Review of Menace II Society (1993) by Niloo R — 04 Oct 2012

I was not a fan of this film, though maybe a part of that is because i'm not really a fan of the genre. the film felt very episodic to me and on the whole was just spewing out well-played stereotypes.

there was no point and all the way through I didn't know why I should care about any of the characters. it was somewhat interesting as a study of the life-style in the ghetto, but even still it felt dated and over-done.

maybe at the time it was made, this was a fresh new authentic approach to seeing african american life, but in 2012 it feels very stale. the film also suffered because the characters didn't seem rational or realistic in their reactions to events.

they killed each other over almost nothing, they laughed and brushed aside their horrendous crimes, and even the "good" characters in the film who were trying to change the gangsters' way of life treated murder like it was as trivial as skipping school.

the lead character was also very unstable, in that he fluctuated from being good and sensitive to a heartless criminal on a scene-by-scene basis. the whole film felt very random and the climax arbitrary.

maybe this film had a message, but I certainly didn't get it.