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poster of New Jack City
Rating: 6.602/10 by 514 users

New Jack City (1991)

A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.

Directing:
  • Mario Van Peebles
  • Dwight Williams
  • Joseph Ray
  • Cornelia 'Nini' Rogan
  • Jeff Lengyel
  • Ed Dessisso
  • Marlene Arvan
Writing:
  • Thomas Lee Wright
  • Barry Michael Cooper
  • Thomas Lee Wright
Stars:
Release Date: Fri, Mar 08, 1991

Rating: 6.602/10 by 514 users

Alternative Title:
New Jack City - A Gang Brutal - BR
Zehirli Sokaklar - TR

Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 37 minutes
Budget: $8,500,000
Revenue: $47,624,253

Plot Keyword: drug dealer, new york city, street gang, undercover agent, heroin, ghetto, gang leader, cop, crack, drugs
Subtitle   Wallpaper   Watch Trailer    

Ice-T
Scotty Appleton
Allen Payne
Garald "Gee Money" Welles
Bill Nunn
Duh Duh Duh Man
Judd Nelson
Nick Peretti
Anthony DeSando
Frankie Needles
Nick Ashford
Reverend Oates
Phyllis Yvonne Stickney
Prosecuting Attorney Hawkins
Thalmus Rasulala
Police Commissioner
John Aprea
Don Armeteo
Fab 5 Freddy
Master of Ceremonies
Laverne Hart
Prom Queen
Eek-A-Mouse
Fat Smitty
Keith Sweat
Singer at Wedding
Marcella Lowery
Woman in Hallway
Ben Gotlieb
Prosecuting Attorney
Kelly Jo Minter
Recovering Addict
Tina Lifford
Recovering Addict
Erik Kilpatrick
Recovering Addict
Ron Millkie
Assistant DA
Harold Baines
Kid on Stoop
Sekou Campbell
Kid on Stoop
Garvin Holder
Kid on Stoop
Teddy Riley
New Year's Eve Band - (Guy)
Aaron Hall
New Year's Eve Band - (Guy)
Damion Hall
New Year's Eve Band - (Guy)
Rodney Benford
Singers - Spring - (Troop)
John Harrell
Singers - Spring - (Troop)
Gerald Levert
Singers - Winter - (Levert)
Sean Levert
Singers - Winter - (Levert)
Jimmy Cummings
Butchie The Doorman
Akosua Busia
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Lia Chang
Prostitute in The Pool (uncredited)
Jake LaMotta
Gangster Standing at Bar (uncredited)
Larry M. Cherry
Barber (uncredited)
Cynthia Elane
Brides Maid (uncredited)
Toni Ann Johnson
Girl in the Window (uncredited)
Candece Tarpley
Connie The Waitress (uncredited)
Chris Thornton
C.M.B. Member (uncredited)

tmdb28039023

New Jack City is convoluted, contrived, and heavy-handed, ending with a caption warning us to “confront the [drug] problem realistically, without empty slogans and promises”. Well, the characters in the movie certainly eschew empty slogans in favor of some of the most memorable catchphrases ever committed to film (“Sit your five-dollar ass down before I make change,” “I want to shoot you so bad, my d*ck's hard,” etc., etc.), but it might be a bit of a stretch to say that they deal with the problem realistically – and it’s actually the little things, such as our old friend the Red Digital Readout, that cast doubt over the proceedings; conversely, the elephant in the room – i.e., the taking over and conversion into a huge crack house of an entire apartment complex – is based on fact (the hardest things to believe are sometimes the most veridical; compare the upside down-flying commercial airplane in Flight). The script is sometimes platitudinous, sometimes downright nonsensical, but always, as I hinted above, endlessly entertaining and quotable. Similarly, the plot and is underdeveloped but not shallow, and the film overall has its heart in the right place. This is a vibrant movie, but it's not just for people who like bright colors; NJC knows the importance of looking beyond appearances. A scene of revelatory intertextuality has the antagonists watching Scarface and reaching the conclusion that the only thing Tony Montana ever did wrong was getting “careless.” And yet, this eye-opening irony is inexplicably lost on rappers like Lil Wayne and Tyga (both of whom have referred to themselves as ‘Young Nino’; don't they remember or care that Nino Brown at one point literally uses a little girl as a human shield?), making them twice as dumb as the people who watch Scarface and leave with the impression that Tony Montana is a role model. All things considered, NJC is a rather uneven effort whose weaker moments get by on sheer style, reaching a noirish state where what is said and done takes a backseat to how it is said and how it is done – and in that sense Wesley Snipes’s star-making performance (and what should have been a breakthrough role for Chris Rock), supported by a rock-solid (as well as eclectic, ranging from Judd Nelson to Bill Cobbs, who even then was playing the Old Man) ensemble cast and Mario Van Peebles's confident direction, is the glue that holds the film together.


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