Gang Related

Gang Related
by Jim Kouf

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DVD Reviews of Gang Related

DVD Review: Mix it up
Summary: 3 Stars

He and his partner, played by a wildly overacting Tupac Shakur, have a nasty profitable scam going: they set up trades with drug dealers, then kill the latter for the drugs which they can sell again. Here's another problem--any money cops use for set ups has to be authorized by higher ups, then accounted for. There's no mention of that in the film; how do they get away with keeping the money? It's also mentioned that they've pulled this 11 times. OK, so after all those times, NOBODY on the force investigates how it is that so many drug dealers have died after a set up put in place by the same two cops over and over? Also not credible.

The two thug cops kill a drug dealer who turns out to be an undercover DEA agent and fellow DEA guy Gary Cole pulls in and starts hassling the precinct for answers. Cole also overacts here; he's a caricature, not a character.

However, as an upscale attorney, James Earl Jones does a fine job, as does Dennis Quaid as a surprising suspect the thug cops have framed for the murder of the DEA agent. Yet the surprise that comes with discovering Quaid's real identity is another plot point that severely strains credibility.

The film seems to be a collection of characters thrown together to flesh out a collection of random, often non-credible, and distinctly unrelated story segments that have not been thought through. Even the ending is disappointing--you can smell it coming a mile away.

In spite of all the above, this is not a bad film because the pacing and momentum are strong enough--along with the acting of Belushi, Jones, and Quaid--to carry it through to its predictable end. Belushi is on screen most of the time and he's a lot of fun to watch. You're thinking no cop can be that dumb, but his acting chops make you feel that if a guy could be this crude and vicious, then, OK, maybe he COULD be that dumb.

A truly mixed bag. Your call.