Juice - City War

Top performances from Epps and Shakur make this film watchable, the story a fairly mundane one of street youth gangs drifting into crime in search of kicks, streetcred and "juice" (or power). Shakur is the nutter who leads the way on a downward spiral, eager to get involved in any crazy venture and leading his more cautious friends down with him, Epps the good kid hoping to escape the ghetto life through his DJing skills. Uniformly good acting especially from the two leads, cameos from Queen Latifah and Samuel L. Jackson, tense atmosphere and a funny, slang-heavy script all act in its favour, but a lack of originality and a rather mediocre ending bring it down a notch or two. Worth a look if it's your scene though.

This picture is a disturbing but gripping urban thriller that details the lives of four youngsters who drift aimlessly day by day in search of manhood and self-respect. The film offers a realistic slice of street life in a rough neighborhood where families struggle to keep young teens in school and out of trouble. Peer pressure, petty crime and violence mark the lives of the principals and the lure of a gun and its power result in a showdown between the reluctant Omar Epps and the psychotic Tupac Shakur. The young men are on a macho trip throughout the story, squaring off with rival gangs, the police, authority figures and each other. The movie doesn't dwell on the scourge of drug use and pushers but instead essays the coming of age of black youths in an urban war zone and the many pitfalls they encounter as they approach adulthood. Samuel L. Jackson and Queen Latifah are great in supporting roles and the movie has a nifty hip-hop soundtrack that adds pace to a solid uptown crime drama.

Wow, the memories. This is one of my favorite hip hop flicks. I'm also a Tupac fan and I can honestly say when I first saw this movie.. I hated Tupac because he made the "bishop" character so real... A little too real.. Some say Pac's problems started after he made this film...That he was living out the character... Looking back on it now as I'm older I think the character helped him release some of the darkness in his past. I miss Tupac.. When I look at these watered down rappers ... i.e. 50 Cent.. and how he's still around.. It tells me people are attempted to fill the Pac void.. There will NEVER be another Pac.. Please believe it.. Anyway...I watched the move again recently and it's great the music and the vibe and movement of the film is gritty and honest. It really shows how small situations in the hood can become a big problems.. Pac was excellent and raw. Omar Epps was excellent as well.. I love the movie...It never gets old.

LS MahoganyGirl.com

Juice is a film about 4 friends growing up in Harlem, it tells the story of how far you will go to get respect and how possessive the need to be respected can be.

I enjoyed this movie, a good solid hood film. The acting is superb, especially from Tupac and Epps. Really strong leading performances. The transformation of Bishop from the start to the end is played out perfectly by Tupac.

The movie has a great urban old school feel with a belting hip hop sound track. It's funny, tense, emotional and gritty. Watch this if you are into this type of genre, even if your not, its definitely worth a watch.

Juice is a well made drama that focuses on 4 kids who just get tangled up in a bad situation. It is well directed by Ernest Dickerson and it has a lot of style. Good cast. Worth a watch.