Set It Off (1996)

Very Cool!!!

To me, this movie is perfection.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

F. Gary Gray is awesome. There's some simplicity in his directing, but he handles it with expertise. He doesn't bite off more than he can chew, and as a result, his films go down smooth.Set It Off is exactly that, a domino effect, from injustice, to pain, lapse in judgement... then tragedy.The ladies are amazing. The suspense, organic.Criticism may be found in execution perhaps, however, the story itself has motivations and complications that combine so evenly, that the movie just tugs at the right emotions.Set It Off is Off The Hook.A 7.5/10, but I'll happily Round It Off, to 8/10.

Bank teller Frankie Sutton (Vivica A. Fox) gets fired after the bank gets robbed by somebody she knows. Police detective Strode (John C. McGinley) suspects her involvement. She is forced to join her friends Stony Newsom (Jada Pinkett Smith), Cleo Sims (Queen Latifah), and TT Williams (Kimberly Elise) doing janitorial work. Stony's unarmed beloved brother Stevie gets killed by the cops. TT's boy has an accident and Child Services takes him away. Casual musings about robbing banks turn into reality. As they get more successful, the best friends start to clash.This is more than a crime drama and it's the more part that I'm uncertain of. It's painfully direct that three of the four girls are given reasons to do the robberies. They are victims first before they decide to do the crimes. It's a form of female empowerment movie. I don't really buy Stony's path. She should have sued the city and the police. It's too convenient to have so many problems. There is a similarity to 'Thelma & Louise' but it doesn't have quite the same equivalence. On the other hand, I like the attempt to change up the traditional bank heist movie.

I watched this film a long time ago (aprox 10 years or so) and liked it then. I remembered it the other day and decided to watch it again. The second time around was not pleasant. The acting is 'so,so', the plot is illogical, unreasonable and predictable.The acting...I'm sure it wasn't a stretch for those actresses to play those characters. The plot...there's no way in hell those women would have gotten away with the first robbery much less the 2nd. (side note: Why did TT not realise that even if she came up with a load of money for her court date they would ask where she got it and she would have no logical answer! Ding, Ding...we have a crook!). It horribly stereotyped black women in saying basically that the only way black women can 'beat the system' or obtain a large amount of money was to steal it and not use their intelligence or other resources. It plays too much on sympathy b/c all of them die in the end (bar Jada) but it's not sad (you're thinking 'They were so stupid; they deserve to die). You just don't really care about the characters unless you're a shallow person.I can't believe this film rates over a 5.

This is my favorite movie . It touches me so deep and yet opens my eyes to the ways of this world . I cry every time i see it its so sad and touching . I do not condone violence but i can feel what they must have felt if this were real and i was in a similar situation . I watched it with a friend of mine when it first came out in 96 and ever since then it has been one of my favorite movies definitely in my top 10 . It kept me watching and waiting to see what was gonna happen next . The closeness between the girls was so powerful. this is a movie that any movie fanatic should definitely see especially if you love surprises and dramas . If you love this movie as well as i do post your comments for every one to see so they can enjoy this wonderful movie with great actresses and actors all through out it . Thanks for listening and i hope you enjoy or have enjoyed this movie .