Review of ATL (2006) by John — 01 Apr 2006

When I heard about this movie, I was expecting a cheap film meant to capitalize on the "success" of Roll Bounce and the critical appeal of Hustle and Flow by aimlessly combining both in a mish-mash of a film.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by the film ATL. It was a refreshing look at teen life, without devolving into a wise-crack fest or a junior Get Rich or Die Tryin', as many films aimed at African-American youth [along with the hip-hop generation] tend to do.

Tip Harris, known to most as T.I., actually has screen prescence, showing a wide range of emotions and not falling into the same cliche that most rapper/actors [with the exceptions of LL Cool J, Will Smith, and now, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges] fall into: acting how people want them to act, and not acting as the film desires them to.

Harris also adds dashes of bravado needed in his role as Rashad, the main character. Evan Ross, another newcomer, has the whole idea of naivety, insecurity and cockiness downpack. Heck, I would've cast him in Bow Wow's role in Roll Bounce.

He seems believable as Ant, Rashad's younger brother, who wants quick money, like most teens, and decides to get involved in "grown man's business". The romances between the characters, while crucial to the advancement of the story, don't seem tacked on and actually begin to take on a life of their own, as does the skating rink.

My only gripe with this film? That would be the ending. While it is conclusive, unlike Hustle and Flow, it seems just a bit cliche. To say the least, everything works out by the end. But, for a first outing, Chris Robinson, the director and a Marylander, has shown that he does have the skills to manage such an inventive film with so many different plotlines going on simultaneously, and does it well.