True enuff, this was more of a rap-music video than a movie, but I kind of liked the cinematography, particularly since Steven Soderberg is recently being lauded; meanwhile Hype Williams used some of the same stop-motion/music video effects that Soderberg used in Out of Sight, which wasn't all that much of a better movie than this. I also don't agree with the analogies to a gangster movie, since the characters scattered like rats on a sinking ship when the s*** came down, not much of a so-called "gang". They were all in it for themselves, no allegiance to a gang. There's no sense in comparing this movie to Goodfellas, as the content/storyline was far different. The ending was kind of preachy, I guess the director was trying to send some sort of a message, but it was kind of too late. It was dark and confusing at times, but I found a highlight in the character played by Method Man. He was understandable(if thats a word, lol) to me, and if anyone has spent anytime with someone from the Islands they will know. It was good that they didn't water down his accent and play it up like some kind of a Bob Marley rip-off. Certainly not in league with New Jack City or Boyz N the Hood. Nothing that I would pay full price for in the movie theater, but on cable not too bad.
