Dead Presidents (1995)

Perfect cast and a good story

Absolutely Fantastic

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

I think my disappointment for this film is based partially on the hype of a well known UK film journalist who talked of this as a 'must see movie.' So expectations were high but when the credits rolled on at the end I wondered what on earth was so special about the film.The plot was predictable and with so many short scenes there was little time for atmosphere which left the funk and soul heavy sound track to work overtime. I would align this film with Forest Gump in its attempts to show a young man growing up. Weaving adolescence, romance, violence and adventure into the story. This is the most slight reference since the two films qualities are markedly different.Not a single character in Dead Presidents incites any reaction from the audience. The scripts plausibility is questionable in many places, chasms of time are treated as though they have been emotionally filled in. Characters act out their two dimensional emotions towards these situations to move seamlessly onwards.If you feel sympathy for the lead character to begin with once it is revealed he comes from a loving supportive family this is quashed. I don't think you can identify with a character who throws away so much due to arrogance and selfish pride. So if this is the case what where the directors trying to say about this mans life? Nothing in the film allowed us to be enlightened.I wouldn't recommend this film but then I like films which have a depth and are written in a more considered way.

This movie is just a total waste of time. I'm telling you DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME.Terrible Acting, I mean Chris Tucker??? This guy is just horrible.The slowness of this film isn't the only issue I have with it, the directing is awful.Take for example the scenes in Vietnam - how predictable were they??? The camera angles were done by a first time director.The scene at the butcher shop - look how immature this scene really is. Are the people walking by robots? Its as if they tried to over direct them.Scene when girl first meets him her father (Anthony) - is she a Zombie? Its like a 1970s film where they used a puppet to get the child actor's attention.And when he is having nightmares - What the HELL!! OK and last 2 rips:Absolutely needed more music in the background, the silence made some scenes so slow, so boring.And why all the racial references? Just not needed!Skip the waste of 2hrs.

... that the Hughes Bros. apologized for this film because they thought they messed it or something. They didn't. The film shows a familiar trail: innocence of friendship before Vietnam, the war itself, and then the return home from war where you were once rewarded for killing and now you're trapped barely making ends meet with a family to support.Larenz Tate, whose character was full of hate in "Menance II Society", here shows how a good kid can turn into a bad man and shows me, which is very important, why he changed into a criminal. For me, O-Dogg was a modern day Clockwork Orange. That was fine for Menance because it was a shot of gangsta energy from debut directors. Anthony Curtis' story is more textured and proves Tate can tone down anger to show the humanity behind it.'No Viet Cong called me a n----r," M. Ali said. And here, in this film, I can see through the H. brothers' direction and Tate's acting, performance a strong argument againist why anyone, especially, the black man (and woman) got screwed over in Vietnam to support Ali's statement.I'm rambling, but see it for yourself as an edit changes Curtis from running home over fences to a solider running over the Vietnam jungle, and then later as a pimp, who has being doing Curtis' wife, pushes him down the stairs. In the 80's movies, Rambo was a hermit with a lot of anger. Curtis lived in a much more real world, and would have done what Curtis did.

Going off to war can be an experience no one would ever forget. But as time goes by, the effects of war can prove to be disastrous. In "Dead Presidents" a group of Vietnam Veterans try to make ends meet when they get back into civilization. The government isn't paying enough to support one vet(Larenz Tate) and his family. Then there's one vet(Chris Tucker) who's gets high and would later OD. So they go to extreme means. They get to steal money from an armored car, but carelessness and greed proved it very costly. The explosive wasn't properly tested, the blast not only blew the doors open, it burned most of the money. The tactics in the robbery was very militaristic some of them got killed, and the one will the family will be doing time in prison. Goes to show that greed will get you nowhere, fast! The title of the movie was a little off key, because Franklin and Hamilton, were not presidents. However, money itself comes in many names as well of forms. This movie will make you "green with envy". Rating 4 out of 5 stars!