Name: Retro Film Review: Gang Related (1997)
Item: Gang Related
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

Tupac Shakur is one of the most interesting actors in the history of cinema, because his private life was often more colourful than the lives of characters he portrayed on screen. Contrast between Shakur's real life and on-screen personality is probably the most noticeable in his last film, 1997 thriller Gang Related, written and directed by Jim Kouf.

Frank DaVinci (played by James Belushi) and Rodriguez (played by Tupac Shakur) are two police detectives whose lifestyles are getting incompatible with their meagre salaries - Rodriguez can't pay his gambling debts while Da Vinci can't afford dream vacation with his stripper girlfriend Cynthia (played by Lela Rochon). Some time ago they found an ingenious way to get extra income - disguised as big time importers of illegal drugs, they kill street dealers during the fake drug deals and collect the money. Since two of them are working as homicide detectives, they are most likely to investigate the murders they have committed. This scheme works wonderfully until one of their victims is revealed to be undercover DEA agent. With agents' partners thirsty for revenge, DaVinci and Rodriguez must quickly find someone to put the blame on. DaVinci discovers homeless alcoholic Joe (played by Dennis Quaid) and talks Cynthia into perjuring herself and pointing finger at the innocent man. Things again don't go as planned because Joe is represented by Elliott Goff (played by David Paymer), idealistic attorney who won't leave any stone unturned until he finds evidence proving his client's innocence. That leads to another set of surprise revelations that complicate things even further.

Jim Kouf is one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood and Gang Related is example of excellent screenwriting. The basic idea of two policemen who found the way to be corrupt and serve public interest at the same time is presented in very original way and the characters are multidimensional and very interesting. Unfortunately, Kouf is good screenwriter, but his directing skills, at least in this film, leave much to be desired. The basic problem in the film is Kouf's inability to find perfect balance between serious police thriller and black comedy; that gets especially annoying in the second part of the film, with the surprise and often bizarre twists that turn protagonists' scheme into surreal nightmare. Another problem for film is in poor acting. That can't be said for Tupac Shakur who played the character of conscience stricken detective wonderfully, but the rest of the cast didn't seem much interested for their roles. Gang Related is a watchable film that begs to be remade.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on May 17th 2004)