Sucker Free City

Sucker Free City refers to San Francisco, where three interlocking stories take place with black, white and Chinese guys on the street. Some are gang-bangers (black), or hard-bitten mafia (Chinese), and the other (white) are more marginalized with some dabbling in some 'thug' business. What's very strong here in a pilot episode is also something of an unfortunate weakness considering it's Spike Lee directing, and directing well: it ends on a note of 'what comes next', of a few too many loose ends to feel totally at ease as a stand alone work, which it sadly became once Showtime decided not to pick it up. While one wonders if they could pick up the reins properly from Lee, or if he could produce the series, or (more logically) if it could properly compete with HBO's The Wire, taking it as a stand-alone made-for-TV movie, it's quality s*** we're talking about, so to speak.

Lee directs with a professionalism that is uncanny, but like any good film artist trying to work into something mainstream he only puts his marks here once in a while, even less than in something big like Inside Man (one of the trademarks though, Da-BOMB malt liquor from Bamboozled, is a fun and nice touch). He does what he needs to do: tell all these stories, set up a lot of things to play out within the two-hours and for the future (as there is uncertainty even in what feels finished), and cast everything to a T. In this case we get Anthony Mackie, fresh off of what turned out to be a turkey for Lee, She Hate Me, as a gang-banger K-Luv in abandoned wasteland Hunter's Point trying to go somewhat legit with his endeavors; Ben Crowley as the credit-card hustler and sometimes coke-dealer Ben Wade, who's parents have decided to move right into Hunter's point across the street from K-Luv's people; (way underrated) Ken Leung as a collector for the Chinese mob getting in over his head with a new decked-out car and debts unpaid.

Lee creates an atmosphere that's tense, funny, and occasionally really shocking (not to spoil, but it does involve children), and he has a surprisingly strong script to work off of from first-timer Alex Tse. Everything easily gets linked together, but the tensions rise with some conventionality- just enough to keep things believable for TV. The set-up is even so good I'm reminded of Oz, where the psychology and sociology of street-life got examined with mature entertainment. One can only think how the characters lives could go on from here, but the fact that Lee keeps us guessing is a mark of his talents; ironically, this is one of the director's best works in recent years, and should be seen by more than just those looking him up this site. 8.5/10

A 2.0 overall (which is what it was when I looked at it on IMDb), does not do this film justice. My ranking is an 8.

When I read this was a pilot for a series, I was not expecting much, but I'd heard good things about it, and, since I sometimes feel that I'm one of the last Spike Lee fans standing, I thought I'd give it a look.

What I saw was terrific characters in intelligent settings, a well-written script, well-acted for the most part (hey, these are kids). I really cared about the characters and want to know more ... but I guess the series was not picked up. Wonder why? Spike Lee has done a great job of giving us his version of the gritty reality of San Franciso ganglife.

I'm no expert on this subject by any means, but I did find the stories quite engaging. And the characters are all likable, in a weird way, from the sober, intelligent K-Luv, to the displaced, entrepreneurial Nick, to the confused but commanding Peter, all ambitious and ruthless. We must imagine how we would react to our surroundings if we were in their shoes. It's easy to sit on a highhorse and judge these guys, but would we really be any different?

The camera-work was phenomenal, with an earthy, videotape feel at times, and a cinematic one at others -- always appropriate. If you have an HD television, Showtime is showing it thus, and it looks remarkable.

Catch it if you can.

If he wanted to be accurate, he should have chosen some Frisco natives and not a bunch of NY actors who know nothing about the Sucka Free (not Sucker Free). I've lived in SF my entire life, and folks here do not talk or act the way these actors did. Everything was over-dramatized, and the only cat I saw from the Bay was JT the Bigga Figga with his little cameo as a rapper. No shock that he was the only one in the film who really dressed like cats out here (ie his Warriors jersey). Not once did I notice anyone wearing any Giants or 9ers gear; instead he fitted them in some cheesy made-up SF or Oakland jerseys that aren't even sold around here. HP has no bowling alleys, black and Asian gangbangers do NOT wear head or wristbands with the colors of Africa or China's Olympic team, nor does every Chinese gangster wear a Yao Ming jersey and try and sound black while shooting hoops. Further, while there now is a significant yuppie community that has invaded the Mission, all that was shown was some white dude and a self-proclaimed "100% West Coast Boriqua." This is NOT New York! Puerto Ricans here are few and far between, and the Latinos in the Mission are very, very different from the ONE that was shown here, who was without a doubt from NY. Also, HP is not the only black neighborhood in the City. An accurate depiction would have shown the drama between HP sets in their own hood as well as vs. Fillmore, Sunnydale, Lakeview, etc.

This film could've been much better if Lee had done some more homework and had a better storyline to work with.

Leon is one of the most entertaining sociopaths I've ever seen depicted. Hilarious and scary at the same time. Showtime dropped the ball on picking up the series

Much better than I expected - more real and gritty depiction of street life in SF than most NYC-based movies. Believable and gripping story line. Negative: Most of the story lines were left wide open w/out any closure. In retrospect, seems obvious it was a pilot for something bigger - just doesn't stand well on its own - just leaves the viewer wanting more. I would definitely watch this series in its entirety. Acting: Excellent acting from a group of unknowns - and a couple good cameos from seasoned actors. Direction: most of the scenes were very tight - no-nonsense, great editing. Camera-work: google-earth (like) opening credits and use of geography was really cool to show where scenes were happening. Some old-time TV scrolling narratives/history were a nice touch. Good recommendation ROH.