Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

Fresh and Exciting

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Uneven but Engaging Crime Story Set on the Streets of the City from First Time Director Mario Van Peebles and Starring an Electric Wesley Snipes with a Debut Acting Gig from Ice-T and Some Support from Comedian Chris Rock in a Deadly Serious Role. Judd Nelson and Van Peeples are On Screen but are Hardly Noticed Among the Gritty Goings On.The Movie Made Splashes When Released because it Took on the Crack Cocaine Epidemic that was At the Time Being Ignored and Suspiciously Underreported. It Goes to Some Length to Completely Un Glamorize the Gangsta Culture and Drug Trade as the Look and Behavior On Screen is Gloomy, Edgy, and Far From Attractive.It Made a Ton of Money and Launched the Career of Ice-T and Snipes was Given Accolades for His Performance. Peeples Direction is Better with the Drama than the Action and the Overall Snap of the Movie is Inconsistent. It Almost Reaches Cornball Status a Few Times but Quickly Retreats Into More Acceptable Realism. However, the Final Placard Warning On Screen After the Film Ends is Pure Corn and Overreaches with a Plea Like those Apologetics in the Gangster Films of the Early Thirties.

"New Jack City" is one of those movies that's made by one really good performance. In this case, it's Wesley Snipes, who takes the role of vicious drug lord and makes it his own, commanding every minute of his screen time. Unfortunately, he can't be around all the time, and we're left with Ice-T, Mario Van Peebles and Judd Nelson, who vary from half-decent to awful. No one else comes close to the lead. This probably had more cultural impact back in '91, but 25 years later, it's more bemusing than anything. It veers toward the cartoonish when it's eye is on Scarface levels of drama (even featuring the movie on TV to hammer home the point . . . twice). The sermonizing also doesn't work so well today, and the movie does plenty of that.5/10

New Jack City continues to find ways to be more and more noteworthy, right down to its director, noted blaxploitation pioneer Mario Van Peebles, who uses a genre once largely confined to joke and ridicule to great, serious effect with this particular film. One could look at New Jack City and say it is more of an urban Scarface, acknowledging the crack epidemic that occurred in American during the 1980's and early 1990's with incredible attention to detail. The only difference is it seemed this film was more understood and digested than the other film, for I've never seen merchandise glorifying Nino Brown like I have Tony Scarface.New Jack City follows the gang known as the Cash Money Brothers, the dominant drug gang in New York City during the early days and succeeding years of the crack epidemic that ended lives, worsened poverty, and worked to cripple the lives of many affected by it, directly and indirectly. We follow notorious gang leader Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes), who has baffled police and detectives while captivating those around him with his cut-throat deals, lavish lifestyle, and his carefully-constructed empire off of the destruction of lives in the already struggling area of the New York City projects. Undercover detective Scotty Appleton (Ice T) finds himself learning more and more about Nino the deeper he invests himself in the city's drug scene but finds him increasingly difficult to track and discover. He spends most of his time concocting stings, one of them against Pookie (Chris Rock), a petty junkie victim to the harsh drug and the repercussions it brings.Writers Thomas Lee Wright and Barry Michael Cooper dared explore the topic of the American crack epidemic when no one else was really speaking of it in film. Rap songs seemed to be the only way you could hear about it, as songs, which, from the beginning boasted brutal honesty and unfiltered truth, detailed the horrors that went along with use of the white killer. The fact that Wright and Cooper had the gall to attack this present but collectively ignored idea head-on deserves considerable praise in itself. The fact that it's directed with an admirable slickness, with a variety of different shot structures and techniques by its director, is another feat that is truly fit for praise.Van Peebles actually conducts the film in a similar vein as many action, crime dramas of the 1990's did, through corniness, frequent action scenes, overarching political commentary, and quiet homages to other films. It's amazing because New Jack City isn't much different in style and structure to the films of its time period that were panned, while this film went on to rise above a lot of its predecessors and sister films thanks to its recognition of an enormous national problem. In addition, Van Peebles brings an equally subtle mix of blaxploitation style to his directorial approach to this material, centering a movie on a common urban problem and portraying it as it really was - often horrifying and crippling.New Jack City, however, is far from perfect in any sense. There is a tonal unevenness, especially with the acting, which shows Snipes and Ice-T in cut-throat, serious mode one minute before cutting to Chris Rock's obnoxious Pookie character, who often comes off as ridiculous and goofy. While his character necessary, there is an undeniable sense of overacting to his performance as a junkie, which is a core character in the film as a whole. By making that character goofy and a product of overacting limits the amount of emotional leverage he can have, even if there is an attempt at a heartfelt scene about a quarter of the way through the film. With Rock's performance being frequently outlandish and distracting, we almost forget how great of an impact Snipes or Ice-T can have, especially Snipes, portraying an enigmatic drug dealer with a brash convincing way about him.The tonal inconsistency is New Jack City's major problem, but its commonality makes it only more noteworthy than it already was, exploring a time period that wasn't talked about or portrayed in film until it became something that couldn't be ignored. Despite the glaring issue, there's a refreshing honesty with the film that, in itself, defines why the film has gained such a massive following over time and serves as one of the nineties best films in terms of depicting a culture and a serious national problem.Starring: Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, Chris Rock, and Judd Nelson. Directed by: Mario Van Peebles.

There are few action films and crime thrillers as socially relevant and powerful as 1991's "New Jack City," a gritty and violent portrait of America's so-called "war on drugs" during the United States' "crack epidemic" (the mid-to-late '80s and early '90s). Stylishly directed by veteran film actor Mario Van Peebles (in his directorial debut), the film also makes an explicit indictment of the Reagan-era policies of the time that led to the decimation of many of America's already-crime-ridden, low-income inner-city neighborhoods, and for violent drug kingpins to set up shop and exploit the heavily impoverished, desperate masses (many of whom lived in largely-minority communities and seemed neglected by the larger part of society as a whole).The film also explicitly condemns crack cocaine and it doesn't shy away from the devastating effects it has not just on the people who are many times hopelessly addicted to it, but for the communities, as well. Using the ultra-bloody gangster classic "Scarface" (1983) as a foundation for its story and as a cinematic backdrop, "New Jack City" details the rise of a ruthless, megalomaniacal drug lord named Nino Brown (a truly effective Wesley Snipes), and his crime syndicate the Cash Money Brothers (CMB) as they quickly and assuredly take over New York City's drug trade and begin flooding the streets with crack. Snipes's portrayal of Nino Brown makes him one of the most insidiously vile movie characters in the history of the medium - a brilliant embodiment of pure evil, viciousness, and megalomania.Aligned against him, are New York City's finest. Maverick police commander Stone (Van Peebles himself), a determined New York City narcotics cop, has a plan. He realizes that the CMB is too large and sophisticated an operation to take down using traditional methods - they need something else, newer, better, more radical measures of law enforcement. He explains to his superiors, "You want me to take down a new-jack drug kingpin, I'm going to need some new-jack cops!" He finds his new-breed of cops in a pair of outcast narcotics detectives - Scotty Appleton (rapper Ice T, in his first major film role) and Nick Peretti (Judd Nelson), who both have strong personal motivations for wanting to go to battle against Nino Brown and the CMB. And so the war is on..."New Jack City" was an important film for its time, for its highlighting of the plight of inner-city communities decimated by crack cocaine during the crack epidemic, and the almost-futile attempts by the police to rid the streets of its influence. "New Jack City" in a way was very much like a 101-minute CNN expose, since it succeeded in bringing greater attention to a topic often neglected (or poorly reported or simply glossed over by) mainstream news media before and after the time of the film's release. Like Chuck D (lead rapper for rap group Public Enemy) said a while back about rap music, "Hip-hop is the black CNN," "New Jack City" in many ways fulfills the same purpose.The acting performances are flawless from all involved. I already mentioned the powerful Wesley Snipes as the main antagonist Nino Brown. But Ice T turns in what is probably his most famous acting performance - before the TV series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," at least - as the fiercely committed Scotty Appleton (I also single out his acting because he's also one of my favorite rappers of all time). Judd Nelson's Nick Peretti works as a perfect foil to Scotty, as the other unconventional cop chosen to fight the CMB and who also has a tragic story of his own for wanting to bring down Nino Brown and ridding the streets of crack. Allen Payne delivers a careful performance as Nino Brown's childhood friend and second-in-command Gee Money. And comedian Chris Rock eschews comedy in favor of a more serious dramatic performance as a crack addict-turned-police informant named Pookie.I'm 27 right now, going on 28 in September. I should also state that I'm a black male, and I live in suburbia - far, far away from the dangerous inner city where this film's story takes place. When I was younger, I was often forbidden by my loving, over-protective parents from ever watching "New Jack City"; such shielding of me from such a grim reality is understandable, but unfortunately I also find it highly regrettable. Now that I'm older, I see that this is one of the most powerful, and essential, police-action movies ever made - because it highlights the oft-overlooked devastation that crack cocaine had during that time in low-income, largely minority communities - in other words, people like me but who were way less fortunate than me, and that saddens me deeply. So there's an emotional investment in here for me, too.See "New Jack City" and be prepared to be blown away.8/10