Waist Deep

WAIST DEEP follows a tried and true formula: Ex-con's son is kidnapped by his ex-partner in crime, a ransom is demanded, the ex-con works diligently to put together the ransom while doing his best to undermine his old partner, and there's a final showdown between them. The kid is cute, the ex-con is an impressive slab of beef, the former partner is suitably menacing and fugly beyond belief, and of course there's a pretty female to help things along. The formula works most of the time, but the movie is so predictable that in the end I asked myself why I bothered to rent it. There is a heckuva car chase near the end that sort of makes up for a dull middle. The movie, which could have just as easily starred Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson in his prime, clearly was aimed at an urban audience even though it was heavily marketed as a mainstream flick. That's why I rented it. It could have been a lot worse, I suppose.

An ex-con (Tyrese Gibson) trying to go straight is pulled back into the life after his young son (Henry Hunter Hall) is kidnapped by an urban gang led by a sadistic machete-wielding boss (The Game). Throw in red-hot small-time hustler Meagan Good and borderline alcoholic Larenz Tate (as Gibson's inept cousin) and we have a typical modern-day crime picture that has lots more bullets than brains. Gibson and Good make an alluring couple, but neither have much talent in the end. The Game is down-right creepy and Tate seems like he is just going through the motions after successful roles in "Ray" and "Crash". "Waist Deep" stays at an adequate spot for a good portion of its running time, but then finally sinks with an unwanted and ridiculous final act. Will definitely be mentioned with the lesser productions of the year. 2 stars out of 5.

OK, my Mrs wanted to watch it for a few days but I thought it was going to be the usual muscle bound stuff which is synonymous with a Tyrese title. But was I wrong. The film captures you from the off with good sounds and fast moving filming. The story is predictable but enjoyable and left me with a nice taste in my mouth. Unfortunately it has taken Tyrese almost 20 years from his coke advert to finally make a film in which we see a little talent. In closing I was very happy because with a film like this you can only score on action but they were some strong roles (not award winning but there hasn't been much of that lately anyhow).

This isn't a great movie but it's good, fun, mindless entertainment.

I'm a huge fan of "Gridlock'd" and went into this film expecting a clever take on the action genre from Vondie Curtis Hall. What I got was an action-packed movie that borrowed from many films before it; its saving grace is its urban twist, the tongue in cheek humor (Kimora Lee's cameo is priceless) and its stars, Tyrese Gibson, Meagan Good and Larenz Tate. If you're fans of either actor, you'll allow yourself to believe the unbelievable moments--and there are many of them.

The action is non-stop, the hip hop soundtrack delivers in all the right places and you could plant a pretty garden in the plot holes but you'll certainly get your money's worth with the gunfights, beautiful people and adrenaline racing chase scenes--and in the end, isn't that what action films are all about?

There are two basic sub-genres within the "urban" (read black guys) category: 1/ The totally play-to-cliché everyone rocks a glock & has dumb hair & shoots before they talk & hates the cops & keeps it real at all times & is part of a gang selling drugs & 110% gangsta 112% of the time.

2/ A more realistic portrayal, which if the depictions are right is all of the above only slightly less so.

Waist Deep straddles the line of the two and ends up being a bit of both, but as a result not much of anything.

Streets is hot in LA cuz. There are continual street demonstrations demanding that the violence be stopped, (though for some reason this never really comes into the storyline – so why have it?) and the mood is tetchy.

Otis is called away from his job to pick up son Otis Jr who is about 9 years old. On the way home his car is jacked with Otis Jr in it. (Might I add that Otis Sr has the nickname O2, wouldn't it make more sense for his son to have that moniker?) Moving on… O2 realises that the hot (seriously) chick who distracted him and thereby assisted in the jacking was in on the ground floor. He grabs her (never abet a car-jacking and expect to run away in high heels luv) and after the girl Coco realises he really loves his son the two set off top spend the rest of the movie finding him.

Within 12 minutes or so O2 finds out through his sketchy cousin Lucky that a gang called the Outlaws (ooooh scary) lead by crime-boss Big Meat (it pays to advertise I guess?) has O2-2 and wants O2 to pay a ransom to get him back.

To raise the funds O2 and Coco – sounds like a bad Euro DJ team – must wreak a 2 person crime wave all over the city during which Coco gets to wear a cavalcade of fashionable outfits that were fortunately provided in an otherwise pointless scene where they go to an underground fashion dealer and stick 'em up.

I'm not complaining much, Coco is hot.

The film continues the paint by numbers approach, there is a love scene, proof that Big Meat is tough, nasty and ruthless and also that O2 is basically a hard working father pushed into a situation against his will, yet eminently capable in this environment… and Coco is still hot and wears lots of outfits (not sure if I mentioned that before).

The title Waist Deep probably means something, I have no idea what. The film is far less macho and has fewer chest-puffed out scenes than the poster might suggest, it also isn't anywhere near as over the top as I predicted. It's merely another film where a Dad must save his child from the naughty guys while the clock is running… and neither a good nor an especially bad one.

Final Rating – 5 / 10. Referring back to the first statement in this review: there are 2 sub-genres available. Waist Deep chooses neither, which is the main reason that it is quite forgettable and not very entertaining.