Boricua's Bond

The catfight was the best, but more on that later. The movie as a whole is an inferior version of all those "in the hood" films made. There is no character development in the movie, no likeable person with the exception of the token white guy in the movie (and what does that say about a film concerning Puerto Ricans?) and virtually no plot. Some Rican's father gets shot by his brother and he goes on bitching about how he has no father. For guys like myself who have had their fathers abandon them, we elicit no pity for this character who cries for pity because his father was killed, yet the movie tells us we must pity him because of this and understand why he does crummy things because of this. The film also portrays Puerto Ricans in a bad light. I am a hispanic but not a Rican so this doesn't necessarily upset me, but having experienced what I have experienced, I can never feel any sympathy at all for these characters the film tries to heroize. They are dispicable, lude, and comfortable in their mediocrity. Not all Ricans are the way the film portrays them to be but all we see are the poor excerisizes of latinos the film says we must relate to. The film tries to be objective but there are moments that bog the story down. There are much better films about inner city hispanics that try to make a point and use objective storytelling. What is the point of this film? That lack of education is the root of all violence? BOYZ n THE HOOD, STAND AND DELIVER, and LEAN ON ME dealt with this better. This film was an excuse for one fat Puerto Rican to show his rear end and his full frontal alot in the film. I guess the director was trying to reach out to an potential homosexual audience.

As for the catfight, yes, there is a catfight at the end of the movie, one of the better catfights in American films. This is no chopsocky poor excuse for martial arts by women pretending to be civil rights fighters. These are just two women who hate each other, and throughout the film they have been teasing a fight between them. Well, the film doesn't disappoint on that and these two go at it, pulling hair, rolling on the concrete streets in hatred of each other. Women fighting the way they do in real life, not that Charlie's Angel's bull. I wanted to give this film a chance but it ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Realistic and richly layered, yet somewhat flawed, `Boricua's Bond' is a slice of life drama about street life in the South Bronx. Some great performances by non-pro neighborhood kids (the standout being street thug Axel, the film's roly-poly comic relief, who strips naked whenever the mood strikes), and cool cameos from the likes of rappers Treach, Method Man and Redman. An impressive first feature debut from writer, director, co-producer AND co-star Val Lik, who apparently grew up on these mean streets and decided to make a movie about them instead of becoming another casualty of them.

This film seems like it was inspired by a bunch of guys that sat around in the Bronx drinkin' and smokin' and laughin' at each others jokes and putdowns, then figured, "we ought to make a movie about this". Although there were moments that worked (many of the amateurs gave relatively inspired performances), the movie basically send a negative message: that Blacks and Puerto Ricans are enemies (ignoring the fact that Puerto Ricans are a mulatto race). It also perpetuates the idea that Boricuas dream and aspire to be white. Simple minds are easily influenced by this kind of tripe. For example, joanna 9 writes in her review on this website that she's from P.R. and never lived in NY, but then goes on to say that blacks mistreat Puerto Ricans. What a genius. Finally, most of the blame for the negative portrayal of Blacks in this (and any other) film rests squarely on the shoulders of the Black "actors". There are no whites in blackface to blame anymore.

this movie was so terrible words can't even describe how stupid I felt after watching it. First off the acting was terrible, the story was so fumbled and drawn out, one after the other cliches. I guess we haven't seen enough movies about the inner city youth that is a bad seed but has good in him and a talent(painting) but the 'hood keeps pulling him under so that talent and good can never shine until his friend shoots a cop in a holding cell. I'd rather eat glass than watch this movie again.

First off, I am an aspiring independent film director myself. When I had talked to consultants about my project, they told me never to write something that I didn't know anything about. Case and point, a Russian named Val Lik has decided to write and direct a film about Puerto Ricans, like myself, and failed miserably, because it's obvious he doesn't know what he's talking about.

This movie had little plot and I couldn't tell who the lead was from time to time. When reading the TV Guide review, it stated that a white kid was trying to survive in a Puerto Rican neighborhood. When I read the online review, it stated that a painter looked to do something better with his life besides crime and drugs and prostitution. So, what character are we supposed to follow? Not even Val Lik, who plays the white kid, knows who we are supposed to follow. It's completely fake.

Not to mention, Axel, an overweight Boricua, taking off his clothes any chance he gets to do so. If I had to see this kid's ass one more time, I was going to shoot myself. His little hijinx distract from the message that Val was attempting to convey. Why add a scene where Axel hitches a ride from the police? What good is that to the overall story?

Considering how weak his story was, he enlisted the help of hip-hoppers Big Pun, DMX, Method Man, Redman, and a few others, to try and earn him some credibility. It doesn't. Not to take anything away from any of these artists, but this outsider's look on Puerto Ricans in the inner city gives him no credibility and no chance of redemption in my eyes, regardless of who he casts in the film.