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Movies / On DVD / Paid in Full
Paid in Full

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Paid in Full (2002)

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Reviews Counted:40

Fresh:21

Rotten:19

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

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Reviews for Paid in Full

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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Harris and Phifer's chemistry lends the inevitable tragedies some genuine punch.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/27/09
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

"Paid In Full" is not the kind of movie that George W. Bush will ever see.

comment Comment
11/21/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/17/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
05/28/03
Newsday
N/R

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Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
11/20/02
Los Angeles Daily News
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
11/18/02
Boston Phoenix

Stone seems to have a knack for wrapping the theater in a cold blanket of urban desperation.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
11/15/02
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
11/05/02
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
11/03/02
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

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.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
11/03/02
Mark Keizer
Mark Keizer
Boxoffice Magazine
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
10/31/02
Orlando Weekly

I'm going to give it a marginal thumbs up. I liked it just enough.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
10/29/02
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
10/29/02
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

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.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
10/28/02
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

The story is familiar from its many predecessors; like them, it eventually culminates in the not-exactly -stunning insight that crime doesn't pay.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
10/28/02
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
N/R

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Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
10/27/02
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
10/26/02
Arizona Republic
N/R

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Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
10/26/02
Houston Chronicle

This is a heartfelt mea culpa -- which gives Paid in Full much of its unexpected emotional power.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
10/26/02
Shirley Sealy
Shirley Sealy
Film Journal International

If you saw it on TV, you'd probably turn it off, convinced that you had already seen that movie.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
10/25/02
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews
 
 
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