Ambição em Alta Voltagem

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.

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. ***

Chris Tucker is hilarious in this movie, he has great on screen charisma, and he speaks his lines very fluidly, as if he was improvising. Larenz Tate is great as well, being able to pull off the young version of his character, since he has a boyish face. And Bokeem Woodbine reminds me of Samuel L. Jackson in this movie. The cinematography is also great and so is the acting overall. Like everyone says, its not so much as a heist movie, but a reflection on the hardships of the black individual, such as finding work and drug abuse; after fighting a war that wasnt really meant for them or their country.

"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.

Opening in 1969, in the South Bronx, we are introduced to protagonist Anthony Curtis and his friends who are talking about what they will do after they finish school. Anthony decides to sign up for service in the US Marines. While there he fights alongside some of his old friends and makes new ones. After four years serving his country he returns home and discovers life isn't easy for a young black man during an economic downturn. He gets a job but it doesn't pay much; his girlfriend, and mother of his child, is getting money from a pimp and his girlfriend's sister is in a radical militant group. When he loses his job he and his friends work with a local criminal to make one big score... to rob an armoured car taking used currency to be incinerated.

When I sat down to watch this I was expecting a fairly conventional heist movie; that is certainly what the DVD box implied... in fact that is only a very small part of the film. Rather than the conventional heist movie where the first half is the planning before the execution this is about the events that led a promising young man to turn crime. The early scenes serve to introduce us to Anthony and his friends; he clearly isn't a saint as we see him working for a local crook but he still volunteers and ends up fighting in Vietnam where he sees some very unpleasant things. The scenes set during the war are in turns exciting and disturbing but not entirely without humour. Back in the US the film captures the poverty of Bronx where there are few real opportunities for most people; and while not justifying it explains why some turn to crime or radicalism. When we finally get to the robbery it is well handled; exciting without being glamourous. The cast does a fine job; most notably Larenz Tate who excels as Anthony and Chris Tucker who brings humour to the proceedings, as his friend Skip, without going too far and feeling out of place. Overall I'd definitely recommend this; just don't expect a traditional crime/heist movie.