Shottas (2002)

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

I originally found out about this movie while doing research on gangster films from the 90's. I was looking for the coke lord with heavy violence drama that such films as New Jack City and South Central excellently portrayed. I was thrown off by the Jamaican origin and theme at first but decided to watch anyway. I was not disappointed. Shottas is a graphically violent handgun oriented gangster film dealing with ties between the Jamaican Mafia and Miami street life. While the film does focus on the violent coup d'etat preformed by main character Biggs the real focus of the film is the discretion and lifestyle of murder and corruption that the film is based upon. While there are many violent gun toting action scenes the film really comes to shine during a robbery gone wrong at a Jamaican nightclub. The sheer brutality and efficiency of the scene gives rare light into the dark world that the movie takes place in. As a violent rough chino gangster movie Shottas truly excels. There are few films that can deal with dual mafia environments and story lines as entertaining and brutally as Shottas has accomplished. With all said and done if you are a fan of the genre you won't want to miss Shottas.

This is one of my favourite gangster flicks. It follows Biggs, from his childhood in Waterhouse Jamaica, to being an adult in Miami that is deported back to Jamaica, only to return to Miami with is life-long friend Wayne who was once deported back to Jamaica himself and has made an empire there. Paul Campbell, Louie Rankin, Spragga Benz and Kymani Marley all do great jobs with their character. From the moment Biggs witnesses how his long time friend Wayne deals with business in Jamaica, Mr. Chin scene, it is a non-stop shootem' up film that is thoroughly enjoyable if this is your flavourThe previous reviewer obviously doesn't like this genre of film, and each to his own. But this film deserves to be reviewed by a fan of the genre so others with similar tastes get a real picture of what this movie is all about.If you like shootem' up gangster flicks this is a must see!!!!!

THE GOOD - Not much. Oddly, it was slightly entertaining for a bad movie.THE QUESTIONABLE - Lots of things.THE BAD - Where do I begin? Technical, cinematography, story, sound, character, plot, ending, the list goes on and on.WHY do I give this movie a 3/10 IMDb style or a very low 1 and a half out of 4 stars? And, yes, I know IMDb has a bias against black films when it comes to the rating department by user reviews. However, this one is justified. Lots of things a miss with this movie, do yourself a favor and avoid "Shottas".

wow what can i say about this movie.IT IS A MUST SEE MOVIE.i came across this rare movie about six years ago.the story line is quite good a lot better than i expected.the acting was good and it has a great sound track.the only thing is the Jamaican accent is really heavy,you have to listen very carefully or you won't enjoy this movie.it pays to watch it more than once to get how powerful this movie really is.the thing i liked about this movie was the feeling of how real it felt.its only a low budget movie so its not a well known Hollywood blockbuster.directed by cess silvera it follows the lives of two young male characters growing up in the ghettos of kingston jamaica.they decide to go to America and the story unfolds from there.over all i gave this movie 8 out of 10,DON'T MISS IT IF YOU CAN GET IT MAN.