Friend Requests - New Jack City

Starting off my newest review series where I review movies requested by my friends, we go back to 1991, to the wild world of New Jack City. A movie that was released within the depths of the crack epidemic of the United States, a movie that brought audiences into that epidemic moreso than the news on TV ever could. It's a movie that fucking moved people back then, getting rave reviews all across the board and really opening up the shit that went down with all this back in the day. But, does it still hold up? Well, we're going to find out.

The movie follows the story of Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes), a notorious crime lord and drug dealer as he rises on the streets of New York City. The movie pretty much starts out with him setting up a new operation in an apartment complex called The Carter, which gives him a building to create crack in, as well as sell it and create a haven for the addicts all around the town. For a while, Nino makes nothing but gain after gain, catching the attention of the police of course, as detectives Scotty Appleton (Ice T) and Nick Peretti (Judd Nelson) are set onto the case.

The two detectives first try their hand at sending a man, a newly clean former crack head named Pookie (Chris Rock), to get into Nino's crew and film for evidence using a hidden camera. Things go well at first, but Pookie gives up the gig when he relapses and acts out with his high. Nino's men kill Pookie, destroy the building, and take all the evidence, leading the detectives to find a new way into this. Appleton ends up going undercover as drug dealer Mr. Washington, who then strikes a deal with Nino's right hand, Gee Money, to get into the group. At first, Nino rightfully doesn't trust Appleton, but he slowly gains his trust when saving him from a gun crazy old man and opening up to Gee Money trying to make a side deal with him.

When Nino takes Appleton and his men to a wedding, things go bad as the Italian mob that Nino has been dealing with start a hit on Nino's crew. Appleton watches as Nino attempts to use a little girl as a human shield, which infuriates him, and forces him to create a sting operation to finally arrest Nino for good. However, it all goes down wrong when one of Nino's men ousts Appleton as police, causing a shootout. Nino kills Gee Money afterwards for making a side deal with Appleton and for bringing him into the group. Meanwhile, Appleton and Peretti find their way to Nino's house and finally arrest him, bringing him into trial.

Nino is given one year of prison, citing how fucked up the world is, and trying to pass off one of his men as the real ringleader. As he is outside talking to the press, the old man from before comes up and shoots him in the chest, killing him. Appleton and Peretti look down with satisfaction as Nino's body falls down the courtroom stairs.

So, for the time, like I said this movie was a pretty big deal. It dealt with the crack epidemic, it dealt with slight racism, it dealt with the unfairness of the political system, it dealt with trust, all sorts of things stuffed into one movie. And yeah, it's kind of a big deal, back then, and even now 25 years later. Even though the world has changed a lot since then, there's still some slight resemblance to it all way down beneath the layers.

I have to give big props to the makers of this movie for making an absolutely timeless plot that is entertaining as it is thought provoking. Other high points go to the casting, as I can never get enough Wesley Snipes, and Water I and Judd Nelson both give respectable performances. And though the pacing is somewhat sporadic, and the cinematography is so 90s I feel like it would probably bleed Surge, the movie is definitely a golden one, and it's one which I think should go down in history just for the topics it addresses, like the war films of the 60s and 70s.

New Jack City is a game changer that should be talked about more often than it is. It's powerful and very well made, and for that, it gets a solid 8 out of 10 stars. Thanks to my best friend Jackie for pointing this out to me, and stick around for more reviews from friends and more new movie reviews coming soon.