Above the Rim

Kyle Lee Watson is a cocky high school basketball star. Bugaloo (Marlon Wayans) is his loudmouth friend. Flip Johnson (Bernie Mac) is a local homeless guy. Tommy Shepard (Leon) is a high school security guard who secretly used to be a star player. His brother Birdie (Tupac Shakur) is a local drug lord. Shep starts going out with Kyle's mother. Kyle falls under Birdie's influence.

This movie starts with a ridiculous scene. Shep and his friend are playing basketball on the roof of a building. There's no fence. The friend tries to dunk and smash through the backboard falling to his death. The setup is stupid to begin with but it also looks stupid. It takes awhile for the movie to regain its credibility. It helps that there are some good acting going on here. I especially like Leon and Tupac. They are compelling brothers. I really like their story and their chemistry. The rest are solid. I just wish they redo that opening scene.

Can you believe that this movie was made over 10 years ago? It is very hard to believe but this movie has stood the test of time and it is highly regarded as one of the greatest basketball/hip-hop movies ever made. Here you have a star studded cast which features Duane Martin, Tonya Pinkins,Marlon Wayans,Bernie Mac,Leon and the late great rapper/actor Tupac Shakur(2Pac). Here you can see why Tupac was highly respected not only as a celebrated gangsta rapper,but also a great actor with an impaccable skill and broad range and here in this movie you see why. A film that is not to be missed. Rating:***** five stars.

This movie has a real street feel to it,and it shows the meaning of true friends and how difficult some kids have growing up in world with drugs and crime. One of my favorit movies in this genre,and this movie also contains some real cool basketball scenes.

When i read some of comments that have been posted on this movie i felt as though something was missing. Someone needed to comment on this film who was actually a part of the culture that is being shown in this film. I am a black male who went to see this movie the weekend that it was released. As far as the hood is concerned, this is a classic movie. The cast was perfect, especially for the time of it's release. It was a movie set in the East Coast, but Tupac was a stand out star, and the entire soundtrack was done by Death Row. Shakur gave a great performance through out, along with Dwayne Martin. Leon was also featured in another film celebrated by the black community more than anywhere else, The Five Heartbeats. Not to mention Marlon Wayans doing what he always does. Wood Harris, who later goes on to "The Wire" fame, portrays a very aggressive character. The comedic legend Bernie Mac is featured in a good role also. I know that movies aren't black or white. They are just movies, but it is evident that there are a slew of movies that are celebrated a lot more in the black community than anywhere else. Menace II Society, Juice, New Jersey Drive, Above the Rim, Belly, Paid in Full, and this film are "Hood" classics. If you want to even begin to understand the logic behind some of the themes of this genre, then this is a very good movie to start with.

An absolute all rounder. The cast, the plot, the basketball all come 2getha 4 an absolute stunner of a film. The Medina/Pollack influence is clear (Fresh Prince), the film offers a realistic portrayal of life in the hood.Wayans is on a mental one the entire film, while Leon gives a far more sombre, dark performance as the traumatised player who could have had it all.Tupac......Tupac is Tupac and it don't get any better (or realer) than that. The film has some slight issues regarding the love interest (Kyle's mom and Shep)which I don't feel is entirely necessary, but my girlfriend thought it was cute so the film has the potential to appeal to all.But it, rent it, watch it, steal it, borrow it...do something to see this film and remember...."Recognise mother******!"