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Menace II Society

Constant | Vancouver, BC Canada | 03/14/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Menace II Society is the story of Caine (Tyrin Turner) a young man living in Watts, Los Angeles. From the very beginning of the movie we follow Caine with an early flashback to his childhood to start . Caines narrative voice is found all throughout this movie. Things start off violent, and never really stop, from beginning to end there is bloodshed, but theres alot more than just violence in this movie, Caine lives a day to day existence, and its only in the end that he realizes whats important to him- Ronnie (Jada Pinkett), her son, his family and living. Other main character is Caines best friend 0-Dog (Larenz Tate) who is young, black and doesnt [care], his presence in movie is really a powerful one, and his lack of conscience contrasts with Caines. Movie also stars Vonte Sweet, Samuel L. Jackson and Glenn Plummer. Produced by Darin Scott & the Hughes Brothers. Tyrin Turner a still virtually unknown actor is excellent in this movie, and in my opinion deserves alot more credit than he has gotten.To say this movie is just powerful is an understatment, and to compare it to Boyz N the Hood is wrong too. There are some similarities, but Menace II Society is alot darker, and wasnt made to please the masses. Maybe thats why I like it so much, because the story is realistic and the makers dont play down the violence to get mainstream appeal. Would like to talk about some of key scenes but you dont do that when writing a review for people who havnt seen the movie, all I will say is this movie is definetly worth watching, and if your like me and really enjoy it, its worth having in the collection."

The Best Hood Movie? By Far.

Chizzle K | Chi-Town | 09/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""I'm gonna mess with this O.E." "You drinking that Ides?"
Probably one of the best scenes in Menace II Society, Cain and O-Dawg are buying a beer at the corner store and trobule springs when the Asian clerk makes fun of O-Dawg. Not all hood movies have as good as characters as Menace II Society or plot lines too. You do not really have to follow to much in this movie and it is not conufsing. Menace II Society is a powerful movie, but there is a little bit of comedy in it too. The only question I have and this really bothers me is, Why did someone have to come out and make fun of this classic along with Boys N The Hood and other hood movies ?(Juice, SOuth Central)Whenever I talk to someone about Menace II Society, they always say, "Oh yeah, Don't Be a Menace To South Central?" And I just shake my head, "No! Menace II Society!""

Powerful but not without it's faults

Trevor Cotton | Penzance, Cornwall, England | 09/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Menace II Society was the debut film from the directing duo of the Hughes brothers, released in 1993 at the height of popularity of "hood movies". As most other reviewers have stated the film is an extemely powerful look at growing up in L.A in the early 90's. The movie grabs your attention straight away with the robbery of the liquor store and the controversial shooting of the Korean owners, and the pace never lets up throughout. Caine (Tyrin Turner) is basically a bystander in the opening scene as O-Dog (Larenz Tate) goes on a rampage, and this continues throughout the film, Caine is a good person but very much a victim of his circumstances, whereas O-Dog just "doesn't give a f**k".

Without going into plot details the events in the film all conspire against Caine and it all catches up with him in the inevitable ending. There are also good performances from Jada Pinkett and MC Eiht and a small role at the start from Samuel L Jackson as Caine's father. While the film is very powerful and a sad and realistic take on ghetto life, it is not without it's faults, the main one being the lack of depth of some of the characters. They never really explain Caine's relationship with Parnell, though he regularly refers to him as "like a dad" throughout the film. Also several of the other characters are hard to sympathise with as their background is never really explained (something I felt was done better in Boyz N The Hood),and I find it hard to believe Parnell would be cool with Caine's relationship with his girl. Despite these minor faults the film is still great though and the ending in particular was tragic and inevitable. One of the better hood movies of the early 90's, if your into them you should definetely check this out."

The otherside of boyz n the hood

myles | usa | 04/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"a lot of people compare menace to society to boyz n the hood and rightfully so, but some miss one thing... menace is clearly what happens to many kids in the inner city who grow up with no guidance, no hope, and therefore like o-dog just don't give a...
now you might say that caine had a lot of guidance from his best friends father, ronnie, and his grandparents, but i think that being exposed to murder at a young age would disort anyones view on life...."