Snipes (2001)

25% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(1,168 ratings)

Music video director Richard Murray makes his feature debut with this hip-hop crime thriller about an ambitious kid caught in the shady underworld of the recording industry. Sam Jones III (Erik Triggs) is a wannabe rap artist working menial jobs at Ill Wax Records by day and sneaking into the studio… More Music video director Richard Murray makes his feature debut with this hip-hop crime thriller about an ambitious kid caught in the shady underworld of the recording industry. Sam Jones III (Erik Triggs) is a wannabe rap artist working menial jobs at Ill Wax Records by day and sneaking into the studio and laying down some tracks by night. His activities have already attracted the welcome attention of Cheryl (Zo Saldana), a bodacious marketing executive. Meanwhile, the company's villainous president Bobby Starr (Dean Winters) is bullying rap phoneme Prolifik (Nelly) into doing his debut record Bobby's way. On the same night that Sam and his buddy Malik sneak into the studios, Prolifik and his master tapes are abducted and soon the prime suspect appears to be none other than Sam. With the wrathful Starr on his tail and the cops closing in, Sam is forced to find the crook responsible the crime and fast. This film played at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 53 min.
Directed By: Rich Murray
Written By: Rich Murray, Rob Wiser
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Sep 4, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Feb 25, 2003
Studio: Innovation Film Group

Critic Reviews

Susan Stark, Detroit News
Snipes relies too much on a scorchingly plotted dramatic scenario for its own good.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
A loud, low-budget and tired formula film that arrives cloaked in the euphemism 'urban drama.'
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Undone by its overly complicated and derivative screenplay, the glacier-paced direction and the stereotypical characters.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Highly watchable stuff.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Snipes is both a snore and utter tripe.
John Anderson, Newsday
Involving at times, but lapses quite casually into the absurd.
Anita Schmaltz, Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
'...Mafia, rap stars and hood rats butt their ugly heads in a regurgitation of cinematic violence that gives brutal birth to an unlikely, but likable, hero.'
Ken Fox, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A little judicious editing would have helped a lot, but the talented cast matches the film's ambitions and compensates for its modest budget.