Save your money for something good and enjoyable

From my favorite movies..

A Brilliant Conflict

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

About ten years ago I heard about this film through the overwhelmingly negative reviews. I never got the chance to see it myself but the names involved and the fact it was William's debut as a "proper filmmaker" made me want to see it for myself – I didn't think it would be ten years before it came to me via television. Watching it for myself I find the critics to be spot on the money with their criticism because this is a roundly poor film that doesn't deliver on any level – even the areas that you would expect it to at least be OK on. The problems start with the basic plot, which at best is a mumbled sentence about two gangsters living rough and finding redemption – I sincerely doubt that there was a plot synopsis or a story board done for this before writing began, because the ideas are so basic in the final product that it cannot have been more than an one-liner when it came to the development stages.These poor ideas are built into a messy and disjointed plot that has zero narrative flow to it – zero. Nada. None. We do have scenes that connect across the story but on the whole the film feels like fragmented scenes from other films in the same genre – at best lazy, at worst, dumb homage/lifts. Again this comes down to the poor idea for the film, with blocks of narrative put alongside one another without a lot of connection – the place it all ends up is so laughably corny and out of nowhere that it is hard not to sit there shaking your head in disbelief at how bad it is. Unsurprisingly the script is not up to much. At its BEST, the film is mumbling ebonic gangsa clichés – let me stress that again: the best bits in the script are mumbled clichés. The worst is when the characters dialogue is required as part of the story because none of it rings true, my favourite bad bit being Nas' declaration that he will "go to Africa", which is OK to say as a throwaway line in a song but when it is a key thought in your character's head that he makes happen, then maybe it was worth picking a country? I mean – it is a pretty big place and it is incredibly different across each country, with definite places to avoid. That is my pick but there are plenty more.The cast function at the level one would expect given what they have to deal with. It is a common complaint that rappers do not make good films or make good actors and, while there are some exceptions (Mos Def for one) this is often the case. So what better to do than isolate the problem by sticking them all in one film together and having done with it? DMX can "do" street and "do" tough but when the film even suggests that he need do more he just goes to pieces and seems to be mugging for all his worth. Nas meanwhile spends a lot of the film being "deep" and thoughtful but he is also exposed by having a terrible narration to deliver that he cannot make work in any way. Don't feel too sorry for him though – he has a writer's credit on this turd. The presence of Johnson and Meth only serve to remind fans of The Wire how good things can be and by extension, remind us how bad this is even as we watch it. Hicks, T-Boz, Power and others all compete to see who can be the most wooden and unconvincing – my vote goes to TLC's T-Boz for reacting to the Nas being shot in the way one would react to the news that your partner had just snagged their favourite jumper on a nail and made a minor hole in it.Most surprisingly bad though is the film as a visual experience. Here and there we have some clever shot-framing and camera angles but for the vast majority of the film things are murky and dull, with the cinematography awful and none of the invention and eye for a shot that Hype Williams has made his career off. You hear people saying this film is bad but it looks great, I really have to disagree because on the whole it looks awful. And there we have Belly – a film that fails in almost every regard. It is clichéd and simple but yet still cannot manage to make the story flow, while the poor script makes sure that any hint of character or hope of performances from the cast are almost totally gone (with the casting processing putting the final lock on that door). The big clue of quality though is that the one thing we thought we could rely on Williams for (the visuals) is also mostly poor. I watch plenty of so-so films so please believe me when I tell you that this is not a disappointment or a letdown – this is a total pile-up of a film.

I don't understand how anyone could not like this movie. It covers so many grounds on real life issues, such as friendship, love, and at the same time action packed with violence. Every part of this movie will keep you paying attention because it changes up so much but stays on the story line.This is one of those movies that i can watch over and over again without getting tired of it and find something new in it every time. I can't even lie, the first time i watch this movie I didn't even know what was going on. When the movie went off i didn't know what happened and was left looking confused but i had no problem watching it again. Movies that you have to watch more than once are the ones that are worth keeping to me. No one wants a movie when after you watch it once, you never have a reason to watch it again.In my opinion this was a great movie because, i actually live around and know people who are like the people in the movie and i could really relate to it. This movie teaches so many morals you might not even notice them all. This was a great debut for the two rappers in this movie(Nas and DMX).Other rappers co-starred like Method Man too. This movie is the movie that really opened the door for other rappers in the acting industry. Overall this is a must see movie even if you don't like rap music or gangster like movies.

This movie is pathetic..in no way has it a proper plot or developed characters..also i hate the scene when the Jamaican gangster is rolling around in his mansion shooting the endless amounts of assassins..it is a complete rip off of scarface(the last scene)Do not see this movie...and rappers should stick with rapping.I am writing this comment here to warn those who might be thinking of watching this movie.It may appeal to fans of Nas and dmx but not because of their acting abilities believe me .There is no originality in it either...every thing is a composition of other movies thrown together in this piece of crap of a movie....the only reason to watch it is if you want to laugh at the corny acting and dialogue...stay away from this movie otherwise

I turned this off after 45 minutes (and maybe that lowers my credibility). Three Characteristics of a good movie are plot, cinematography, and acting. This movie s*cked in all three. The director seemed to admit how bad the acting was by having Nas narrate to give understanding to the characters (or lack thereof). Every single actor in that movie, besides maybe T-Boz, s*cked. I can't believe someone could recommend this s**t to me. The Visuals suck. The long flashy and colorful scenes make me afraid I'm gonna get a seizure. The cinematography made no sense, it was like watching a bad Hy-phi video (a double negative).In the matter of taste there is no dispute but I must say I firmly disagree with most of the comments made. It was so ****ing unoriginal. You can tell that these rappers want to do these movies to try to look bad a**. I can just imagine Hype Williams and the rest of the crew watching this movie and thinking it's some sort of masterpiece, when it was more of a mass-piece of s**t.