Gang Related

Plot synopsis:
Vice police detectives Frank Divinci (James Belushi) and Jake Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur) gun down narcotics dealer Lionel Hudd (Kool Moe Dee), after the two engage illegally in drug trafficking; this is in order to recover the cocaine Hudd purchased from them. When Divinci and Rodriguez find out Hudd was actually a "deep cover" DEA agent—because Hudd's partner, Richard Simms (Gary Cole) drops by their precinct for help sniffing out the killers—they try to frame anyone else with the murder. It does not help that Rodriguez has outstanding gambling debts, and that a loan shark known only as "Mr. Cutlass Supreme" (Tiny Lister) is on his case for it. After arresting numerous felons without success (because they cannot possibly link Hudd's murder to any of them), Divinci and Rodriguez arrest a homeless drunk by the name of Joe Doe (Dennis Quaid). While Joe is still intoxicated, the detectives convince him that he shot Hudd. They even make him sign a confession. Divinci and Rodriguez convince local stripper Cynthia Webb (Lela Rochon), also Divinci's mistress, who was the "bait" in their trap for Hudd, to "identify" Joe in a police line-up.
At his first legal hearing, Joe is declared mentally unfit to stand trial (he can not even remember his own last name). The trial is postponed accordingly. Really believing that he killed Hudd, Joe informs his attorney that he deserves to be in jail and is willing to accept a plea bargain. Meanwhile, it turns out that the Magnum that Rodruiguez stole from the police-evidence room to kill Hudd is that of Clyde David Dunner, a murderer and arsonist arrested by Divinci and Rodruiguez and whose case is currently being tried. To fill the void, Divinci gets another gun to replace the other, but during trial Dunner recognizes that this one is not his gun and the case is dropped for lack of evidence.
At Joe's second hearing, high-profile lawyer Arthur Baylor (James Earl Jones) attends the proceedings. Baylor reveals that his client's name is actually William Dane McCall, and that he is actually the missing-and-presumed-dead co-heir to the financial empire of a high-status family, as well as a surgeon who used to attend and help the poor. Baylor asks the court to grant a one-week continuance so he can prepare his defense properly. The court agrees. Afterwards, Cynthia is summoned to testify in court. Nervous and afraid, she disappears. Divinci, fearing that she may betray him, hires a bail agent named Manny (Terrence C. Carson) to locate her; when Manny's efforts fail, he is roughed up by Divinci and Rodriguez. Cynthia is finally discovered and brought in for The People vs. William Dane McCall. She gives her rehearsed testimony against "Joe", at which time William informs Baylor that he lived in an alley next to Cynthia's apartment. Baylor questions Cynthia and points to the contradictions in her testimony until she finally confesses to knowing "Joe". The fact that she knows the defendant as "Joe" and not as "William Dane McCall" shows that she had previous knowledge of the defendant, thus proving her testimony for "Joe" being Hudd's killer to be false. She is arrested for perjury while the verdict of William's case remains pending. Divinci hires Manny to get Cynthia out of jail. He plans to kill her before she can testify.
On their way to "silence" her, Rodriguez tells Divinci how he feels regarding the numerous murders they have committed. Divinci suddenly suspects his partner of taping their conversation; such indeed turns out to be the case, after Divinci forcibly searches Rodriguez. Rodriguez informs Divinci that he has already confessed to the DEA regarding what they have done. Unwilling to kill Rodriguez here and now, Divinci renounces their friendship and drives off into the night. Rodriguez returns home to find his bookie and Mr. Cutlass Supreme waiting for him. Enraged about the preceding events, he attacks them only to be shot dead. Cynthia is brought to court by Baylor, who strikes a deal with her to testify against Divinci and thus get her perjury case dropped.
Four months later, Frank has become a fugitive. Knowing that Cynthia blew the whistle on him, he breaks into her home. He takes her money, then shoots and badly wounds her. Cynthia is rushed to an emergency room at the local hospital, where Doctor William Dane McCall prepares to operate to save her life.
Divinci forces Manny to help smuggle him out of the country. Manny hires a luxurious car and a driver for Frank. Unfortunately for Divinci, said driver turns out to be Clyde David Dunner who produces the same revolver used to kill Hudd. He shoots Frank in the head, then abandons the car and body in a deserted alley.

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur have a good chemistry as 2 crooked, conflicted cops.
Tupac Shakur actually played a very good character as the increasingly troubled cop.
Jim Belushi plays a morally dumb cop who continues to make the situation worse, and continues to believe he can probably manipulate his way out of anything.Dennis Quaid, James Earl Jones and Lela Rochon were all excellent.I didn't expect too much from this, but I was drawn into a well-done, well-acted movie..
James Belushi (K-9, Race the Sun) and the late Tupac Shakur (Gridlocked, Poetic Justice) play two corrupt cops.
I really didn't want to rent this film, but one of my friends, PA(nick-name)who was a big fan of Tupac Shakur talked me into it.
James Belushi was great in this film, and so was Shakur and Lela Rochon.
James Earl Jones appears in a little role in the last 40 minutes of the film.He was great, too.
But unfortunately the 11th time(The one we saw) goes wrong.The buyer was a undercover-cop and they has been set to do the investigation.Now the film really starts.
Good movie....has a few twists and turns you don't expect.
Both James Belushi & the late Tupac Shakur were well cast in the main roles - especially Belushi - this role being very different from his usual ones.
In a sense a typical good cops go wrong movie - but one that at least grabs you and sucks you in to watching it to find out what happens next.
GANG RELATED (1997) ***Starring: James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Lela Rochon, Dennis Quaid, James Earl Jones, and David Paymer Written and directed by: Jim Kouf    Running Time: 106 minutes   Rated R (for strong pervasive language, violence, sexual situations, and some nudity) By Blake French:	My expectations for "Gang Related" weren't exactly peak high when I decided to screen it.
The two main characters are FBI agents Divinci (James Belushi), and Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur).
The movie's intentions are clear from the first act; we are watching a story from the bad guys point of view.
I really liked where the film goes from here: In desperation, Divinci and Rodriguez decide to frame a homeless bum for their murderous crime, played tremendously convincing by Dennis Quaid.
Characters who enter the story afterward are Cynthia (Lela Rochon), a stripper who is persuaded to lend a deceitful but helping hand to Divinci and Rodriguez, powerful lawyer Arthur Baylor James (Earl Jones), who comes to the rescue of the bum's hopeless defense, and another "lesser" lawyer named Elliot Goff (David Paymer).
But one thing came across my mind as I watched Divinci and Rodriguez work up a taut sweat as they make life or death cover up choices, why don't they just flee the country?Jim Kouf, who wrote and directed this final film to star the late Tupac Shakur, observes decent performances with the strong dramatic impulse manifested.
This is a solid noir movie with outstanding performances from Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur, but the thing I've appreciated most is the history , and the ending too is so different from the average of this kind of movies.
Settling on homeless man 'Joe', they give him drink, get him to sign a statement and falsify the evidence to make a strong enough case to convict.I had half wanted to see this film for a few years simply because I am keen to take the few chances I have to try see Tupac acting  for me he was the saviour of Poetic Justice and he is much better than the vast majority of the hip hop 'actors' we have seen recently.
It could have done with a greater sense of tension though, for the majority of the time it merely unfolds as opposed to being fast paced or very exciting but it is still an enjoyable enough little film even if it pretty much goes where you expect it to.The cast is a big factor in making this film more interesting and making it rise above the other genre films that it will be competing with on the bottom shelf.
Belushi has been in more than his fair share of sh*t video thrillers but here he is actually quite good and seems comfortable with material that, although not great, is certainly nowhere near the low level that he is getting used to.
In his last film, Tupac is great and he should be a role model for all hip hop stars who want to act  even just in the choice of role he gives a great example  can you imagine many other rappers playing a corrupt cop with as little glamour as Tupac had?
The gorgeous Lela Rochon is given an eye candy role at the start but she is able enough to make a good performance out of it (as well as having a body and looks to die for!).
Quaid for example has so little to do you wonder why he bothered  he feels like he should be a bigger part of the film but he isn't.
For the opposite reason Jones, Cole and Paymer are all quite good because they are minor roles and they just feel like quality padding.Overall this is not a particularly earth shattering thriller but it does its job well enough and I found it pretty enjoyable.
A well-known cast certainly helps to make the material rise slightly above the rest of its genre but it is a great performance by Tupac in a different role that made it for me; if only other rappers were less afraid of their image when making role choices then we may not be experiencing a wave of awful blaxploitation films all over again..
I didn't have very high expectations for this one (partly because I am not terribly keen on James Belushi) but actually, the film was pretty good.The important thing is to understand the film as a thriller, rather than as a realistic or atmospheric piece.
One could easily imagine a movie like this being adapted to the stage.The acting is generally of a very high standard with strong performances by Shakur and Belushi.
GANG RELATED Aspect ratio: 2.39:1Sound format: DTSJames Belushi lifted himself out of his career doldrums just long enough to appear in this hard-bitten cop thriller alongside gangsta rapper Tupac Shakur, wherein they play rogue cops who supplement their income by murdering drug dealers and stealing their cash, passing off each crime as 'gang related' incidents.
Reynolds make little use of the widescreen format, but the film's lack of visual style is somewhat redeemed by its breakneck pace and impressive performances, most notably Belushi and Shakur in dark, multi-faceted roles, and Lela Rochon as their former accomplice, a frightened stripper whose involvement in Belushi's criminal misdeeds places her in mortal jeopardy.
James Earl Jones is the famous defence attorney who takes up Quaid's case as soon as the latter's identity is confirmed, and a gaunt-looking Gary Cole provides solid back-up as a dedicated DEA agent determined to nail those responsible for Cummins' death.
Sadly, the movie is dedicated to the memory of Shakur, who was shot and killed in a drive-by incident during the film's post-production process; on this evidence, he was clearly a natural actor and had the makings of a major Hollywood star..
This movie is not too bad, once you get past the fact that it stars TuPac Shakur...
Actually, to be honest, I didn't expect great things after seeing Poetic Justice, but he wasn't too bad in this movie after all.However, when watching this movie, the question I kept asking myself was, "How can these two fools make this situation any worse?"  In fact, I think that's what makes this film work.
The film certainly doesn't disappoint if you like plot twists, even if you can see them a mile away.Overall, this is a pretty good drama about corrupt cops.
*that joke* James Belushi.Belushi seems to be in a world of his own.But don't let that put you off because it's worth watching it for Shakur's extraordinary talent, and some of the support cast which carry Gang Related through!
Corrupt cops Frank Divinci (James Belushi) and Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur) kill a drug dealer to rob him with stripper Cynthia Webb (Lela Rochon).
Divinci and Rodriguez are assigned to investigate the murder of the drug dealer who turns out to be an undercover DEA agent.
What started as a comedy about a drugdeal gone wrong, evolves into a real good dark crime movie.
Gang Related had me a bit exicted back in 97 it was the last movie performance of Tupac and he's the only good thing in this slow paced and somewhat predictable movie.
James Belushi makes a horrible bad guy and Dennis Quaid is watsed.
Surprisingly good support in this one, with James Earl Jones, Dennis Quaid & Gary Cole.
Gang Related starring by James Belushi and the late Tupac Shakur is a good example when the badge is used for hide own crime.
The entirely story of the movie started when two corrupt  cop killed for mistake a under cover agent of the DEA .
And here starting the nightmare..The movie is very good to generate a high level of tension only with the 	story(also if in  the plot there are few holes), and the twist of the facts narrate and interlace 	between of its succeed to passionate the spectator till to the wonderful end.
The two actors , Belushi and Shakur are very good and believed in the lead roles.
Only point negative of the movie going when the twists of the plot grow up too 	and born few incongruousness, but all of the rest is a good work and specially the playing.
Gang Related is a much better film than I expected.
It's basically a somewhat ridiculous ending.Tupac Shakur was an okay actor and he was good in Gang Related which sadly (as everyone already knows) turned out to be his last film.Good film.
The lead actors, Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur, play two cops who've gotten themselves into a big mess, out of which they can only lie, cheat, steal and kill in order to save their jobs, and their lives.
Tupac and James belushi were very good in it but I still didn't think it was great.
I like the way in this movie Tupac is the one who doesn't want to kill people or do bad things for once.
Its one of the films where your watching it and waiting for something to happen, like a final crazy ending, but I hated the ending...Great acting, the only reason I give it 5 is because 2Pac is in it and its always good to see him in anything:) but other than that I wish it could of been better, I cant really explain, the story was highly interesting it just felt like the last half could of been done differently, I feel from that point on it went downhill.
I was starting to become curious if his acting was as good as his rapping so I wanted to watch this movie.
At first, I dind't really expect much from it but it turned out to be a really good movie instead!Tupac plays as a street thug/criminal in most his movies except for this one where he plays as a police officer.
This adds what I personally think, a very nice twist to the movie.Tupac and James argue a lot because their opinions differ pretty much, this is what actually makes the movie funny in a way.
Everything that can go wrong does go wrong for a couple of corrupt homicide cops in "Disorganized Crime" director Jim Kouf's "Gang Related," an ensemble police procedural thriller that springs one startling surprise after another on its unsuspecting audience.
Indeed, Kouf's accomplished piece of film-making looks like the flip side of Peter Hyams' buddy cop movie "Running Scared" with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, although the cops that Crystal and Hines played were good guys to the core.The characters in "Gang Related" serve as the pawns of a serpentine plot.
You can barely recognize Dennis Quaid at first as a remorseful derelict and James Earl Jones's arrival occurs straight out of the blue.As Detective Frank DaVinci and Rodriguez, James Belushi and Tupac Shakur create a credibly chummy chemistry.
In his final screen appearance, the late rapper Tupac Shakur shows that his artistry will be missed as much by music enthusiasts as moviegoers.Writer & director Jim Kouf has breathed new life into a routine plot by standing it on its head.
Usually, in a movie like "Gang Related," the heroes are the guys who are in trouble, but neither DaVinci nor Rodriguez qualify as heroes.
If it wasn't for the fact that I'm a huge fan of Rap-music, and that I consider Tupac Shakur as the greatest rapper of all time, chances are that I would have never taken my time to watch "Gang Related".
In fact, I don't consider any of the films Tupac starred in as directly bad.
Now "Gang Related" was the only film he got the chance to star in, where he didn't play a criminal or a street-thug from the ghetto.
Divinci (played by James Belushi) and Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur) are two cops who are dealing drugs, bribing and even murdering peoples when they're at work.
This seems to work just fine until one of their victims turns out to be a undercover-police officer.Crime-movies like this isn't exactly my favorites, but I liked this one.
Jim Kouf has written an interesting story with enough thrilling and surprises, and except for that part, the actors has to carry the film on their own.
I haven't seen many films starring James Belushi, but this is the best performance I've seen by him.
Lela Rochon (a beautiful woman who plays Divinci's friend Cynthia) and Dennis Quaid (who plays the bum Joe) are also giving some approved performances.Before watching "Gang Related" I had seen a few teasers, and it looked like an average crime-film to me.
It doesn't fit the film and it's mood at all."Gang Related" is a good crime-film, with a well-written story and two good actors in the leading roles.
Tupac Shakur's last film.May he Rest In Peace.8.0 out of 10.
Tupac Shakur shines, Lela Rochon whines..
The irony of this film is that even though Tupac portrays one of these "bad" people, you end up rooting for him anyway.
That is the power of his acting in this film - his character has a moral conscience, and you keep rooting for him to do the right thing - although inevitably it comes much too late.
I like gang movies and especially 2Pac so I decided to see this film.
It opens with Divinci (Belushi) and Rodriguez (2Pac), who are both undercover cops, selling $25,000 worth of cocaine to a man in a hotel.
It was somewhat entertaining to see Belushi and 2Pac together and the dumb things they do throughout the film.
It was very unclear why the film was entitled "Gang Related" and unless you are a die-hard fan of 2Pac or Belushi you should not waste your time on this.
A duo of cops + dope + a famous-rapper-turned-movie-star, what can you expect from such a mix of ingredients?
Directed by the relatively unknown Jim Kouf, the film can indeed boast a personal tone, which makes it easily stand out of the crowd of lowbrow crime movies.
The two improbable partners here are white detective DiVinci (James Belushi, excelling at being unbearably talkative and self- satisfied) and his black counterpart Jake Rodriguez (Tupac Shakur, surprisingly collected in his last role).
Now the film makes its way to blu-ray courtesy of Olive Video.Det. Frank Divinci and Det. Rodriguez (James Belushi and Tupac) are two corrupt cops more interested in making money than in doing their jobs.
Problems arise when their latest mark turns out to be an undercover DEA agent.Given the job of finding the killer the pair come upon a homeless man (Dennis Quaid) and pin the rap on him.
Instead we have the reverse with two killers who have the means to cover their trail easily but who create so many mistakes that their tension over what to do next becomes ours as well.It's difficult to sympathize with these two main characters but before the movie ends you find yourself wondering if perhaps they will do the right thing.
Two corrupt cops murder an undercover DEA agent by mistake, and frantically try to cover their tracks by framing a homeless man for the crime.That involves juggling evidence, coaching witnesses, and improvising to keep their desperate scheme from unravelling...James Belushi should stick to comedy, or be a comedy sidekick.
There is a lot of talk of Tupac becoming a great 'actor', and while he is okay in this, there is nothing to show he could have been the next big thing.The way rappers or 'hip hop stars' do in movies, i'm sure he'd be concentrating on his music, or making straight to blu ray movies with Snipes.The premise of this film is so so good, and has great potential, that it's such a shame it's treated in such a hap-hazard way.Belushi is unbelievable as a dirty cop, and i was expecting Jerry Lee to come to his rescue.There are the inevitable double crosses and the predictable ending.
It tries to be like a gritty seventies cop movie, but ends up dreary and boring.Quaid is the saving grace in this movie, and his character is the most interesting arc in the whole movie.
Tupac gave a great performance as well as Belushi (we can see Belushi doing a different performance than in his other movies).
Dennis Quaid and James Earl Jones were excellent.Belushi and Tupac are crooked cops who sell drugs and then kill the guy they sold it to, and mark the murder gang related.
Good dialogue and main characters, good story and great twists!Worth watching!