All I can say about this film is I really hoped it was better.
But unfortunately, I felt as if I was watching a long sequence of cheap tied together 80's and 90's crime drama/action films.
The dialogue was so run of the mill it was comedic.
Even the deals took place in abandoned warehouses where every crime lord must do business in Hollywood.
And there's even the villain reveling in his proverbs and monologues that are supposed to be far-reaching tests and messages to his minions.
This film was so formulaic it makes you wonder what the hell happened when they test screened it.
Do they just aim for low socio-economic teenagers who revel in slickly produced violence and crime?
Chock full of African American gangster caricatures and dialogue?
I remember when I was a teenager I loved ninja films, regardless of the quality.
So perhaps the target audience is similar - young men who care less about the finer points of film-making and are only impressed by the most violent, uncompromising, bloodthirsty and cold-hearted characters who display a ruthlessness in making money and a blithe attitude towards life and death.
The question is: Is this art? I say if the intention is to create art then yes it is; whether it's worthy of Kudos is another matter.
Lastly, one gets the feeling Curtis Jackson is attempting to make a living from telling his life story in different ways.
Is his life imitating art or is art imitating his life? I suspect the latter.
But unfortunately, I felt as if I was watching a long sequence of cheap tied together 80's and 90's crime drama/action films.
The dialogue was so run of the mill it was comedic.
Even the deals took place in abandoned warehouses where every crime lord must do business in Hollywood.
And there's even the villain reveling in his proverbs and monologues that are supposed to be far-reaching tests and messages to his minions.
This film was so formulaic it makes you wonder what the hell happened when they test screened it.
Do they just aim for low socio-economic teenagers who revel in slickly produced violence and crime?
Chock full of African American gangster caricatures and dialogue?
I remember when I was a teenager I loved ninja films, regardless of the quality.
So perhaps the target audience is similar - young men who care less about the finer points of film-making and are only impressed by the most violent, uncompromising, bloodthirsty and cold-hearted characters who display a ruthlessness in making money and a blithe attitude towards life and death.
The question is: Is this art? I say if the intention is to create art then yes it is; whether it's worthy of Kudos is another matter.
Lastly, one gets the feeling Curtis Jackson is attempting to make a living from telling his life story in different ways.
Is his life imitating art or is art imitating his life? I suspect the latter.