Original Gangstas Movie Review 1996

In Hollywood everything old eventually becomes new again. John Bookman (Williamson) returns to his old neighborhood in Gary, Indiana, after his father is brutally shot by a gang leader. Things have changed from Bookman's days of gang banging, with the streets swarming with young machine gun-toting lowlifes. Bent on revenge, cigar-chewing Bookman, aided by childhood friends Jake (Brown), Slick (Roundtree), and Bubba (O'Neal), decide to take back their streets with a little help from Foxy Brown herself (Grier), as a greiving mother. The nostalgia quotient is high watching these '70s blaxploitation stars together in one movie, older, more gray and a little wider, but still able to kick butt. Serious topic (gang violence) is lost in a conventional vigilante vehicle, which sacrifices a message for an all-too-familiar and bloody showdown.

Distribution

Orion Home Video, MGM, 2500 Broadway, 3515, Santa Monica, CA 90404-3036, Phone: (310)449-3000, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 98 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Urban Drama, Gangs, Revenge, Vigilantes, African America

Screenplay

Aubrey Rattan

Cast

Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Pam Grier, Ron O'Neal, Richard Roundtree, Paul Winfield

Cinematography

Carlos Gonzalez

Director

Larry Cohen

Music

Vladimir Horunzhy

Producer

Fred Williamson, Po' Boy Productions, Orion Pictures