Dead Presidents

Dead Presidents is an okay movie. Not bad, not great. Okay. I give it a B-.

I give Dead Presidents high marks for casting and acting. Larenz Tate, Chris Tucker, and the rest did a fabulous job. I also like the war scenes--very gripping, very scary.

The problem that I have with the movie is that it spans too many genres and as a result, just seems to drag on and on. The tag line would make you believe that this is a cops and robbers film centered around a major heist. But that is terribly misleading. The heist doesn't happen and isn't even an issue until late in the film. Up to that point you could consider this a life in the ghetto movie, trying to escape the ghetto movie, a Viet Nam war movie, a what life was like for blacks in the late 60's early 70's movie, a what the Viet Nam war did to those who survived it movie, so on and so on. By the time it came around for the big robbery, I was wondering when this movie would end. This problem of too grand a scope keeps the movie from getting an A.

"Dead Presidents" is a classic in my book. I could suffice with that statement but I'll add a bit more. It was a well acted and well directed drama that seemed to be funny when it needed to be (thank you Chris Tucker), dramatic when it needed to be, and even violent when it needed to be. Some of, if not most of the violence was pretty graphic--that can be taken as a positive or negative. I'm not perturbed by it, but I can see how some are.

I loved the story. It was simple yet complex. It was really about five years in the life of a young Black man from New York spanning from 1968 to 1973. From his high school years on the streets of the Bronx, to his years in Vietnam, to his return to a family and struggling with life in the world. I think "Dead Presidents" was an excellent production that didn't short change us at all in any aspect.

Chris Tucker is hilarious in this movie, he has great on screen charisma, and he speaks his lines very fluidly, as if he was improvising. Larenz Tate is great as well, being able to pull off the young version of his character, since he has a boyish face. And Bokeem Woodbine reminds me of Samuel L. Jackson in this movie. The cinematography is also great and so is the acting overall. Like everyone says, its not so much as a heist movie, but a reflection on the hardships of the black individual, such as finding work and drug abuse; after fighting a war that wasnt really meant for them or their country.

For all those who liked the movie "Menace 2 Society",you are going to love this one. This movie features the star from Menace to Society "Larenz Tate" and the well known "Chris Tucker". This is a very violent movie and have a few very gory scenes of the Vietnam war,but that is okay because this movie really shows how difficult it must have been for a black man growing up in the Bronx in the 60's.And it shows how life is for him and his friends after coming home from the Vietnam war. The language in this movie is of course very tough and rough and I could actually count the f-word 247 times in this movie and that speaks for it's self.

This is an extremely well made movie that really shows the reality of how hard the world can be for some people.

I advice everybody to go out and pick up this movie, because it is a story that you got to hear.

Gripping, poignant story about a young black man growing up in the 1960s Bronx whose parents groom him to follow in the footsteps of his college grad older brother. He has his own plans however, and enlists in the Marine Corps where he survives four years of brutal warfare in Vietnam. He returns home to try and make a new life for himself, but a struggling economy and lack of formal education gradually draw him into a life of crime. An effective portrayal of black involvement in Vietnam, with good performances, powerful scenes, and shockingly graphic violence. Tate is commanding in the lead, and Tucker a real surprise as his drug-addicted pal. Not for all tastes, but well-crafted and well-made. ***