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"Dead Presidents" is a classic in my book. I could suffice with that statement but I'll add a bit more. It was a well acted and well directed drama that seemed to be funny when it needed to be (thank you Chris Tucker), dramatic when it needed to be, and even violent when it needed to be. Some of, if not most of the violence was pretty graphic--that can be taken as a positive or negative. I'm not perturbed by it, but I can see how some are.

I loved the story. It was simple yet complex. It was really about five years in the life of a young Black man from New York spanning from 1968 to 1973. From his high school years on the streets of the Bronx, to his years in Vietnam, to his return to a family and struggling with life in the world. I think "Dead Presidents" was an excellent production that didn't short change us at all in any aspect.

Gripping, poignant story about a young black man growing up in the 1960s Bronx whose parents groom him to follow in the footsteps of his college grad older brother. He has his own plans however, and enlists in the Marine Corps where he survives four years of brutal warfare in Vietnam. He returns home to try and make a new life for himself, but a struggling economy and lack of formal education gradually draw him into a life of crime. An effective portrayal of black involvement in Vietnam, with good performances, powerful scenes, and shockingly graphic violence. Tate is commanding in the lead, and Tucker a real surprise as his drug-addicted pal. Not for all tastes, but well-crafted and well-made. ***

Dead Presidents is an okay movie. Not bad, not great. Okay. I give it a B-.

I give Dead Presidents high marks for casting and acting. Larenz Tate, Chris Tucker, and the rest did a fabulous job. I also like the war scenes--very gripping, very scary.

The problem that I have with the movie is that it spans too many genres and as a result, just seems to drag on and on. The tag line would make you believe that this is a cops and robbers film centered around a major heist. But that is terribly misleading. The heist doesn't happen and isn't even an issue until late in the film. Up to that point you could consider this a life in the ghetto movie, trying to escape the ghetto movie, a Viet Nam war movie, a what life was like for blacks in the late 60's early 70's movie, a what the Viet Nam war did to those who survived it movie, so on and so on. By the time it came around for the big robbery, I was wondering when this movie would end. This problem of too grand a scope keeps the movie from getting an A.

Albert and Allen Hughes direct, produce and co-write (with Michael Henry Brown) this tale about Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate), a South Bronx boy who goes off to fight in Vietnam, to then return after his tours of duty to find things just aren't the same anymore. The follow up to their incendiary debut, Menace II Society, the Hughes brothers deliver another in your face picture that is quite frankly on a perpetual downer. This is no bad thing, though, as long as you are not looking to be cheered up.

That's Uncle Sam for you! Mean Green.

The pic very much harks back to the glory days of film noir in the 40s and 50s, where some talented film makers began to tell stories of returning war veterans finding what they left behind is now alien to them - with some characters, as is the case here - deeply scarred by their experiences. Add in some gangster elements and the coup de grâce that is the scintillating heist, and clearly the brothers have seen many an old classic film. That the narrative is tried and tested stops the piece hitting greater heights, this in spite of some super acting (especially Tate and the always value for money Keith David) and the hard hitting violence that pierces the senses. Predictable yet potent, and certainly memorable, it's well worth a look for the tough of mind and the classic era film of heart. 7/10

I really enjoyed this movie. Everyone in it did an excellent job and it was very gripping. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Larenz Tate, in his best role ever, plays Anthony Curtis, a young black man from late 1960's The Bronx, who is just a regular guy who hangs out with his friends played by Chris Tucker also in his best role ever as Skip, and Freddy Rodriguez as Jose. Shortly after graduation from high school, Anthony decides he doesn't want to follow his big brother's path of going to college but instead, joining the Marine Corps and fight for his country. Shortly thereafter, we are taken to Vietnam with the boys and we meet some other interesting characters, one of them a psychotic preacher, Cleon, played by Bokeem Woodbine,and the Vietnam sequences are executed very realistically and are very bloody. After a while, we are taken back to the boogie down Bronx, where Anthony upon returning to the old neighborhood after four years,realizes that things are even worse than before, and everyone, including his pre-Vietnam girlfriend, Juanita, all have taken their lives in a different direction. Anthony is now a father, and cannot find a job anywhere and realizes that his own country has turned his back on him and many young black veterans from 'Nam, including his old boys Skip and Jose. We also meet Kirby, played by Keith David, a once cold and ruthless hustler, who has now left the life because the corruption of the city has forced him to quit his old habits, and Juanita's sister Delilah, played by N'Bushe Wright, who is an activist with the Black Panthers. Pretty soon all of these characters, save Juanita, fed up with their lives and their situation, get together to plan a stickup on an armored truck that is making a pickup of old dollar bills and is taking them to a location in Washington to burn them. The stickup sequence is very well made, but of course, bloody. This movie is filled with great performances, the best coming from Larenz Tate, Bokeem Woodbine and Keith David, heart-pounding action and good dialogue. A Hughes Brothers' classic. 9.5 out of 10.