I'm serious about the title. What movie did it for you? What movie did you become so wrapped up in that you actually cried at the end?

I cried at the end of this movie. It takes a lot to make me cry.

I never would have thought this movie would make me cry. It came out when I was about thirteen, and I had no interest in seeing it. Now, with all my friends comparing it to Boyz in the Hood (a favorite of mine), I decided I had to watch it.

I watched the movie with my mother. My mother is pretty cool, but I really didn't expect her to be down with this movie. I mean, it takes place in South Central Los Angeles. The people don't look like her, talk like her, or live like her. These are gang members, who do true thug things. In fact, this movie is based on the book Crips. The movie opens with a shot of a black man putting on a pair of Brittish Knights. I explained to my mother what the sneakers symbolized -- Brittish Knights, or BKs -- Blood Killers. She shot me a look which basically said it all. Why do you know that, and why do you want to watch this stupid movie?

The movie started out like many other urban movies. First you meet the main characters, who are very human. Then, they decided that they need to be thugs to succeed. Then, the likable character you first met is gone. They have become hard, and are caught up in the game.

Bobby Johnson, who is the lead character in this film, is on his own path to success in the hood. He is well respected, is one of the founding members of a gang, and has proven how tough he really is. His actions send him to jail, and out of his baby son's life. The "urban cycle" is repeated. Little Jimmy is forced to grow up without a father, just like his father, and his father before him.

Jimmy is really left to raise himself. His mother is addicted to angel dust. Bobby is stuck in jail. Bobby's friends, who started a gang to protect their community are the only ones left to raise little Jimmy. Unfortunately, he is just another pawn to them. They use him, because he is young and won't ask questions. The boy agrees to do their dirty work for them, and it nearly kills him.

While Bobby is in jail, he begins to hear things about his son, and realize how the cycle is repeating itself. After meeting another inmate, Bobby begins to look at his own life. He choses to become a better man, for himself, and most of all for his son.

When Bobby is finally released from jail, his son is at the crossroads. He is about to earn his marks within the gang. Bobby is forced to reclaim his son from the gang he helped create.

The ending of this movie is easily its strongest point. I am not sure when I stopped worrying about what my mother thought about the movie, and stopped thinking about all of the other urban movies which came before and after this one. All I know was at some point, I went from groaning inside, to being completely riveted.

At the very end of the movie, I realized I was crying. To my surprise, from the amount of tears, I must have been crying for a while. All I know was I was so wrapped up in the movie that I didn't feel like I was in my living room anymore, with my dog barking. I tuned it all out. And when I finally realized I was crying, and it was time to wipe the tears off my face, my mom was already exclaiming "wow, I am speechless. What a movie!"

Ok, so I loved the movie, but more importantly, my mother loved the movie. My mother, whom I feared could not relate, was just as wrapped up as I was.

Yes, this is an Oliver Stone movie, and we expect a lot from his movies. However, it wasn't just Stone who made this move what it is. As the movie progressed the characters became more and more real. I think this is a testament to good acting. And the plot drew me in more and more, so I know it was an excellent script.

I can't tell you about camera angles, I don't notice them. And I am sure the Props person and Gaffer did a great job too. Does it matter? No, because this movie seems to transcend my 36' television, or my living room. It became like real life for a moment in time. I was a part of the movie.

That is a rare event, to have your audience to be so in tune with the movie that they forget they are watching it.

This is a fantastic movie, and if you have not seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it today.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age