Scotty is a relentless cop bent on bringing Nino and his gang down but when his plan at using an ex drug addict to infiltrate the gang fails, he himself must become a drug pusher to get to them.
...a purely conventional story, but it unfolds in unique and innovative ways, with particularly good turns from its cast, all of which make it a worthwhile watch.
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.
A cynical director, Van Peebles has style to burn, but his work is too flashy to make sense. This is a gangster-thriller about crack trade in Hralem done as a moralistic melodrama with kinky violence.
The movie was advertised (no doubt wisely) as a slam-bang action adventure, but in fact it's a serious, smart film with an impact that lingers after the lights go up.
The film's use of once-imposing, now-crumbling New York architecture is particularly effective in underscoring the story with an air of widespread urban decay.
DVDTalk.com
August 05, 2005
It's basically Scarface with a hip-hop mentality, but it's also a slickly entertaining and consistently engaging crime thriller.
