I appreciated the performances from Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding, Jr. in this. They were both very good. I would also give credit to director John Singleton. This was his first movie, and he coaxed good performances from the entire cast, making me a little bit surprised that he hasn't really directed much of note since then. The movie opens with captions offering a sobering look at life in "the hood", and then proceeds offer us a look at that life in this black neighbourhood of Los Angeles, where violence, drug addiction and a general feeling of hopelessness is an everyday reality. That look is offered mostly through the character of Tre (Gooding) - a young man who seems to keep out of trouble for the most part but watches as his friends and neighbours often get sucked in to what's going on around them.
Tre was perhaps too good for my liking. As the movie begins, Tre (as a young boy) is sent to live with his father (Fishburne) so that his mother can finish her education and his father can teach him how to be a man. Frankly, Tre seemed to me too easy to teach. He really didn't seem to be much of a challenge for his dad. Perhaps a bit more emphasis on the relationship between Tre and his dad would have given the movie a bit more intensity. That's what seemed to be basically lacking for me. Until quite near the end of the movie, I wasn't finding this especially intense. I found it sad - especially the brief glimpse of the drug addicted mother who let her baby wander into the streets and didn't really seem to care all that much - but not really intense. That does change near the end of the movie, especially with the story of Ricky (Morris Chestnut) - a talented young football player who has a chance to get out with a football scholarship to USC. But up to that last half hour or so, I wasn't really finding this movie especially powerful.
Perhaps the intensity was lacking because the movie is more than 20 years old and is a bit dated, or, more likely, perhaps as a white person I simply can't relate to the environment that was being depicted. Whatever the reason though that lack of intensity and personal connection with the movie and characters (in spite of the good performances) pulls this down a notch or two for me. (5/10)
Tre was perhaps too good for my liking. As the movie begins, Tre (as a young boy) is sent to live with his father (Fishburne) so that his mother can finish her education and his father can teach him how to be a man. Frankly, Tre seemed to me too easy to teach. He really didn't seem to be much of a challenge for his dad. Perhaps a bit more emphasis on the relationship between Tre and his dad would have given the movie a bit more intensity. That's what seemed to be basically lacking for me. Until quite near the end of the movie, I wasn't finding this especially intense. I found it sad - especially the brief glimpse of the drug addicted mother who let her baby wander into the streets and didn't really seem to care all that much - but not really intense. That does change near the end of the movie, especially with the story of Ricky (Morris Chestnut) - a talented young football player who has a chance to get out with a football scholarship to USC. But up to that last half hour or so, I wasn't really finding this movie especially powerful.
Perhaps the intensity was lacking because the movie is more than 20 years old and is a bit dated, or, more likely, perhaps as a white person I simply can't relate to the environment that was being depicted. Whatever the reason though that lack of intensity and personal connection with the movie and characters (in spite of the good performances) pulls this down a notch or two for me. (5/10)