ORIGINAL GANSTAS
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Orion) Directed by Larry Cohen Written by ? Cast Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, Pam Grier MPAA Rating "R" (presumably for language and violence) Running Time 98 min. Reviewed at Carmike 7, Raleigh, NC (11MAY96)
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"Blaxploitation" heroes Fred Williamson, Jim Brown, and Pam Grier reunite in ORIGINAL GANGSTAS, a rousing urban western about a trio of former gang members in Gary, Indiana (homicide capital of the country) who return to "take back the streets" after one of their sons is killed in a drive-by. Played mostly straight, O.G. is a rousing festival of tough talk and vindictive violence. Expect plenty of big words, punctuated by cracked limbs, broken jaws, and crushed testicles. (Not to mention a few thousand or so rounds of automatic weapons fire. Hey, this is the nineties.)
The film is engaging-- and, at times, inspirational-- for about an hour, until the gun battles begin. They go on forever. Williamson, Brown, and Grier look great these days and have a good chemistry together. Other familiar faces include Paul Winfield, Isabel Sanford, Richard "Shaft" Roundtree, and Ron "Superfly" O'Neal. (Lest we take things *too* seriously, Wings Hauser is also on hand. He plays an aide to the mayor.) As much fun as this reunion is, the moral message behind ORIGINAL GANGSTAS is rather dubious. Too bad that director Larry Cohen couldn't make a stronger statement on values.
Grade: C+
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Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
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