Travis’ Grade Of: [B+] CUT THROAT CITY
Would I recommend YOU to pay to see this in the theater? A HARDCORE & VERY CUT THROAT YEAH…….IF YOU CAN HANDLE IT!
My Critique On “CUT THROAT CITY” is this – I think that it is a film that brings out all of the harsh realities that begin to set in once individuals NO MATTER WHAT RACE THEY ARE begin to feel neglected; refused; denied service/s, and feel they have no other options (even though there are)…..
Film Synopsis: Set after Hurricane Katrina, four boyhood friends (played by Shameik Moore, Demetrius Shipp, Jr., Denzel Whitaker, and Keean Johnson) out of options reluctantly accepts an offer to pull off a dangerous heist in the heart of New Orleans.
Classification of Film: Action, Crime, & Drama
….but to resort to the type of criminal behavior as these 4 life long childhood friends CHOSE to resort to in order to survive and try to support their families. To speak or write perfectly candidly, I can understand BOTH sides of this: side one, feeling that you are African American and and AA’s have such a bad reputation as it is and I have no idea why that is – combined with the neighborhoods where you come from or reside in people look at you like you are a criminal or not worth even looking at.
I can see how these four boys resorted to such deviant behavior to make money for themselves after they tried to exhaust all legal possibilities to make some money after Hurricane Katrina hit. Side two, you can be from the wrong side of the tracks, but that does NOT necessarily mean that you are wrong, you may not have the means and resources to live a better lifestyle that you may want & have to settle to live someplace that you do not want until you can afford something better.
And it is wrong for anyone to pre-judge anyone based on that and not knowing the person or their situation – no one should be turned down for any type of assistance because of where they live, who they are, their gender, race, etc. That is just illegal, and wrong. RZA really emphasis that in the film and I give him so much praise and accolades for that in the film! So so much!
This film really demonstrates how much harder African Americans have to fight to prove their self-worth and how much they are worthy even of a little bit of governmental assistance and it is just not right! I hate watching films like this because times are still like these hence the reason why films like this are still being made because people are not getting the bigger picture…all I and we can do as a nation is pray for that one day where people will get it and not see color, but see individuals; see people.
No one needs to go out and rob banks and casinos in order to get money for themselves in order to survive. Just like the character of Lucinda told Blink in the film when she told him this one lien that will stick with me, “that pencil will get your further than that gun.” That was basically telling Blink to use his mind and fight because nothing worth having comes easy. Don’t take the easy way out. Fight. Find that fire and passion deep within you to get what you want and do not do what you are doing to achieve it. Do it the right way to be a person your son can be proud of.
The ending to the movie throws you off a tad, but you might or you might not be able to figure it out. I will give you a hint though – and hopefully you can follow it. If you have seen the movie with Al Pacino called, “The Devil’s Advocate” and you know what happened at the end of that – it is sorta the same with the character of Blink. Watch closely – very closely and you will actually see the message that RZA displays to the audience/s.