New Jack City (1991)

Wonderful Movie

Must See Movie...

A Masterpiece!

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

One of the biggest box office smashes of 1991 was New Jack City, a slightly over-the-top but engrossing crime drama, set during the advent of the crack epidemic of the 1980's, which follows the charismatic rise of a drug dealer named Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes), whose overthrow of a ghetto apartment complex and turning it into a drug manufacturing and selling empire, elevates him to the title of drug lord and a group of cops who have made it their life mission to bring him down. The story eventually whittles its way down to a cat and mouse battle between Brown and one cop named Scotty Templeton (Ice-T), with whom a personal connection is revealed.Directed by Mario Van Peebles, who also appears in the film as the cop in charge of bringing Nino down, this film struck a chord with that all- important 18-34 demographic for the wrong reason, primarily that it glamorizes drug abuse and makes the lifestyle that can be achieved selling drugs very appealing, despite a somewhat preachy screenplay and some unappealing characters.On the plus side, Wesley Snipes lights up the screen as Nino Brown and there is a scene-stealing turn by a very young Chris Rock, as a crack addict who Scotty throws under a bus as an accomplice in his mission. Allen Payne is also effective as Nino's childhood friend and second in command as is Judd Nelson as Scotty's rogue partner.Rich with violence, sexual content, and a score that is a hip-hop lover's dream, it is no surprise that this film cleaned up at the box office.

Mario Van Peebles made his feature film directorial debut in New Jack City where he also co-stars with Ice T, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock and Wesley Snipes in this urban thriller dealing with the rise of a black gangster from the mid 1980s in New York City as he deals in crack cocaine and takes out the competition.Wesley Snipes is the smart but ruthless aspiring Crime Lord very much modelled on Al Pacino's Scarface. In fact at one point we even see footage of Scarface on the big screen playing in the background. However the film also introduces elements of The Untouchables as Ice T and Judd Nelson play combative detectives in a crime unit trying to bring the gang down.The film was very hip when it was released as it starts with fast cuts, hip hop music and strong violence as it sets out its stall but as the film progresses things are more measured as the pace slows down to introduce drama as the police try to close in on Nino who starts having problems of his own as schisms start to appear in his gang.The film is uneven, Snipes is very good but Ice T is not. Rock shows promise in an early role but his subsequent career shows that he did not progress much as a screen actor with his comedy shtick. Its also preachy here and there with its anti drug message and not a well written movie. Just look at the clunky way the war with the Italian mafia is dealt with as the Don is sitting on a table outside soon after he has tried to kill Nino.Once the opening zest and energy of the film dissipates it becomes very much a routine thriller, a stylish one but routine.

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.

At the beginning of the 1990's during the emergence of a new African-American Hip-Hop and Gangster Rap culture, the film world was hot on its heels as fresh talents emerged. Audiences were witnessing an upheaval of social politics and being informed of the stark realities Hollywood filmmakers had so far avoided. Directors such as Spike Lee, John Singleton and Albert & Allen Hughes introduced the world to the American ghettos with outstanding moral dramas such as 'Boyz N The Hood', 'Do The Right Thing' and 'Menace II Society'.Notably there were also veteran movie directors who seemed keen to capitalise on the gritty urban realism that Hollywood seemed to have shied away from since the crime dramas of the '70's. Abel Ferrara's exploitation flicks 'Bad Lieutenant' and 'King Of New York' reintroduced art-house audiences to the mean streets and ghettos of the Big Apple and even Walter Hill's Baltimore-based 'Trespass', a white man vs. black crime syndicate crime thriller made a nightmarish caricature of the Hood.Standing firmly in between reality and fantasy was Mario Van Peebles' 'New Jack City', which for its pains has been met with divided opinion ever since its release in 1991. Approaching the subject of wealth, guns and drugs cultures' effects on East Coast America from the standpoint of historic cinema works such as Scarface and The Untouchables, 'New Jack' tells the tale of a swaggering petty crook's rise from the streets to infamy by exploiting the poor people on the streets and getting them hooked on the newest, most addictive and dangerous drug available.Taking a beating as crime is on a steady rise, Stone and Park are put on the case with the intentions of bringing down the practically untouchable Nino Brown and their best chance is through Scotty Appleton, who has been chasing Brown for a long time already. Put on the streets with mismatched gun-toting basket-case detective Nick Peretti, it seems that the black cop/white cop alliance could be doomed from the start as racial tensions are clear to see.As the cops fail miserably in their attempts to bring down the street-level drug pusher Kingpin, Brown's life goes from promising to priceless as not even the mafia seem able to touch him but soon betrayal within the ranks seems evident and eventually his own American Dream begins to deteriorate, giving the cops a chance to catch him off guard.Yes, 'New Jack City' does hint sometimes heavily at other classic gangster films but it doesn't steal plot and by no means is this an exploitation film. Mario Van Peebles, previously an actor and director for television, not only captured the bleak and dying New York in the days when Hell's Kitchen and Wall Street were addicted to the same class-A drugs, he provided a wisdom and intellect that became increasingly rare in crime dramas beyond that point, even in his own movies.'New Jack City' is a hip film with contrasts between the bleakness of reality and the colour of the times, richly textured with some of the best soundtracks of the era. It boasts a cast that has achieved great status in the '80's and then some that have gone on to varying levels of greatness. Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, Ice T, Judd Nelson, Bill Nunn, Bill Cobbs and a young Chris Rock make for a crime drama with admirable range. The only problem with some viewers being that it sometimes feels more like a television drama than an actual movie, but that has never bothered me since 'New Jack' delivers on so many levels, providing chills with both drama and action.I'd recommend this film if you've a fan of Wesley Snipes as the villain, which he's done successfully on numerous occasions because he steals the show so often with his fine performance of the egotistical and cocky Nino Brown. But more so if you just want to add to your collection of classic urban crime thrillers because this is nothing short of just that!