Shoddy Film Making at its Best

Rating: 3/10 (2 January 2008)

Besides the fact that the film is choppy and the story has more holes then a piece of swiss cheese....Id Like to point out some minor editing and production points the took me out of the film completely.First of all,everyone knows that New Yorkers love movies about New York and the many characters that have graced its streets.But when you do a scenes location and then try to pass it off as elsewhere it really bothers me.All the shots under the bridge that are supposedly New Jersey...hey,thats actually Brooklyn...what bridge are you supposed to be standing under...the GW?because its actually the Willismburg Bridge being pawned off as New Jersey.Secondly,the fact that there is Graffiti everywhere...hey,its 1968....people weren't tagging the streets yet....especially in NJ.Thirdly,when I see the first shot of the RZA....why is it a shot of his Wu Tang tattoo.Im sorry and maybe Im being too picky but these small elements really pull me out of a film.To spend millions upon millions of dollars on a film and not fix these minor details seems absurd to me.The film is too long and the performances are mediocre at best.Id like Denzel Washington to take a role where he doesn't play Denzel Washington.Josh Brolin and Ruby Dee make the film enjoyable for some smaller moments but besides that the film is filled with too many scenes glitz and glamour instead of the character development it lacked.By the end of the film I didn't care what happened to any of the characters which for me means you failed.