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154 reviews in total

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61 out of 70 people found the following review useful:
Hard, thoughtful film with messages for everybody, 27 May 2005

Author: mstomaso from Vulcan

John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood remains one of the best fictionalized and most poignant summaries of some of America's toughest internal problems - racism, violence, poverty, and drug abuse. This is not a hip-hop film, nor a detached and dehumanized story about "gang violence" (the great over-simplified scapegoat of the issues treated in this film), its a story about growing up fatherless or motherless in a war zone with a faceless enemy, where people do not value each other's lives at all and value their own lives only slightly more.

Laurence Fishburn leads one of the best casts of the early 1990s, in his memorable portrayal of Furious Styles, a father trying to raise his son (Cuba Gooding Jr) well in an environment where murder and substance abuse are day-to-day realities - South Central L.A. The film follows his son, Tre, and his friends, from the hardships of childhood in an irrelevant educational system and a neighborhood which doesn't allow kids to be kids, through to the realities of making decisions about the value of life and the development of responsibility and hope as young adults.

The cast disappears into their characters and brings each one to life in a unique and powerful way. losing the identities of big personalities like Fishburne and Ice Cube is no mean feat. Many of the performances recorded here are award-worthy - Fishburne, Bassett, Chesnutt, Gooding, and Ice Cube are especially memorable. For me personally, this is the film that convinced me that Ice Cube was destined to become a major personality in American cinema. While I had enjoyed some of his music prior to this film, it was here that I was first exposed to his versatility and intelligence as an actor.

While some may see some of the film's messages as heavy-handed, and others might have issues with the fact that the film deals with so many of the problems of inner-city life in a very 'in-your-face' almost archetypal manner, I find these criticisms impossible to justify.

This is a great film about real issues, sensitively portrayed and thoughtfully examined. Every American who cares about the vast untapped potential of our people ought to take a long, hard look at this one. These are not 'black problems', they are everybody's problems, and their solutions will require everybody's understanding. I could think of far worse places to begin developing that understanding than Boyz n the Hood.

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55 out of 73 people found the following review useful:
The best ghetto film of all time., 26 July 2004
Author: sixerzpac3 from Reading, PA

Boyz N The Hood Directed by: John Singleton Country: USA Year: 1991 Running time: 107 minutes Starring: Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding Jr.

"I watched the news this morning. Either they don't know, don't show, or don't care about what's going on in the hood. They had all this foreign sh-t. They didn't have sh-t on my brother, man."

The mother of Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.) decides to send her son to live with his father, Furious Styles (Laurence Fishburne), after he gets into a fight at school. Furious, who lives in the heart of South Central LA, is a man that knows the values of how to respect and how to earn it. He's strict, but he's fair. Furious works as a mortgage broker.

We watch Tre mature from a young boy to his senior year in high school taking the SAT's. His two best friends are brothers. Ricky (Morris Chestnut) is a great athlete and is getting into college to support his girlfriend and infant son. The other brother, Doughboy (Ice Cube), is headed down a totally opposite path of guns, drugs, gangs, and violence. He's in and out of prison each year.

Furious knows that his son could get killed easily, as he was once involved with the gang scene himself. He wants Tre to graduate college and be good in whatever his profession may be.

As the story goes more in depth, we see that even if you aren't involved in a gang, you could still be a target. Whether it's your brother, cousin, sister, or other family member that is thee one involved with the violence, the main target could be the person in the family who stays away from the dangers of the street.

Tre and his friends are in a world where being violent is sometimes the way to live. Helicopters are heard searching for murderers every night. The police are so busy, that sometimes a 9-1-1 call could mean waiting for the police to arrive. There is even one Black-cop, who uses his power to try and intimidate young Blacks who he thinks might be involved in the gangs and violence.

This is the ultimate ghetto film, which will never be topped. All of the direction and screenplay is brilliant. Singleton doesn't use cheap scenes that get the viewer off-topic and the audience, as a whole, is always into the movie. Come into a world that most of us haven't been in. Follow the life of one boy who turns into a man as he has to not only goes through personal struggles, but has to worry about whether he'll be killed at any moment. -Pat

10/10

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35 out of 43 people found the following review useful:
A gripping tale about South Central L.A., 22 May 2002

Author: Agent10 from Tucson, AZ

John Singleton's best film also proved to be one of my favorite movies about life in the streets. Cuba Gooding, Jr. displayed early on he was going to be a respectable actor. The power of the film has yet to be matched as most modern interpretations of street life prove to be violent stylizations. While Singleton has taken a couple missteps along the way, this film still stands up rather well by today's standards. The motives and actions appear realistic, especially Doughboy's thirst for revenge. A good film, which not only helped improve Laurence Fishburne's career, but introduced us to Gooding.

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36 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
Remarkable Film From First-Time Director, 19 April 2004
Author: evanreverb from Sydney, Australia

An exemplary directorial debut from John Singleton, who managed to create an American classic with his first effort.

As we follow Tre Styles from childhood toward becoming a young adult (as played effectively by Cuba Gooding, Jr.), and attempting to dodge, with the cautious guidance of his parents, the many dangers and risks associated with growing up in inner-city America, the sense of ever-present danger and, often, hopelessness associated with attempting to avoid falling into the cracks of society is abundantly clear.

In the role of Tre's troubled friend Dough Boy, Ice Cube is something of a revelation, and his balanced performance, alongside Singleton's excellent script, prevent him from becoming merely another gangster caricature. Lawrence Fishburne and Morris Chestnut add further depth to a strong cast.

All in all a very real, gritty depiction of the challenges faced at every turn by African American men and women in modern America. The building anger bristling beneath the surface in so many scenes is particularly resonant given the outburst of violence in the Rodney King Riots that took place in the very same city of the story just one year later.

The film spawned several 'urban gang flick' imitations in subsequent years, but most glorified violence and placed an emphasis on a loud soundtrack and sexual explicitness at the expense of strong plot-line, good character development and a serious social message.

All three are to be found in Boyz N the Hood.

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28 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
Place for Race, 20 May 2005

Author: mbucky from United States

Most movies about life in the hoods of LosAngeles, New York City, and other urban areas of the U.S. are discounted as novelty entertainment for audiences seeking sex and violence. Out of an era of gangster rap came a nationwide exposure of the issues within the Black and Latino communities, and directors like John Singleton and the Hughes Brothers follow in the footsteps of the great Spike Lee. The film Boyz n the Hood is an intricate examination of the archetypes and stereotypes of the hood, as well as an introduction to the survivors, both trapped in the violence and escaping the cycle. The film concentrates on a Black community without the interactions between communities shown in Do the Right Thing, another epic race commentary. The direction of the film is fluid and natural, the acting heartfelt and strong, the affect extraordinary. The message of the movie is deeper than White or Italian based gangland movies, because the human aspect and the characters are more solid and approachable, and rooted in highly intellectual and applicable theories on race and violence. This film is a showcase of the radical and moderate themes expressed by Black activists, with Laurence Fishburne's character as the leader and role model of the film. A careful examination of the film reveals a strong message and a strong film. Don't underestimate the power of this film.

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22 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
hood ornaments, but this is more than an ornament, 3 August 2006

Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA

It's hard to believe that John Singleton's work degenerated so in later years, because his debut was a masterpiece. We probably all have to agree that "Boyz n the Hood" was basically the first "growing up in the ghetto" movie, showing how these African-American youths are surrounded by violence during their childhoods - some perpetrated by the cops, some is their own doing - but they all have to find a way to keep going. If the movie has any problem, it's that it opened the flood gates to a series of similar inferior movies (but also the hilarious satire "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood").

Anyway, this is the one that I recommend. Cuba Gooding Jr. made a very good debut. Also starring Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Nia Long and Angela Bassett.

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18 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
A profound ghetto film, 31 May 2001

Author: Angeneer from Athens, Greece

John Singleton with his debut film cleared easily any opposition in the ghetto life genre. These are real characters facing real problems. Singleton goes one step beyond Spike Lee, analyzing and not only describing, proposing and not only denouncing. The film gets even more absorbing by the terrific camera work and the top notch acting.

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31 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
20% Blaxploitation, 80% social commentary, 17 May 2002

Author: Bradley Carr (bradley.carr@bigpond.com) from Australia

A young 23 year old director named John Singleton burst onto the scene in 91 with his feature debut Boyz N Tha Hood. What a way to start at the top, and work your way down.

Singleton has never truly capitalised on the critical and commercial success of this film, which is unfortunate. This is the film that began the acting careers of both Cuba Gooding Jr. (a future Oscar winner) and rapper Ice Cube, with rock solid support from Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett (who would later co-star together in What's Love Got To Do With It) and Morris Chestnut. It also began a seemingly endless string of imitators that where half as intelligent and twice as violent.

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22 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Excellent Movie, 24 May 2002
Author: jmorrison-2 from Farmington Hills, MI

Well-done movie by John Singleton, and very well-acted. Well-developed characters, and people you come to really care about. What's especially sad is we actually have areas of this country where the brutality and senselessness portrayed here is all too real. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is exceptional as a bright young man deperately trying to not get sucked into the endless rage and revenge life of his boyhood pals. Laurence Fishburne is tremendous as a father trying to steer his son through this minefield of a life, and on to better things.

One complaint, his "Don't trust the white man" speech has gotten ridiculously old. This attitude serves absolutely no one, and makes all of us, white and black, worse off because of it. It's time this ceased to be portrayed in movies.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
"Rick, it's the Nineties. Can't afford to be afraid of our own people anymore, man", 9 April 2010
Author: Aluisio_Is_All_Right from Winooski, Vermont, USA

John Singleton's first and most successful film to date (and, I'm positive, his best work too) is an honest account of three black friends (played, in their teens, by Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube and Morris Chestnut) growing up in a South Central LA ghetto.

Ice Cube's song "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" partially inspired the story, which is also partially autobiographic. Like the protagonist Tre (Gooding Jr.), Singleton lived with his mother (played by Angela Bassett in the film) for his first years, and was sent to his father's (Laurence Fishburne) when she felt the place she was living in wasn't suitable for the 10 year-old, and it was about time his dad taught him "how to be a man". The other protagonists, Ricky (Chestnut) and Doughboy (Cube) are half brothers who couldn't be more different: Ricky is their mother's favorite, the athlete pursuing a football scholarship to USC and their mom's pride and joy, while Doughboy is the overweight, overlooked 17 year-old ex-con.

"Boyz N the Hood" starts with sad statistics: "One out of every 21 black males will die of murder, most of them at each other's hands". Singleton, who was only 23 when the film was made (he became not only the youngest ever Oscar nominee for Best Director, but also the first African American to be nominated in that category; only this year another African American would be nominated, Lee Daniels of "Precious", exactly 18 years later), told a story of how the reality of one's environment and upbringing are definitely huge factors in how one's personality and life choices are shaped and/or limited; yet, it still remains one's own struggle in the end. The rebellion here is the struggle to get out of a rotten environment you alone aren't strong enough to change, without being killed by it before then. It's a struggle only those who have been there know entirely, and for those of us who are fortunate enough to have been raised in better or at least not as violent environments, we can imagine and analyze through statistics, but not with an inner understanding of what living in such reality is like - lucky us. In that sense, Singleton's film reminds me of Fernando Meirelles's masterpiece "City of God" (2002), which presents an even tougher, scarier reality in Brazilian "favelas", which, as a Brazilian myself, I can tell you it's all true (sadly). The musical score is corny and easily the weakest link in the film, and some moments seem clichéd and contrived; but you can't deny the impact and overall honesty of this brutal effort from this young director. Not as multi-layered or even ambitious as Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing", but still a film that remains relevant in 2010. 8.5/10.

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