Review – New Jack City

If Mario Van Peebles misses a gangster movie cliché anywhere, it’s not for a lack of trying. Though this was a big movie at the time, in retrospect it comes across as a Black, New York reheat of Scarface (scenes from which adorn this picture in several places). The cast – including the likes of Wesley Snipes, Judd Nelson and Ice T – is good without being great. Some of the action sequences are entertaining. Overall, however, this is a “just say no” afterschool special with extra added violence and profanity. Mildly amusing