Fresh
Don't let the silly styling of the title put you off; this is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts.
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Menace II Society
This is the truth. This is what's real.
1993 · 1h 37m · R
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Directed by
Albert Hughes
,
Allen Hughes
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Menace II Society
Overview
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Director and cast
- Albert Hughes Director
- Allen Hughes Director
- Tyrin Turner as Caine 'Kaydee' Lawson
- Larenz Tate as Kevin 'O-Dog'
- Glenn Plummer as Pernell
- Jada Pinkett Smith as Ronnie
- Samuel L. Jackson as Tat Lawson
- June Kyoto Lu as Grocery Store Woman (as June Kyoko Lu)
- Toshi Toda as Grocery Store Man
- Reginald Ballard as Clyde
- Khandi Alexander as Karen Lawson
- Jullian Roy Doster Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
84%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Bleak, brilliant, and unsparing: a full-scale vision of the madness that is tearing up the black inner city.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Fresh
Fierce, violent and searing in its observation, the film makes previous excursions seem like a stroll through the park.
Leonard Klady, Variety
Rotten
Regrettably, the Hughes brothers' first feature is a compendium of cliches.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Rotten
If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
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