Belly, Special Edition, Version 2 (1998)

Is it Oscar-worthy? No. Is it an alright gangster flick? Sure.

Look, I don't exactly think Hype Williams was aiming to outdo the 'Godfather' movies when he made 'Belly.' For me, however, it stands up there with 'Menace II Society' and 'New Jersey Drive' as interesting slice-of-life flicks.

Both 'Menace' and 'Belly' trip up on their grandiose ambitions of portraying gangsters trying (or being led slowly) to turning a page on their lives, but are certainly entertaining in the process. I prefer to think of 'Belly' as a series of scenes set to music, or a long-form music video. Hype Williams would probably hate this characterization, but I say play to your strengths. He knows how to set a visual to music, and it shows in many of the scenes.

True, some of Nas's lines as Sincere - who is just as much a gangster as DMX's buckwild Tommy character, but has a little more room for contemplation, and actually reads books (one of the movie's best and most hilarious exchanges is about Tommy's dislike of books; all I'll quote is "Shorty can't eat no books, dog.") - are a bit cornball and cringeworthy, but take it in stride.

For me, what elevates 'Belly' above the average 'hood' film is the inclusion of Louie Rankin as Jamaican drug kingpin Lenox. His even-toned, gravelly patois gives the character an uneasy edge. You never know if he on the verge of serious violence, and his showdown with about 15 armed guards and a female assassin is a juicy action sequence. This, along with a side trip to the slums of Jamaica gives 'Belly' an international crime flavor that is usually absent from the average gangbanger morality tale.

Several supporting characters lend the film humor, including 'Menace's Tyrin Turner as a perm-flattened Nebraska hustler, and Method Man as a hired hitman pretending to be a cornball gangster-wannabe ("They call me Ike Luv, patna!"), and I'm still not sure why some people insist that "there's no storyline." Maybe they just get all lost during the Jamaican part 'cause everyone's speaking patois.

Is it the best film of 1998? No. Is it a pretty-good, visually-excellent gangster flick? Indeed. July 7, 2008

Belly...A great street fable for the new millenium

I've owned this movie since it's release and I too like many others who have written negative reviews here, didn't get it. At first glance, I was annoyed by the lighting and somewhat unrealistic story. Then, after each viewing things once fuzzy would become clear. The point is not to get too wrapped up in the surface things. The dark lighting of Sincere's crib was to make you focus on how he and his girl interacted and not what was in thier house. Hype had a lot of tricks that you really need to peep. Notice how you never see the faces of the white people. Even in close you only see their mouth moving as if to say they are not really here with us. They bark orders and we stay out of their way. The acting I could defintely let slide because the people he chose all brought a very realistic "New York" street sense that is very rarely captured in film. All that being said...THIS IS A FABLE. Bunz is Tony Montana and Sincere is Manolo. This is the dream life of Bunz, the drug dealer vs Sincere's dream of not getting swallowed up by the BELLY of the beast. OX dies a death Tony Montana and Spartans would be proud of. And to top it off Hype throws in his theory (I THINK) on how Malcolm X got assassinated. This movie is a gem and by far one of the most smart, entertaining pieces of black cinema ever. Those who need their plots spoonfed, hate subtlety or seek definite truths should go straight to Menace II Society, a great movie in its own right. If you like things that make your mind work a little then enjoy. June 11, 2008

You have to be a hip hop head to understand this film

Belly is by far one of the best ubran films ever made. The plot about two hustlers is brilliant and true to life. The slang and dialouge is something you have to be from New York or the east coast to understand. The people who don't like Belly didn't undersatnd the film or the message Hype Williams wanted to convey. Don't hate in this movie until you've really seen it and anaylzed it. Extra points go to out to Hype Williams for a amazing opening cinematography seqeunce and his top notch commentary on the making of the film amd the problems he had with the studio. March 25, 2008

Film class, First Class

Unfortunately many minds heard and saw Hype William's Poster for Belly and assumed it to be just another "hood" film with an all-black cast most of America can't relate to, and won't go see.

However, this film takes place in Manhattan, Queens, NJ... and other areas many of us live. It is also shot by Hype Williams in an extraordinary way. Camera tricks, and lighting give this films aesthetic a pop. The plot didn't wrap properly but Hype attempted to infuse a solid lesson to a strong audience through realism and aggressive camera shots.

Sadly many people from outside the hood stereotyped it and only saw one side, and the hood audience only saw the other side (for the most part). So it was underrated and misunderstood. B- Film March 25, 2008

Highly disappointed

I was highly disappointed when I read the reviews for this product giving it anything less than five stars. Before you watched the film, you should have known what it was about. That's why there are MOVIE TRAILERS. Watching the film for myself, I knew what to expect. For me, it was all that and more. Yes, it was based around drugs, violence and sex, but it was so realistic as to what's going on in today's society, minus women killing their children, teachers having sex with children, rape and other everyday sagas that the world faces. For a dose of reality, I would definitely recommend this film. It's not far from the truth. Maybe not in the neighberhood it was filmed in, but not far from the truth. Furthermore, the movie is suppose to be fiction so why would it depict actual neighberhoods that these type of things go on in? January 17, 2008

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