Harris and Phifer's chemistry lends the inevitable tragedies some genuine punch.
Paid in Full (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:21
Rotten:20
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Though well-acted and non-exploitative, Paid in Full treads a very well-worn story.
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Set in the early 1980s, this entry in the African-American urban gangster genre puts character development in the front seat for a change as it rolls through the Harlem streets on its usual... Set in the early 1980s, this entry in the African-American urban gangster genre puts character development in the front seat for a change as it rolls through the Harlem streets on its usual rise-and-fall route. Ace (Wood Harris) starts out a laundry delivery guy, but thanks to a chance encounter with a Latin coke dealer (Esai Morales), he quickly works his way to the top of a drug empire. Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) is his more extroverted, colorful pal, the "born hustler" whose bravado hides a tragic family life. For a while the money just keeps rolling in and everyone's happy, but then comes the inevitable turn to tragedy, heralded by the arrival of the brash, trigger-happy Rico (rapper Cam'ron in his screen debut). A sensitive script and moody direction by Charles Stone III allows PAID IN FULL to sidestep a lot of the cliched glamour of similar films. The violence is realistically depicted, and the ultimate emptiness and paranoia of the lifestyle is allowed to manifest slowly through a nice, low-key performance by Harris. Roc-a-Fella mogul Damon Dash produced, based on the true story of Harlem drug lords he remembers from his childhood, one of whom even served as a technical advisor. [More]
Starring: Wood Harris, Cam'ron, Mekhi Phifer, Chi McBride
Starring: Wood Harris, Cam'ron, Mekhi Phifer, Chi McBride, Esai Morales, Regina Hall, Kevin Carroll, Elise Neal
Director: Charles Stone
Director: Charles Stone
Screenwriter: Austin Phillips, Azie Faison, Matthew Cirulnick, Thulani Davis
Producer: Damon Dash, Jay Z, Brett Ratner
Composer: Vernon Reid, Frank Fitzpatrick
Studio: Dimension Films
Reviews for Paid in Full
Stone seems to have a knack for wrapping the theater in a cold blanket of urban desperation.
For a rapsploitation film to target and frown upon the darker forces of its nature is certainly a good sign for the maturation of the genre.
Very familiar, yes, but a stylish and above all well-acted tale of friendships gone sour and the inevitable steep price of crime -- a much better movie than it’s ever going to get credit for.
The story is familiar from its many predecessors; like them, it eventually culminates in the not-exactly -stunning insight that crime doesn't pay.
This is a heartfelt mea culpa -- which gives Paid in Full much of its unexpected emotional power.
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