Menace II Society (1993)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Menace II Society portrays urban hood life during the early 1990's perfectly and outstandingly. Unlike Boyz N the Hood, the film gives us an inner perspective on hood violence and the bloody consequences of certain individuals and may I say, they have done it fantastically. The cast members played their role momentously and their performances were exceptional, particularly Tyrin Turner and Larenz Tate.Although the consistent violent scenes, the movie puts realism in several successful ways and that is why this is one of my favourite films of the 1990's. Powerful and poignant.

I went into this movie with high hopes, but once I was done, I was surprised at just how flawed it was. I don't regret watching the film- but it had too many problems for me to ignore. I'll start with minor things. Some of the editing (cuts, sound, etc.) is not great. Such as a slow motion scene with sound that doesn't match up with the motion, or a cut that goes to the character smiling to a character frowning in the next. Although not a huge issue, it's a bother and too obvious to ignore. It also had some things not done poorly, but not exactly done well either. It was shot decently, but nothing special. Although it won a Best Cinematography award, don't expect a beautiful film. It's not bad, just not great. It does what it's supposed to, and that's all. But on a positive note, (if you watch the unrated cut) this movie's violence doesn't hold back. It's presented how it should be- bloody and up close. It doesn't cut away from and gruesome shot, because it wants you to see it. The violence is done well, and I'm glad it doesn't restrain itself. The movie gets it's setting right. What everyone wears, what everyone says, what music they listen to... all feels from the era of which it takes place. The soundtrack does do a good job of making you feel like you're in the time and place the film takes place in, but it could've used a track or two besides the hip-hop and R&B tracks. So many films like this one like to only use these kinds of songs, and some scenes would've been better with a different track. Such as a brief sex scene later in the film (which comes out of nowhere, I might add) that is very cheesy, and the cliché song only makes it worse. Although the writing is not terrific, the dialogue, in terms of the way they talk, is. They speak like these characters actually would have, and it doesn't feel overdone. They talk like real friends would, and that makes the whole experience more enjoyable, because you feel as if you are watching actual friends. This leads to a big flaw in the film- the acting. To say the least, it fell short. No performance in this whole film stands out as great. The only performance that stands out at all is Jada Pinkett Smith's, which is not great, but good- and better than most in the film, if not all. Much of the delivery feels lazy, and a most characters are just unconvincing. Caine's narration, for instance, was a little hard to listen to. Compared to the rest of his character's dialogue, it was confusing to hear both from the same actor, with a huge gap in performance quality. He's not the only one, either. It's hard to tell who exactly is at fault here- the actors or the Hughes brothers- but overall, the acting felt weak, and took away from the movie quite a bit. Once I finished Menace 2 Society, I immediately realized it's biggest issues. We are introduced to many characters that are presented as important, but it doesn't take it's time to let us actually spend time with these characters, until they almost feel like extras with lines. Although it focused on a select few characters, they too still feel underdeveloped. From O-Dog, to Caine's grandparents. This movie moves too fast for you to care about the characters and in turn, become invested in their lives. From the beginning scene when Cain is a kid that seems to get cut off out of nowhere, to the ending that feels too rushed to feel any emotion for- It made the whole experience a lot less enjoyable than it would've been. Even the main focus itself seems inconsistent and confused. This movie moves all over the place, and by the end, the impact of the last few moments is severely reduced, because it never lets us get to know Cain, and everyone in his life, as well as we should.

Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner) and best friend O-Dog (Larenz Tate) go into a grocery store. O-Dog takes offense from the Korean storekeeper's comment and shoots him and his wife. Caine's father (Samuel L. Jackson) was a drug dealer and cold-hearted killer. He grew up with his grandparents. Caine and his cousin Harold are carjacked. Harold is murdered. O-Dog and Caine go to kill the carjackers. O-Dog is gleeful about his murderous spree while Caine is much more hesitant. Caine is eventually arrested for the grocery store killings and his life spirals downwards.The Hughes brothers are able to bring a vision of urban gangsterism that is cold-hearted and bleak. Larenz Tate is amazing as the unflinching joyful killer. His glee and pride of killing the Korean couple is the best in the movie. Tyrin Turner is not as compelling as an actor. The movie essentially follows the less interesting character. Caine is portrayed more as a regular guy struggling against his bad upbringing and his surroundings. It would be better to have O-Dog beside him voicing the evil side for the entire movie.

When Boyz'N The Hood seemed sincere in its approach but a bit sugar-coated, Menace II Society appears to be more realistic regarding the violence that prevails in those neighborhoods.The script cleverly avoids any manichaeism, and shows well, with a certain fatality, how difficult it is for these adolescents to escape the violence and chose another path that the one that seems to be written for them from their birth.Carried by convincing actors and well directed, Menace II Society turns out to be really striking and will remain for a lot of people THE best ghetto movie.