After saving a Black Panther from some racist cops, a black male prostitute goes on the run from "the man" with the help of the ghetto community and some disillusioned Hells Angels.
Instead of dramatizing injustice, Van Peebles merchandizes it.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
21 May 2003
fresh:
Totally uncompromising and grindingly repetitive, the film nevertheless accumulates a kind of hallucinatory groove, with unexpected shafts of bizarre humour and vigorous, experimental new wave direction.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
A shrewd and powerful mix of commercial ingredients and ideological intent.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
13 Mar 2007
fresh:
Most of the many vignettes are absorbing in themselves, notably an encounter with a white motorcycle gang.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Mar 2009
rotten:
The first black director to break into commercial cinema, Van Peebles obviously feels deeply about black oppression. But he has chosen, paradoxically, to make the kinds of unrealistic films for which blacks have justly criticized white film-makers.