, it is definitely not suitable for kids. Don't watch if you hate films about drugs, violence etc, because you could be appalled by this film. The two main leads, Shakur and Roth both do an excellent job, and make their parts believable, as do many of the less frequent characters. However, the plot is a little shaky. The film, although enjoyable, doesn't actually have much of a plot. It's just the two main characters trying to quit the habit, and then coming across their dead drug dealer...and then, they almost get killed, and then they are wanted by the police, and then their friend comes out of a coma, and they live happily ever after. The film just seems to stop dead at an ending, and i was taken off guard, expecting the film to last longer. Instead, you are left with an empty hole where a good ending should be. Because there really isn't any ending. Having said all that, it is worth a look, if you don't get offended easily!
