A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.
A hepped-up film about drugs that plays as if the filmmakers themselves kept a healthy supply of the stuff at hand.
– Hal Hinson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Walken is one of the few undeniably charismatic male villains of recent years; he can generate a snakelike charm that makes his worst characters the most memorable, and here he operates on pure style.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
[Ferrara] works unapologetically in B-movie territory, but does it with A-movie style.
– Janet Maslin,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
A film which, despite splendid location work, lurches sloppily and messily from kill to kill, orgy to orgy, coke to crack, cliche to cliche.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
Complementing Walken's bravura turn are equally flamboyant performances by David Caruso as the young Irish cop out to destroy Walken, and Larry Fishburne as Walken's slightly crazy aide-de-camp.