Menace II Society (1993)
1h 37m | PG-13
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Director: Albert Hughes
Studio: New Line Cinema
Genre: Drama, Crime, Thriller
Video: 720p
Cast
Tyrin Turner
as Caine 'Kaydee' Lawson
Larenz Tate
as Kevin 'O-Dog'
Glenn Plummer
as Pernell
Jada Pinkett Smith
as Ronnie
Samuel L. Jackson
as Tat Lawson
June Kyoto Lu
as Grocery Store Woman
Reviews
<em>'Menace II Society'</em> delivers an eventful 90 minutes! It's a film I certainly like, it is a predictable (beginning aside) ride but one that does manage to hit a fair bit. The characters are admittedly not the most likeable, though their predicament is still easy to connect to. Tyrin Turner makes for a solid lead, with Larenz Tate and Jada Pinkett (Smith) the pick of the rest; the latter, to be honest, brings the best acting of the main bunch. Aside from Pinkett, I did find the acting to be imperfect - not bad, whatsoever, but those away from Jada do get a bit cringey in parts. Good to see Samuel L. Jackson involved, albeit minimally. The ending, whilst good and totally serviceable, did irritate me slightly. I won't spoil what happens, but the 'last act' of Caine doesn't make total sense; you can tell they done it like that because it sounded dramatic on paper. Is it just me or did he laughably put the young fella in more danger? It took me out of the scene, I can't lie. Overall, this 1993 release is very good. I just evidently had a couple of (relatively minor, but noteworthy) issues with it, that's all.