Animal

"Animal" is much better than it's rating here... It's a powerful piece of work. The best thing about it are the great performances by Ving Rhames and Terrence Howard, including a nice support role by football legend Jim Brown. It's true, the production values here are very low, but in terms of story and especially the acting, it's a great thing to watch. It does not rely on stereotypes, yet shows important scenes from living in the neighborhood, criminal life, and making choices. There is some violence in it, but it's not the central part of the movie. It's mostly about the development of the characters. I think that with a bigger budget "Animal" would've gotten a much higher critical response. I enjoyed it very much, I thought the script and story were quite decent, but the most impressive part was the powerful performances by two of the greatest African-American actors today - Award nominee Terrence Howard and of course Ving Rhames. I highly recommend this one, do not be fooled by the ratings.

... rushed execution and obviously not a lot of production value(s). You could live with the latter, but the performances aren't the best either. Of course it's nice to see Ving Rhames in a lead role, but it'd be even better, if the script got sharpened too, so it would match his performance skills too.

The title of the movie gives you the main character and you also know, from the (V) behind the movies name here at IMDb, that it is directly produced for Video/DVD use. Terence Malick does elevate the movie too, but not as much as you'd think he would! The story (if you really want to know it before you watch it, read it here somewhere on the IMDb page) has been done before, so you might be used to see better movies, than this one on this particular topic ...

Being my first time to watch Rhames in a lead role, I was impressed. Howard and Palminteri were brilliant and Studi, as always, was great!..though not the type of role he usually plays either. Great to see Jim brown after so long and I really liked his portrayal of Berwell. I'd like to see more of him in the future because despite his years, he still has a lot to offer. Listen up Hollywood! On the negative side (for fussy duds like me), we have the factual errors all-too-common in movies which mislead people on points of historical importance. I refer to the Willie Lynch Speech on slavery, which figures prominently in this movie. Berwell tells Animal that the term "lynching" is also attributed to the same author. Not true! This practice is more generally believed to be the invention of Captain William Lynch of Virginia, author of "Lynch's Law". As for Willie's speech, evidence now suggests it was written in the mid-to-late 20th century. Curious, no? Anyway, despite the foregoing, the movie has a good message and the overall acting is way better than good! Definitely a movie worth watching!

This movie had a good message but it was lost in a story where the characters continued to blame their problems on others. It appeared that the "white man" was accused of causing the characters life of crime. Every time the characters were seen selling drugs, it was to a white man with short hair, a long sleeve shirt with a tie. No street level dealer would sell to such a person. He would more likely be shot.

Jim Brown's character says he was convicted of murder as if he was framed but admits to killing people at home. And Animal is only sent to prison because the police framed him.

Such denial won't solve the problem.

This a real movie about thug life and the inescapable revolving door trap that is so hard to break. Ving Rhames plays the animal which is not an accurate name for his character ,since his character is no different than a mob boss or a drug cartel kingpin.... this is how you have to be to survive on the streets.. excellent acting by Jim Brown who in real life is a PEACE ACTIVIST.. Ving Rhames does an excellent performance ,, who i think is worthy of an academy award nomination....Chazz Palminteri also performed well as a supporting actor.... this is a must see movie for Kids going down the wrong path in life,, since it shows the consequences of a leading a violent lifestyle....