Rookie cop Jeffrey Cole (Omar Epps) works in the narco unit and shows skills posing in the drug world. Preston D'Ambrosio (Stanley Tucci) is the captain. Dwayne Gittens (LL Cool J) is the leader of a drug gang calling himself God. Jeff goes undercover as J.Reid to take down God. He gets introduced by Breezy T (Hill Harper) and befriends the headman. He proves himself in a drive-by and deliberately missing shooting seemingly wildly. Things don't go smoothly when God's men try to rob him. Jeff fights back and shoots them.
It's not flashy. It's not original. I like Omar Epps. I like Stanley Tucci. I especially like the fact that Jeff's handler Preston is much more by the book. I like that the story takes place in Cincinnati rather the normal NYC or other bigger iconic cities. The pose-a-thon normal for this genre is kept down... except for LL Cool J. There is something about him that always seems Hollywood. He never seems like a real gangster to me but rather posing as one. That's OK to a point. I can't fault a gangster who calls himself God for some Hollywood posing. Omar Epps is great and he shows that he has the acting skills. This is a gritty urban black version of many movies everybody has seen before. It would even be better if the ending was more compelling and more gritty. It ends without much drama.
It's not flashy. It's not original. I like Omar Epps. I like Stanley Tucci. I especially like the fact that Jeff's handler Preston is much more by the book. I like that the story takes place in Cincinnati rather the normal NYC or other bigger iconic cities. The pose-a-thon normal for this genre is kept down... except for LL Cool J. There is something about him that always seems Hollywood. He never seems like a real gangster to me but rather posing as one. That's OK to a point. I can't fault a gangster who calls himself God for some Hollywood posing. Omar Epps is great and he shows that he has the acting skills. This is a gritty urban black version of many movies everybody has seen before. It would even be better if the ending was more compelling and more gritty. It ends without much drama.