User reviews

The picture talks upon a drug dealer called Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo) who loved by his girlfriend (Dalilah Cotto) and with a lot of success on south Bronx turns his back on his roots , developing an economic relation with a Wall Street yuppie financier (Peter Saasgard) and his fiancée (Denise Richards). As he gives money to the Wall Street broker to invest for him .

In the motion picture , shot in 22 days , there is tension , a love story , thriller , emotion , intrigue and a little bit of violence . The movie is fast-moving and enough entertaining but happens many events ; dealing with a big time dope dealer who soon learns that he has been betrayed and his last option is to get vengeance . The pic obtained moderated success and didn't attain the box office that the producers wanted . The suspense movie is well-paced but there're some storyline gaps and the twisted plot makes it a few ridiculous . The film is rated ¨R¨ for violence and some sex and isn't apt for little boys , being for + 18 years' viewers . John Leguizano's fine interpretation as a successful drug dealer who becomes involved dark issues , he is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal and a new friend who happens to be a Wall Street stockbroker . Leguizano is pretty good but plays as Latin stereotypes . Producers originally wanted John Leguizamo to perform Jimmy , he loved the part of Victor so much that he got the director to give him that role . Thanks to Leguizano , the cast was completed with other enjoyable stars , as he used his star power to help bring bigger names to the project . Dalilah Cotto and Denise Richards are attractive as well as charming and Peter Saasgard as a hotshot business manager is magnificent . Isabella Rossellini as a Colombian drug lord is miscast and the veteran Sonia Braga hands a role very secondary as the starring's mother . The musical score by also actor Ruben Blades is nice and the movie is rightly directed by Fran Reyes .

Just caught up with this film on cable. I never saw it when it was released, and frankly, it was my loss. Franc. Reyes has directed a surprising first feature that has a glossy noirish look. It speaks volumes for a new director to have a style that's easy on the eye as well as for the mind.

John Leguizamo is a huge talent. I have seen him on stage in almost all of his solo presentations and can tell anyone that this man is a dynamo. He never stops surprising; he has a range that few others have and he uses it to his advantage. Mr. Leguizamo's Victor makes a deep impression. We never let our eyes leave Victor for a moment; this man is the product of the streets, but he proves to have a mind of his own and a sophistication that are not easy to match.

The idea of casting Peter Sargaard as Jack was pure genius. This actor is about one of the best working in films at the moment. In the movie he is the suave Jack who has a hidden agenda. Mr. Sargaard perfectly balances the action. His character is the product of the best schools. Victor is impressed because Jack accepts him from the beginning without apparent reservations or prejudice.

The problem with the film is that we know how it's going to end, and we weren't wrong. It was predictable, but the director and the two principals made the film a joy to watch.

The rest of the cast was fine, especially Denise Richards, a beautiful Delilah Cotto, who can give JayLo a lot of competition in the looks department, and Isabella Rosellini, who is perfect as La Colombiana with her big hair and furs.

Despite its poor box office performance and multitude of bad reviews from major critics, I found the movie to be quite good. John Leguizamo gives a powerful performance, exhibiting that same dramatic power he did in Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam." This is writer/director Franc Reyes' first film, and it's no masterpiece, but he definitely shows signs of talent. Not to mention the film was made on a low budget, yet it's just as effective, if not more, than urban gangster movies twice its budget. The film is flashy, but not too flashy. There is one shot, inspired by John Woo, in which Fat Joe flips a shotgun up in the air and it's played in slow-motion. Moments like that have their charm, "moment" being the key word. Too many scenes like that and you've got yourself the stereotypical, hare-brained, MTV music video disguising as a motion picture ala "Charlie's Angels." Reyes used an interesting lighting technique, making the ghetto scenes appear more golden and the uptown scenes a darker, blue-ish color. In most movies of this type, the ghetto scenes would be much more darkly lit, but Reyes wanted to break from the mold.

The story is predictable, except for one moment at the very end, but at the same time it's inspired and realistic. There are a few contrived, you-asked-for-it moments like Leguizamo's girlfriend catching him cheating on her with Denise Richards, but I didn't make a big fuss out of them. Reyes himself grew up in the South Bronx, so some of the scenes and characters are inspired from his childhood, and that inspiration really shows. Also, I always condone films with predominantly Latin-American casts, whether they're good or bad, because Hispanics are still very much snubbed in the world of media. So this is a film from a real Latin-American perspective, and not the perspective of a white man who did some research on their barrios and starring white actors with cheesy Latin accents (i.e.: Al Pacino in "Scarface").

Even though I'm all for minorities getting their art out there, that doesn't mean they have to diss the majorities. What I wasn't too thrilled about was the way the white characters were written. They're portrayed as the usual stuck-up, Armani-wearing fools they are in most films with a cast predominantly consisting of minorities. The climax involves the Peter Skarsgard character yelling out a racial slur. That seemed like a cheap device to elicit huge reactions from the young Hispanics in the audience. And the Denise Richards character is a ditsy floozie. What else is new? However, I've seen worse Caucasian stereotypes in African-American films. At least in this case, the whites weren't complete objects of ridicule.

The only member of the cast who I felt was out of place was Isabella Rossellini, who for some reason just seems like she walked onto the wrong movie set and never seems comfortable with her role. But the rest of the cast is superb. God knows I don't condone rappers venturing into acting, as a general rule, but the rappers who are in the film (Fat Joe and Treach from Naughty By Nature) are effective in their small roles, the key word being "small." If they had more major roles, my opinion would probably be a lot more negative.

"Empire" is a good, solid, well-acted, entertaining, action-packed joyride with great elements of truth. In a way, it's like an inner-city film noir.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Empire (2002)

Not knowing much about the drug world, or about the Latino drug world in Brooklyn in particular, I was fascinating on the basic level of curiosity. And some amazement, I suppose.

This isn't a badly made movie. The leading actor, John Leguizamo, is subtle enough as Victor Rosa and has an inner core of decency to keep you identified enough to watch. The plot needs that because there's a lot of the well worn drug violence to wear you out. There is also, however, a second plot element that you don't quite expect—Rosa finds an opportunity to invest his drug earnings into high yield stock deals through a very non- Latino Wall Street man.

So there is a big twist or two to come, and this really makes the movie more of a fictional bit of creativity. Written and directed by Franc Reyes, "Empire" is about all kinds of rivalries. It's also wants to be about love and is thin there. You wish he had taken the slightly different tack the script offered him and tilted away from the shooting and strutting (lots of cocks hanging out here) and more into the minds and hearts of these people, who start to become real for us.

No such luck. Somehow they managed to get Isabella Rossellini in for a small but good part—if you're a fan you'll enjoy that. And Leguizamo adds some tenderness (real or not) to larger scene. And location shooting, frankly, is really nice, showing not the usual sides of New York (or LA) and not the romanticized ethnic neighborhoods (like the Italian or Jewish sections of old), but the regular, rough-edged reality of Brooklyn now. Or at least in 2002. Things keep changing down there really fast.

I don't recommend or not this movie—it's purely about whether you like this kind of world and want to get immersed in it. Nothing really special happens, but it's got a steady interest that might keep you going.

"Empire" is all about a streetwise drug dealer (Leguizamo) in South Bronx, NY who self-narrates his take on how to work your way out of the ghetto and go legit. A slick shoot with a bunch of trite recycled street crime and gangland snippets pieced together for a screenplay, this predictable and contrived flick never really gets where it's trying to go. Chock full of plot holes and nonsequiturs, the auteur asks us to care enough about a thug, murderer, and drug pusher to sit through 1.5 hours of all-sizzle-but-no-steak nonsense about his life. A so-so no brainer action/drama for Leguizamo fans and crime buffs only. (C+)

Overall, the cinematography was pretty good, soundtrack was excellent but the plot was disappointing. The typical elements that relegate Latinos to stereotypical roles persist throughout the film. However, is groundbreaking in that its done by Arenas Entertainment--the first Latino production/distribution company.

Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo) is a drug dealer in the South Bronx. He's made a lot of money with his crew Jimmy, Chedda, and Jay. He calls his area and his product Empire. He gets into a feud with a neighboring rival. His girlfriend Carmen goes to college with Trish (Denise Richards) who introduces them to her Wall Street banker boyfriend Jack (Peter Sarsgaard). Jack offers Victor an investment opportunity which requires him to get a loan from his drug source La Colombiana (Isabella Rossellini).

Leguizamo is trying to be hard and he's trying too hard. The narration tries to be hard-boiled. There is a lot of trying but a lot less succeeding. Writer/director Franc. Reyes is trying to mimic better gangster movies. There are ways to make this work but Reyes doesn't have it at this point.

This being the first film of director Fanc Reyes, one may say it is not bad at all. Starring John Leguizamo this is quite a standard story of a Puerto Rican drug dealers gang leader, trying to take the right turn in his life. To do it he takes a good home girl friend, and he tries to launder his drug money by partnering with a capital investor from the good side of New York City. As you may expect, his old world will not let him go that easily, and the new world he aspires to enter is not exactly what it seems to be.

The problem is that the action is not consistent enough, and there is hardly one scene, situation, or line that was not seen or heard in a previous movie. For a beginner in directing one would expect maybe less technique, but something new to say, or say it in a different mode. Nothing shows up, and the film ends being another drug dealers violent drama. 6/10 on my personal scale.

(POSSIBLE PLOT SPOLIERS) John Leguizamo is a talented actor. Don't believe me? Look at his two roles in the Baz Lurhman directed films MOULIN ROUGE as Toulouse Lautroc the French dwarf and as Tybalt in ROMEO & JULLIET. He was also good in Brian De Palma's CARLITO'S WAY, and even doing a voice over of Sid in ICE AGE. So why not give Mr. Leguizamo his break and give him a leading role in a film? I'm all for that, I'll sign the petition that will cast Leguizamo as the leading man. He's more human than most action stars. Granted, he got top billing in Spike Lee's SUMMER OF SAM, but he was part of the four person cast of Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody and Jennifer Espiseido. But why put him in as the lead in such a silly movie like EMPIRE? The trailer for EMPIRE has the movie being about Vic Rosa (Leguizamo) a man who trusts and invests his millions of drug earned money into a stock deal set up by Jack (Peter Sarsgaard). It turns out that Jack conned Vic, and Jack ran off with Vic's millions. Now Vic wants revenge. Is that the plot, sort of. But after timing the film, that doesn't happen until the end of the third reel of the 5 1/2 reel film. So what is this film about? Sadly, if you've seen one film where the main character deals with: "everytime I try to leave, they just pull me back in" crisis, then you've seen EMPIRE. Granted, De Palma's CARLITO'S WAY was the same way, but that film due to De Palma's pacing and directing made it more unique and enjoyable, not to forget the acting by both Al Pacino and Sean Penn.

Vic is a drug dealer in the Bronx who sells LSD, PCP, one of those drugs where you lick a piece of paper and get high (sorry, I'm not into the drug culture, and I don't want to be). Vic is a nice drug dealer, he gives some neighborhood boys a Playstation 2 if they wash his car for the next month, then goes after the boys' mother who took their money for her personal reasons. Vic has a pretty girlfriend, Carmen (Delilah Cotto) who is going to school and trying to live a good life. Carmen's classmate, Trish (Denise Richards) invites Carmen to attend one of her parties at her boyfriend's place. Vic and Carmen go, meet Trish's boyfriend, Jack, and Vic and Jack have a buddy relationship that turns sour after realizing the greed for the root of all evil, money. Universal originally had this film schedule for release in February of 2003, but I'm guessing since the box office intake of 8 MILE for it's opening weekend wasn't good enough, they pushed this film up so they can have another Holiday release for more box office gold. Well, it's not going to work. This is a movie where at times it tries really hard to be good, and it succeeds, like Leguizamo's acting and the cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau are very good and impressive. But it's the other things that ruin EMPIRE, most notably the acting. Peter Sarsgaard is a good actor, look at SALTON SEA, but here he reminded me too much of Topher Grace and his character in TRAFFIC. Sadly, I wasn't the only person in the audience who thought of that. Delilah Cotto is attractive and pretty, but her acting was too much similar to Marisa Tomei. It was depressing to see former screen beauties Sonia Braga and Isabella Rossellini playing old lady characters. Are these the same sexy females from KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN and BLUE VELVET? But the campiest and hysterical bad award goes to Mrs. Sheen (Denise Richards). You haven't lived a full life until you see Richards wearing a black afro wig, and trying to be serious about it. And this is the same person that complained about her image on the UNDERCOVER BROTHER poster that brought out the assets on her?(sorry for the pun)

I can't blame Franc Reyes, it's is first time and that is understandable. He does have some good ideas and there are some scenes that can work. But with the standard protagonist trying to break out of the crime world plot that has been seen too many times, it doesn't make EMPIRE anything unique. Allthough, I'm still laughing from remembering that image of Denise Richards with the afro, it stll cracks me up.

There are so many other good movies out this season, HARRY POTTER, 007, SANTA CLUASE 2, FAR FROM HEAVEN, FRIDA, etc. Even if you're looking for a good action flick, DIE ANOTHER DAY is a good film, or wait for TWO TOWERS or GANGS OF NEW YORK. But for EMPIRE, if you are a devoted fan of Leguizamo (and I mean even watching his sort-lived but good t.v. sitcom of Fox several years ago), then this is at least worth seeing for his performance as a lead. But if you're looking for a action filled, rap music soundtrack, no nonsense, in yo face film.... look somewhere else. You won't find it here. And I'm still laughing at the image of Denise Richards with the afro. **1/2 (out of five)

A little gem of a gangster film. Not totally original, it could be seen as a homage to many of its predecessors, yet it delivers and keeps you interested right until the very end.

John Leguizamo plays local drug dealer Victor Rosa who sees the opportunity yo "branch out" into other areas and let his drug money work for him in the stock market when he meets, through his girlfriend, a up and coming wall street executive. Problem is that he finds it harder and harder to move away from his dangerous life on the streets, and still ends up having to deal with his crew of trigger happy homeboys, rival drug dealers and drug kingpins - which turns out to be a hell of a lot harder than before.

Leguizamo is brilliant in the lead role and has good support from the likes of Peter Sarsgaard, as his new wall street chum, and Vincent Laresca as his best friend from childhood. Its also good to see old stagers Isabella Rossellini and Sonia Braga again.

Denise Richards (not really having to act here, which suits her fine) and unknown Delilah Cotto are good eye candy, and do well as the sexy female leads.

An A for effort to all involved.

The reviews for this movie were not great, but I saw this movie and liked it. That is the problem with some professional movie critics. For them a movie is not a rewarding experience unless it is a truly original idea that is artsy and different. For me, and many of my friends, I want to eat popcorn and be entertained. I tend to ask myself key questions; was the plot interesting?, did I fall asleep during the movie?, what did I think of the acting and the actors?. how did the movie look(locations, how was it shot/filmed)?. If the answer to these questions is atleast marginally favorable, chances are I liked the movie. It's only when I begin to compare the movie to its' brethren or other movies of the same ilk that my opinion deviates from average to above average. No film that I reluctantly admit I marginally enjoyed would receive a below average rating. This is not the greatest film of all time, and its' filled with cliches and predictable plot twists, however it I did enjoy it; and the beautiful Ms. Delilah Cotto.

Empire stars John Leguizamo in a fairly decent role this time, as Victor Rosa. He is a drug dealer who is living life at a good pace. But as sucessful as his buisness is, he finds that he should get out while he still can and settle down. He sees his chance as he meets a wall street stock broker named Jack. He has a propasition for Victor that involves millions of dollars in which Victor needs to borrow from his drug dealing allies. It soon turns out that Victor is screwed out of the deal and Jack has made off with the money! Victor soon discovers he has no choice but to seek out Jack and have his revenge. What starts out with all the characteristics of a flop movie soon turns into something interesting. Leguizamo portrays Victor well, with smarts, feelings and charisma. It's not the greatest gangster flick out there (say Goodfellas blows it out of the whole movie making buisness) but this is surely worth a look. Empire provides insites into the crime world and keeps interest for a lot of the time (except the flat beginning). There are sometimes surprises that you wouldn't expect, good gun fights, and the ending is really something else. Overall not bad, do not judge the cover by all the bad things everyone says about it. Give it a shot! you may be surprised. 7.0/10

Watching 'Empire' was a pleasant surprise. Not knowing what to expect it put on this movie and I never thought about the stop button again.

As a lover of narrator movies (yeah I know, some also really suck) I can add a new good movie to that list. The short action scenes are good and the situations are believable. Peter Sarsgaard plays really well and so does John Leguizamo. The women (Denise Richards and Delilah Cotto) will never be my favorite actresses but they are not bad either.

The only real bad thing about this film is that they try to put too much character development in too little time. To make that aspect really work the movie was to paceful and too short.

But overall: a good movie!

Victor Rosa(John Leguizamo)is a common dealer believing in the American dream and thinking about a new mogul to be him,one day the best friend of his girl introduces him one faking "business man" called Jack Wimmer(Skaarsgard)to convince him in blanking his illegal tender,the NASDAQ looked a good choice to chance his turbulent life,but when he thought in a new "yuppie" life along his beloved Carmen,the smart dealer fades away before the dark intentions of his new "friend",the predator is now the prey when Victor "invests" all his bucks plus US$ 1'500,000 borrowed by his main supporter "La Colombiana"(Isabella Rossellini),and when the new take-off fails he decides to take revenge against Jack and Trish(Denise Richards)slaying both deceivers with his own hands.

Trying to make one last chance to get easy,his old dues are paid in the same way he decided to punish the betrayal both-some,maybe the director and the writers wanted to show a moral lesson:"when you come into a hard pathway,you won't come back for sure",maybe this flick is not "Scarface,"The Godfather" neither "Goodfellas",however it fulfills his right goals featuring Leguizamo in a good performance.

So I've basically seen every movie that has come out to this point and yet my girlfriend and I decide to go to the movies. I really want to see "Adaptation", but it's not out in K.C. yet for some reason. So we settle with "Empire". I've seen the previews and I actually like John Leguizamo, his stand up is pretty funny; however, this movie appeared to have no merit whatsoever. To be perfectly honest I was very surprised. The movie actually entertained me. Leguizamo was very good and fit the part perfectly. I couldn't see any other Latino actor playing that part. Overall the acting was decent. Some unknown actors who had small roles played nicely. Denise Richards was very good at playing the "bad girl" part, her boyfriend (don't remember his name) was decent but didn't handle the climax very well. The worst scene was by far the one with Fat Joe with his son. I don't know why movies continue to recruit rap stars who can't act. The scene did lead up to a predictable event, but Fat Joe was just plain terrible. The story was very good. Definitely one I didn't expect to keep my attention. The twists of the movie were for the most part unpredictable, except the one mentioned above, and entertaining. Most people will go into this movie with a low expectation. It actually works for the movie, as it is not stellar but because of the low expectation it is good.

Its nothing startling but it is an enjoyable movie as we watch the journey of a 'business man' as he negotiates his way through the world.

The movie is transparently obvious but that doesn't diminish its entertainment.

Can be a little slow in parts and could have used a little more teeth but an ok movie overall :)

Hi enjoyed this movie for the most part. It wasn't the best, but it had something going for it underneath its predictable skin, notably the acting. I thought lequizamo was a great cast for the part. The biggest complaint i have for this movie is that its soundtrack was the worst ever. I felt a more street type music i.e. rap should have been employed, but there was nothing but slow, mellow, music. 6/10.

I think that this is a great film for a small budget. I don't think that this is any groundbreaking script, but for a cast of semi big names and a budget of only 3 million and something, this film was great.

It had the elements to make the story without explosives, special effects and still be interesting. Sure, it could've been a stronger script, but I think that it was well delivered for the budget and the marketing that it had, which was almost none.

I've seen many movies with a bigger budget and a far far far far horrible script and lots of marketing.

Congrats to the staff and entire crew of Empire. I was overall pleased with the product.

Latin Boyz In The Hood meets Dawson's Creek. Been there done that story about kidz from the ghetto hustling cash and trying to be down with the white man who screws them over again and again!

Legz is solid as an actor as usual but stale in his portrayal in this type of role...limited talent behind the camera especially given that they had over 5 million to make this film, it looks like a 1 million dollar film...other than that no actor stands out all in the film.

There's probably no point in discussing the plot of "Empire," since the whole movie is all but divulged in the trailers, but it's not in my best interest to leave people in the dark. Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo, also providing voice-over narration) is a South Bronx drug dealer who wants to get out of the business and lead a normal life with his pregnant girlfriend (Delilah Cotto), who is expecting their first child. Victor believes Wall Street investment banker Jack Wimmer (Peter Sarsgaard) is his lifeline to quick – and legal – financial freedom. It's not long before his alliance with Wimmer begins to alienate relationships with his friends and partners, which in turn yields serious consequences. This solid storyline is lost in the abyss of director Franc. Reyes' world of near-pitch black sets, endless gunplay, flat dialogue that's composed mainly of colorful metaphors, and rappers playing trigger-happy drug dealers (in this case, Treach and Fat Joe; at least they're a major improvement over stiffs like Ja Rule and DMX). The third act collapses under the weight of its predictability; a field guide and binoculars won't be needed to spot twists that can be seen from a country mile away. Denise Richards pops up in the egregious role of Wimmer's sexpot girlfriend, but don't let that deter you from seeing an otherwise fairly entertaining movie. It's difficult to argue, though, that Leguizamo's talents were better put to use in "Ice Age." 7/10

I've seen this movie twice. And it didn't get any better second time. It's a mix of separate story elements, which, if used correctly, could make a plot alone. Here, neither of them works. Not the street wars, grand hoax or "getting out from crime life" element.

The movies with big con-man have interesting twists and element of surprise. None here. The ultimate thief turns out to be just a greedy nerd. Usually, the street wars movies or action thrillers overall, are THRILLING. The pace should be up! Here, the slow motion effect is used to make it look more stupid, as girly headache generator music plays and there's enough of blood to make everything look like horror movie parody. It's simply girly. Stupid, unrealistic and not intense at all. I prefer real ballet with real dancers instead of fat gangsters with guns. And getting out of crime life theme, even if it fits here, is played out so lousily and unbelievably as anything could.

So basically, the movie stinks. Unless you like the awful soundtrack and women with proportions of a duck.