Featured Audience Ratings

• Anthony L

  
  I think Mario Van Peebles wanted New Jack City to be the black version of Scarface but unfortunately for him, it wasn't. For starters, the acting wasn't very good, especially considering the sizable and talented cast. The fact that Scarface is on the TV constantly… More
  I think Mario Van Peebles wanted New Jack City to be the black version of Scarface but unfortunately for him, it wasn't. For starters, the acting wasn't very good, especially considering the sizable and talented cast. The fact that Scarface is on the TV constantly doesn't help either. I can see where he was coming from though and I did like his idea of the next wave Blaxploitation film, he does it much better a few years later in Posse but not so well here. I love the era though and I love the music so I have a soft spot for it but it really isn't that great.

• Chris W

  
  Given the drug-based cop drama/urban crime plot, the interracial partnership of the main cops, and the soundtrack being made up of contemporary urban (black) music, you could be forgiven for confusing this film with being a blaxploitation film. I mean, it IS directed by Mario Van… More
  Given the drug-based cop drama/urban crime plot, the interracial partnership of the main cops, and the soundtrack being made up of contemporary urban (black) music, you could be forgiven for confusing this film with being a blaxploitation film. I mean, it IS directed by Mario Van Peebles, and there are some references to films from that genre, but surprisingly, it is not. Mostly because it's played straight, with only some humor, and no camp factor. It is definitely a b-movie, but a competently made high end one. Okay, so the main plot is pretty standard, with two mismatched cops having to team up to take down a powerful drug lord who has taken the streets prisoner with his ultra strong crack. It's still an enjoyable ride though, and it's quite stylish, with some actually pretty decent performances. Okay, so Judd Nelson is underused, but he's good when he's there. Wesley Snipes is fine, but I feel like he's just doing a VERY low-key and subtle take on Tony Montana. The stand outs are Ice-T who, still very much known for his anti-cop songs is great as a tough streetwise cop, and really gets his acting career off to a great start, though after this it wouldn't pick up again until he portrayed another cop on Law and Order: SVU. The other top prize goes to the outstanding Chris Rock, who gives an utterly memorable and gripping turn as an ill-fated ex-junkie turned informer. This is overall a really decent flick. It's ultimately nothing new, but very well played, and far better (both as a directorial debut and in general) than it could have been, so give it a shot.

• xGary X

  
  A team of maverick cops investigate when a gangster takes over an entire tenement block in the New York ghetto. Although this film enjoys a good reputation as a hard-hitting, socially conscious representation of life in "the hood", it is actually EXACTLY the kind of… More
  A team of maverick cops investigate when a gangster takes over an entire tenement block in the New York ghetto. Although this film enjoys a good reputation as a hard-hitting, socially conscious representation of life in "the hood", it is actually EXACTLY the kind of testosterone-soaked, cliched crap that Mario Van Peebles has made his bread and butter ever since. Tacking on montages of drug use and a couple of lines about the "drug problem" at the end does NOT a social documentary make. It's really just the same old straight to DVD standard Van Damme/Seagal level tripe with a blaxploitation spin, and features some of the kinds of fashions that have been forgotten with good reason. Not to mention a soundtrack that ignores the era in which some of the best hip hop was made, instead littering it with the kind of "R'N'B" warbling that is the worst thing to EVER happen to popular music. The direction is beyond amateurish, script cliche-riddled and dumb and performances vary between laughable stereotypes and just plain awful (Chris Rock is truly dire and the Pookie-on-the-pipe montage is one of the most laughable attempts at manipulation I've ever seen). Try King Of New York or Dead Presidents instead, because this is just substandard junk trying to make a few bucks out of showing black people kill each other and pretending it's "important".

• Conner R

  
  Really one of the best modern gangster movies and definitely the most violent and all out crazy only next to Scarface. This is so different from the average Italian Mobster type of movie and it's really refreshing in that sense. However, it does have all the shootings and drugs… More
  Really one of the best modern gangster movies and definitely the most violent and all out crazy only next to Scarface. This is so different from the average Italian Mobster type of movie and it's really refreshing in that sense. However, it does have all the shootings and drugs that are such a staple of the crime genre so you aren't cheated out of that. It's got a great cast led by the unstoppable Wesley Snipes and no nonsense Ice-T. I think this is the most accurate and timely gangster movie of the nineties, which means a lot being released around the same time as Goodfellas, Godfather Pt. III and Casino.

• danny d

  
  a movie that might take itself too seriously at times, but definitely has the star power and screenwriting to keep the audience plugged into the events as they happen. each of the actors play the types of roles they were all destined and born to play, and although we've seen the… More
  a movie that might take itself too seriously at times, but definitely has the star power and screenwriting to keep the audience plugged into the events as they happen. each of the actors play the types of roles they were all destined and born to play, and although we've seen the plot before, we dont usually see it with this much grit and honesty unless we're watching a mafia film. solid film.

• Khris N

  
  One of the best American gangster films... and all black. Yep, its an all black film, only one white actor in the form of Judd Nelson, and funnily enough, he' s supposed to be Italian. <br/> <br/> <br/>Anyways, back in the day, this was DA MOVIE of the times...… More
  One of the best American gangster films... and all black. Yep, its an all black film, only one white actor in the form of Judd Nelson, and funnily enough, he' s supposed to be Italian. <br/> <br/> <br/>Anyways, back in the day, this was DA MOVIE of the times... the thriller of the year. Now the veteran of many B-grade movies, this is Mario Van Pebbles crown jewel, and of course starring Wesley Snipes and Ice T, both going on to bigger and better things. <br/> <br/> <br/>Welcome to New Jack City, aka New York, its the late 80's and the Casg Money Brothers , led by the infamous Nino Brown, are out to get their American Dream, one crystal crack piece at a time. Devising an brutal plan, they take over a neighbourhood and terrorise the public into the business... bcoming the largest drug producers in New York. But this doesnt go unnoticed by the police, and in order to fight the losing war against the CMB, the police turn to two of their most notorious, but best undercover cops on the street, the only pair capable of walking the thin line between the law and crime to get the job done. <br/> <br/> <br/>Powerful, pretty graphic and steeped in drugs and depravity, its pretty realistic... dont expect high and fancy computer graphics and such, this filmed old skool, or B-grade as people might say, but certainly one of the best B-grade movies released into the mainstream. Crystal clear and good cinematography, som really good camera work around NY, the music is of course 1980's Hip Hop and rap, so if you into the black cultue, this is a great movie to watch, it reeks of blackism. <br/> <br/> <br/>The performances is what made this movie a cut above the rest. Not shabby as people might expect from a low budget movie, but very down and dirty and realistic - helps if you got bad asses like Wesley and Ice T leading the charge. Its a gripping drama, a plot filled with family values and morality admist all the immorality and evil of society, an interesting balance - not to uptight, but just eh right touch of seediness and bottom level depravity without making the film a class A sleazy piece of trash, rather making it very realistic drama. <br/> <br/> <br/>I made some interesting comparisons between New Jack City to many TV crime thrillers like The Shield, NYPD Blue or others, and you do get the distinct feeling you watching a TV show.... but if you dig these kind of movies, you lose track of time and watch it right through to the very unexpected ending.... where at one point this is the end of the movie, BANG, and a more interesting and, dare I say it, a more justified conclusion. <br/> <br/>This is a pretty cool movie... dont be fooled by the music, which kinda falsley makes you think its more of a drama on the lines of Boyz N Da Hood, its much more different, its Cops vs Bad Guys, and who knows who will win this one.

• Martin B

  
  I really think Mario Van Peebles thought he was making the new <i>Godfather</i>. But he was delusional. The acting is laughable, the direction amateurish at best, the casting horrible... and accurate to the time period or not, the worst hairstyles of any movie I've… More
  I really think Mario Van Peebles thought he was making the new <i>Godfather</i>. But he was delusional. The acting is laughable, the direction amateurish at best, the casting horrible... and accurate to the time period or not, the worst hairstyles of any movie I've ever seen. That's really all I'm gonna bother to say aout this flick.

• Lenny M

  
  I don't think Wesley was acting, just doing his dayjob.

• Tim S

  
  Wesley Snipes is the real Frank Lucas.

• Keysha H

  
  A crazy dark look at a drug dealing psychopath and the lives that life destroys! Byfar one of Snipes' best roles.

• Dean !

  
  Not a bad action film as tough cop takes on tough gangster. Quite violent, plenty of action if lousy dress sense!

• Adam M

  
  great B-movie thanks to the script and cinematographer Francis Kenny, bad actors give good-enough performances, Snipes gives a great one

• Lady D

  
  A great film in it's time

• Michael S

  
  So underrated and better than Scarface in my opinion.

• E.J. B

  
  It's a film that aims for greatness but misses because it doesn't know how to handle the material without resorting to conventions.

• Suneel J

  
  A classic 90's New York City-based crime drama. Great acting performances by Wesley Snipes as the villain, Ice-T as the protagonist, and Chris Rock as a supporting character. A good, cultural look into the drug empire that emerged in the early decade in big cities across North… More
  A classic 90's New York City-based crime drama. Great acting performances by Wesley Snipes as the villain, Ice-T as the protagonist, and Chris Rock as a supporting character. A good, cultural look into the drug empire that emerged in the early decade in big cities across North America. The well-placed Gothic scenery and dark atmosphere should also be mentioned.

• Lesley N

  
  Slightly dated drama about the rise of the crack epidemic in New York in the 80's, with Wesley Snipes as the crime lord pushing the stuff and Ice-T as the maverick cop who's going to bring him down. Lots of action keeps it lively..

• Eduardo C

  
  The film that began the new wave of blaxploitation.

• MJS M

  
  A mediocre urban crime film, closer to Scarface than The Godfather, the film deliberately goes over the top but never does it as well as Brian De Palma?s opus. The film?s may have had a certain cool actor when it was first released, but it?s really dated now. The film has a pretty… More
  A mediocre urban crime film, closer to Scarface than The Godfather, the film deliberately goes over the top but never does it as well as Brian De Palma?s opus. The film?s may have had a certain cool actor when it was first released, but it?s really dated now. The film has a pretty cool cast, Westley Snipes is on top of his game, Ice-T is a badass mofo, and there?s a really young Chris Rock playing a crackhead. The film has an anti-drug undercurrent, which is admirable, but it feels kind of preachy at times. I was also interested with the similarities the film shared with parts of Last year?s American Gangster. The film shares some of the problems Scott?s film had, namely a lack of focus and mixed messages about the gangster lead. American Gangster was a better film though, it has a certain timelessness that New Jack City lacks, it also has the Ridley Scott touch that Mario van Peebles just doesn?t have. I was also rather turned off by the film?s inauthenticity, it was hard to take any of it serious after watching four seasons of The Wire.

• Miriam K

  
  I liked this movie. Better one of its genre.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings