Original Gangstas Reviews

This jumped-up B-movie marks the birth of a new genre: Old Folxploitation. A bunch of superannuated hard-asses -- played by Blaxploitation legends Fred (BLACK CAESAR) Williamson, Pam (FOXY BROWN) Grier, Jim ( SLAUGHTER) Brown, Ron (SUPERFLY) O'Neal, and Richard (SHAFT) Roundtree -- decide they've had enough of foul-mouthed young gangbangers terrorizing the old neighborhood. So they buy a bunch of heavy artillery and show the little brats what's what. It should be great fun, but it's not. First, Larry Cohen (HELL UP IN HARLEM, IT'S ALIVE) is a clever writer but a pedestrian director, so the fact that he directed but didn't script is a worst-of-both-worlds deal. Second, the casting isn't the only evidence of the film's '70s roots: It looks like a low-budget Blaxploitation movie, full of dreary shots of people walking around interspersed with the kind of low-tech action that just doesn't cut it in the high-stakes '90s. Finally, it's great to see the old gang together again for the first time, but old is the operative word: The Original Gangstas are all portly and soft, with the notable exception of Brown, who looks as though every pound he's packed on is larded with pure meanness.