A classic

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. There was a time, in the 90’s, when there was some kind of wave of movies dealing with the black ghettos in the US, it was called the ‘hood’ genre, and, from all these movies, this must be the most famous one they made. In fact, in this genre, I always preferred ‘Menace II Society’ which was even bleaker but there is no doubt that this movie was really good as well. Indeed, it was a realistic and heartbreaking take on the harsh reality of living in one of these neighborhoods, something that didn’t much change during the following 25 years, I’m afraid. While rewatching this movie, I was actually impressed by how complex all the characters were. Sure, the whole thing might be random without an actual plot but it didn’t bother me as it was basically a realistic slice of life in the hood. Back then, John Singleton became, at 24 years old, the youngest person ever to be nominated for the Best Director Academy Award and, even though many thought he had a bright future (including myself), his career turned out to be eventually only decent at best (for example, his last decent directing effort would be the rather lame ‘Abduction’ starring Taylor Lautner). Another disappointment was also the career of Cuba Gooding Jr. who would win an Academy Award 4 years later but, then, he would spend most of his time afterwards showing up in some really weak movies. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, 25 years later, it is still a powerful drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 


8/10