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New Jack City

New Jack City

Thriller · Crime · Drama · 1991

A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.

Movie details

New Jack City

“They're a new breed of gangster. The new public enemy. The new family of crime.”

1991 Thriller · Crime · Drama 1h 41m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over New Jack City?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Miller's Crossing

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A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.

Brooklyn's Finest

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Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.

The Departed

The Departed

Drama · 2006

To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.

Once Upon a Time in America

Once Upon a Time in America

Drama · 1984

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Scarface

Scarface

Action · 1983

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

The Valachi Papers

The Valachi Papers

Crime · 1972

When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.

Gotti

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Crime · 1996

John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.

King of New York

King of New York

Thriller · 1990

A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.

We Die Young

We Die Young

Drama · 2019

Lucas, a 14-year-old boy inducted into the gang life in Washington D.C., is determined that his 10-year-old brother won't follow the same path. When an Afghanistan war veteran comes into the neighborhood, an opportunity arises.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mario Van Peebles

Written by

Thomas Lee Wright · Barry Michael Cooper

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes

Nino Brown

Ice-T

Ice-T

Scotty Appleton

Allen Payne

Allen Payne

Garald "Gee Money" Welles

Chris Rock

Chris Rock

Pookie

Mario Van Peebles

Mario Van Peebles

Stone

Michael Michele

Michael Michele

Selina

Bill Nunn

Bill Nunn

Duh Duh Duh Man

Court is in session

Put New Jack City on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.