Warning: This movie will only stream until May 11th so act fast!
Spike Lee has always been a controversial director. I'm cool with that, I like to the stir the pot and I admire a guy that is determined to do things his own way. I don't even mind that 95% of his films are made with the purpose of making a political or societal statement. What bothers me about Spike Lee is that he doesn't really have a sense of humor. Even films on the most serious of topics are enriched with a little humor. Spike usually comes up with great ideas for films, the dialogue is just often lacking. Because of this, if the actors in his films don't give transcendent performances their characters come off as a little boring.
I think of how awesome this film could have been if Scorsese had directed it instead of just producing. He spends the time to make sure every word and shot is necessary and interesting. That's why he's Martin Scorsese and we're not. This movie is centered around a drug dealer who makes some really questionable decisions and is played by Mekhi Phifer who gives an admirable performance. He's the kind of guy that has a lot of potential but a very questionable moral compass.
For most of the film he and a homicide detective played by Harvey Keitel go back in forth over a case Phifer's character is very involved in. Keitel's partner is played by another Netflix Stream favorite, John Turturro. The best performance in the movie, however, comes from Phifer's boss played by Delroy Lindo. He was really the most interesting part of the movie and that is my biggest problem with this film.
The other actors are all professionals and turn in decent performances but their dialogue just isn't interesting enough and it slows down the movie. I really wanted to like this movie, but I didn't. I wish Spike would slow down a little more sometimes and spend more time fleshing out the characters in his movies. He's got the ideas, he just needed to focus more on the execution here.
To add this movie to your Netflix queue click here.
According to Netflix this movie will stop streaming on 5/11/11. Of course, sometimes they lie.
The Standard 5:
Why is it in your queue? I'll watch anything with Harvey Keitel or John Turturro in it.
Is it artsy? Sort of, it is definitely trying to imprint a message. I'm just entirely sure what message that is.
What stood out the most to you? Delroy Lindo was awesome. Almost worth watching just to see him kicking ass and taking names.
What mood should I be in to watch this movie? You ran out of crime movies to watch.
What rating did you give it on Netflix? 2 Stars.
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