midvngxnce

Menace II Society

A movie about how unflinching, cynical America is. Lot's of comparisons to Goodfellas. The creative camerawork is the clear standout. Whole runtime I was pretty much lost in these characters and the environment of the film.

arethas

Menace II Society

i swear i moaned every time jada pinkett came on screen

BelugaJames

Menace II Society

You don’t expect films of this sort to be fun, but this one is exceptionally bleak. What a nihilistic and depressing film. Very well done.

ron

Menace II Society

“The hunt is on and you’re the prey.” Nihilistic. Stark. Reality. What happens when black lives are devalued institutionally? When an entire community is oppressed, exploited, and abandoned? You get something like this. An environment where violence and machismo are the only languages spoken. Where even the “good” kids have their futures ripped from them due to the lack of opportunity available to them. When you don’t see a way out, then you have to get in. After the film I watched the bonus features and laughed when the Hughes brothers said that they made the film for White America. Not because the statement was funny, but because it was what I felt while watching the film. What must seem like a shock and pulling back of the curtain for some just got a shrug out of me. Not out of apathy but because it was a reflection of what I already knew. That’s how it is. I’ve seen all these archetypes in my life, in high school, in my family. And had my life gone even a bit differently, some of them could have been me. While I do appreciate the film’s blunt portrayal of its characters, I have to say that overall I think I prefer the “Mary Poppins ” (the Hughes Brother’s words not mine!) version of this story—Boyz n the Hood. Maybe that makes me a sucker or sentimental but that film, and even other similar ones, New Jack City and Paid In Full are more likely to stay with me.