User Reviews

This is based on a true story set In the 80's, in Harlem. It follows an Afro-American worker of a laundromat, called Ace, who is seduced by the easy money of his friend Mitch and when Mitch is arrested, he becomes a drug lord. Later, her joins Mitch and his new-friend Rico as his right arms, ruling the neighborhood. His kingdom is destroyed one year later, after successive betrayals.

I liked this .

It's not a story we haven't seen before 2002 or after but what makes this really good is the acting .

Thanks to that acting done of this cast went on to star in The Wire , one of the best TV shows ever made .

Wood Harris is the stand out actor .

He's incredibly impressive and you have to wonder why he's career hasn't really taken off since , although he has appeared in some big films .

This movie pulls no punches . The characters on show will do anything for money , including betraying , kidnapping and murder and you don't at any stage have much sympathy for those who carry out the crimes . It's the families that inevitably suffer .

In the 80's, in Harlem, the simple Afro-American worker of a laundry, Ace (Wood Harris), is seduced by the easy money of his friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) and when Mitch is arrested, he becomes a drug lord. Later, he joins Mitch and his new-friend Rico (Cam'ron) as his right arms, ruling the neighborhood. His kingdom is destroyed one year later, after successive betrayals.

Based on a true story, I found the first part of "Paid in Full", showing the powerful and wealthy drug dealers' lifestyle, an apology to crime. However, the strong plot point really destroys this image, and shows how short are the empire and power of these nasty criminals. Most of their friends and women are bought by their money, and in the end they are only a part in the wheels of crime. Here in Brazil, we have the same situation in the slums: one day, a drug lord dies, on the next day there is another one in his spot. The cast has great performances and the direction of Charles Stone III is amazingly real. "Paid in Full" is highly recommended for fans of films of gangs. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Ouro Branco" ("White Gold")

Note: On 27 October 2022, I saw this film again.

I was scanning through the channels one night and stopped on this film. Man, was I glad. It's nice to see the filmmakers trust the audience and their film by not cluttering up scenes with music. The silence was golden. Great direction, great acting and great music! I could tell this was based on a true story. It was so edgy and gritty it could not have been made up. The hardest part of making a true story work is keeping it real, they did that. I recognized all the actors, some one needs to hire Cam'ron he was great. I don't think you can compare this with New Jack City, I liked New Jack City but it was allot softer the Paid In Full. I could feel the tension in some of the scenes, it was powerful. I might buy this one.

I'm trying to figure out why this movie is being compared to New Jack City? Paid if Full is about 3 real life teenagers who made the drug game in Harlem huge. Azie, Alpo, and Rich Porter weren't fictional characters. I gave this movie a 7 because a lot of their story was left out. To get the full story including interviews you must see 'Game Over'. I know that only so much can fit into a movie's 2.5 hr time frame but there were so many things in their story that was left completely out. In an interview I read that AZ did with a NY newspaper, he stated that he was not happy with how the movie came out because it was supposed to be a movie that did not glorify the drug game. http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/movies/n_7905/ --> the website with the interview. These movies don't compare at all. Just because they both mention Scarface and take place in NYC and because they involve the drug game does not make the movies comparable.

The long list of dramas we've had involving violence and drugs. 'Boyz in the Hood', 'Menace to Society' among others and in the mix was 'Paid in Full' years later that I hadn't seen until now. Three different young men in 80's Harlem selling cocaine. The story feels authentic, but is very predictable.

That it's loosely based on real people doesn't matter. The highs and lows, the rise and fall. People dying. It's well worn territory. You watch interactions with characters who you know are going to become a problem so it's with no shock when they later do. Watch enough of these movies and they all start to blend together after a while.

Wood Harris's character Ace is a contradiction. He tries to stay away initially but gets sucked in by the money. Wants to be smart. Doesn't want to be all flash, high profile yet he still wears expensive clothing and drives around in high-end cars. Mekhi Phifer's Mitch is all about the flash and being popular, but he has great charisma. Very likable especially when showing care for his younger brother's well being. Cam'ron as Rico feels real, but you know what type of dude he is the moment you meet him. A loud mouth with more balls than brains with suspect loyalty who's gonna meet one of two fates.

'Paid in Full' is well acted and stays grounded. It doesn't go over the top, but it has no edge, nothing to really set it apart. It's attempt at trying to end on a relatively positive note after all the sadness and tragedy left a bitter taste in my mouth. It's a betrayal to everything that happened.

Filled with twists and a fast paced story (kinda) i'd reccomend it.

It's not a must watch but it's a good movie. Ace is definitely a good character and Rico helps of not having a static movie with characters doing the same. the soundtrack and ending is good

I saw this one a while back in the end of 2001, and I was very interested as it was the true story of the drug game in the mid eighties. This movie is actually AZ's side of the story(AZ is Ace played by Wood Harris[Above The Rim, Remember The Titans, The wire]). well, it tells the story of drug kingpins AZ(Ace), Rich Porter(Mitch)and Alberto "Alpo" Martinez(Rico). Cam'ron really displays some actin' skills in his part as the trigger-happy, O-Dog reminiscent Rico("alpo"), Wood Harris gives a very different performance from his previous roles in Above The Rim and The Wire as the laid back Ace. but this one belonged to Mekhi Phifer(8-Mile, Clockers) as Mitch(Rich Porter) he really came out and busted out Rich to a "T"! the certain flare that was necessary was there... And havin' DJ Brucie B all in the movie really put the icing on the cake for a rugged street feel, VERY Authentic...

underrated movie - this needs to be seen

10/10

In 1986 Harlem, Ace (Wood Harris) gets jumped. In the hospital, he is remembering how he got into his dire situation. One year earlier, he is working for Mr. Pip (Chi McBride) in a local dry cleaner. His best friend Mitch (Mekhi Phifer) is a drug dealer. His sister is going out with the braggart flashy drug dealer Calvin (Kevin Carroll). He starts selling for rich wholesale drug dealer Lulu (Esai Morales).

This is a solid drug dealing drama. There isn't much new or surprising. The bigger problem is that most of the movie has limited tension. Opening with the flashforward already shows the three eating Chinese food. Mostly, the audience knows nothing will happen to Mitch up to that point. This is solid drug gangsterism, but it's nowhere near as flamboyant as Scarface.

I am glad that there is a movie based on the lives of legendary Harlem kingpins Alpo, AZ and Rich Porter coming out. I saw this movie and it really went back to the old school w/ music from Rakim("Paid In Full" which is the theme of the movie). It shows the ups and downs of the drug game and is focused mainly on AZ(David Sherwin(Wood) Harris). The surprise came from rapper Cam'ron as Alpo(but is called Rico). I don't want to give it away but for those people who checked the street documentary, "Game Over" would really understand this movie as well as those who knew AZ, Rich and Alpo personally and those who know the legacy of these hustlers.

It gets a 9 from me, I loved it

Charles Stone III knows where to put his characters and how to handle them. He knows where he wants to tell his stories because he has filmed in similar places in his movies. He knows about directing actors, about keeping the spectator focused on the film…His writers know about the way the characters talk, and about creating an interesting story that comes from real life so the viewer doesn't get bored…The team knew what they were doing messing with "Paid in Full".

This piece comes in the groove of the movies we see from time to time about life in the neighborhood ("hood"), black people and their relationships, money problems, hard life, "this is how we do it here" and the other stuff…Phrases and situations like this are all over this film; combined with an appropriate sense of reality and personality.

There wouldn't be success in these movies if it wasn't for the characters. They're so important because they have the responsibility of making the story different. It's always the same things, what usually happens; but the characters are the ones that change and we get to know the life of every one of them. And that's probably the magic the movie achieves, because it's about these raw-written, really developed and peculiar characters. It's about the way they are talking, saying "my n...", "this n...", "my man" and lots of other expressions. It's about changes in a place that seems to be the same all the time, from the outside; but it's different from the inside. Changes that occur because of (and I come back because it's the way it is) the characters.

The movie starts as many others these days, giving a glance of the present. Quick, simple, for you to contemplate a character bleeding as he sees (or imagines) notes falling from the sky. Then we are taken to the past; to see what happened before the "glance": in the beginning. Like most of the times, the situations in the past take more time of the film than the ones in the present. I won't mention anything about these situations that involve, among other things, a guy who worked in a dry cleaner but then became the king of money and drugs; another guy who had the money to help his family and to buy nice things before he screwed up, a guy who is fascinated with money and can't control it; the women that celebrate or suffer for the men's actions.

Wood Harris plays Ace, the one who tells the story; and there's a reason why he tells it: in his story things will go right or wrong to the people, but they will all experience something because everything is connected. Harris finds the perfect note for the role, with the correct tone of voice each time he's saying something, and the mix of innocent and intelligent looks. I saw him in "Hendrix" so I recognized his face; but this is another performance by a promising actor. Mekhi Phifer consolidated his name in Hollywood long ago. He shocked me with his role in the powerful "O" and I couldn't recognize him as Future in "8 mile". He adds up another powerful performance to his list as Mitch; we'll be seeing Mekhi around. Newcomer in the acting scene, Cam'Ron, screams too much and puts arrogant faces, and I can't know if he's doing it right because I haven't seen him before. He didn't seem out of place, but it was kind of awkward. I should also mention Chi McBride wandering around the scenes with a lot of style. The rest of the cast (female and male and younger), achieved amazingly by pros Kerry Barden, Billy Hopkins and Suzanne Smith (experienced in casting people for films of this type), accomplish decent performances just to match everything with the story.

What's left for director Charles Stone III is to give some revealing and profound shots in the movie's most dramatic scenes, lead his actors to their glory and generate a realistic environment that traps anyone who sees it. The film editing is also remarkable. All work of the team, messing with the film.

Because the characters in the film mess with each other, and it's a messy film, you don't know why Ace keeps seeing notes falling from the sky, and from where he is telling the story he narrates. We just listen to it; but in some way the movie could be also messing with us.

This is the story of a soft-hearted drug dealer, as far UP the chain as you can go before you leave the Harlem neighborhood. The NEXT level is the guys, not part of the story, who deliver it in multiples of kilograms, and sell it the Afro-Americans, one community at a time, for breakdown and distribution.

There is one exception to this structure. Early in the film, we meet one super-dealer, played by NYPD-Blue station chief Lt. Tony Rodriguez (2001-2003), Esai Morales. (Morales seems to have gained so much "gravitas" between this film and the TV series you wonder if this film has been in the can for awhile.)

The name you know in the cast is Mikhi Phifer (he plays DR. GREGG PRATT on TV's "ER") but the name you will come away with is Wood Harris. You might have seen him playing third fiddle in REMEMBER THE TITANS (2002), the Denzel Washington feel-good film. Like TITANS, this is another true story, by the way.

The film tries to link itself to SCARFACE (1983) and even goes so far as to have the characters view that film on the big screen when it first came out. Trust me: this is not scarface. It is not Florida, not Cubano. AND ...... The scale of their operation, their life-style, ambitions, family orientation, neighborhood emphasis, and sheer abilities puts them much more on a par with Wesley Snipes NEW JACK CITY (1991).

Realizing that JACK CITY was supposed to portray a dealer who went a little power crazy, I found Snipes' performance over-heated, and didn't enjoy THAT film even the second time around. Wood Harris has a more moderate part to begin with, and he gives a credible performance as an underwhelming street kid who keeps on growing sufficiently to meet the demands of the job. Even though he is ultimately selling death in little glass bottles, you want to like him, want him to prevail over his more hot-headed, flash- and violence-oriented competitors.

"Maintain and stay low", he says. That might have been good advice even for corporate giants like Drexel Burnam and Enron.

But, like all bio-corporate organisms, the rule is, "Grow or Die." Wood's character makes the mistake of reacting the way you or I might in similar circumstances. Harlem is my beat. Harlem is enough. Why do I have to aggrandize, to bloat, to grow ever bigger? Can't I just be top dog on my own turf, he asks.

Rent the film. Find out the answer.

It is the mid-eighties in Harlem and Ace is working in a laundrette making honest (if small) money while his friend Mitch is rolling in the ill-gotten gains of street dealing. However a chance meeting with Lulu sees him entering the cocaine market, albeit with tentative steps. When Mitch gets sent to jail for a stint, Ace fills the local gap, underselling his competition and keeping everyone fed to avoid beef. With Mitch back on the streets with new friend Rico, Ace continues to rise within his community but still maintaining his lowkey and quiet personae. However coming to the top draws more attention while the loud and aggressive Rico contrasts with Ace's style and trouble is not far away.

It was the presence of Wood Harris that drew me to this film even if the hip hop stars in acting and producing roles did worry me that this was just going to be a basic modern blaxploitation movie that panders to the lowest common denominator to make cash. Based on a true story, it did offer me hope that it would be more than the usual rush to embrace lazy urban clichés and to a degree it does manage to sit above the usual standards of the genre. The connection in my head with The Wire probably didn't help because this is nowhere near the level that that series consistently operates at. Instead the narrative is fairly linear and straightforward but it is still interesting and well delivered.

I'm not sure if I was totally convinced by the character of Ace all the time but he did make for a good centre piece and the film is less moved by the events around him than it is by how he is within them. As such Harris is actually very good and never looks like he is about to fall into cliché or easy action. To a lesser extent Phifer does the same. He has less to work with for the majority of the time but one or two later scenes show how good an actor he can be. The same cannot be said of Cam'ron who plays the cliché throughout. He is effective at it but that doesn't mean I should praise him for ticking boxes with his screen time. McBride, Hall, Morales are reasonable but I do question the value (other than marketing) of cameos from Noreaga, Fresh, Dash, Simmons and others. Director Stone does an OK job but is greatly helped by the sense of period that the film consistently has thanks to the design of sets and costumes.

A solid narrative keeps it interesting, even if it is not really that surprising or clever. Of course compared to most hip hop films this is surprisingly good and it does benefit from being based on a true story and featuring good turns from Harris and, to a lesser extent, Phifer.

Any hip hop heads know who Rich Porter, Alpo and AZ. The movie tells their story subiting the names for Mitch, Rico and Ace. The film is told through the eyes of Ace played with great vigor by rising talent Wood Harris. Ace see his boy Mitch (Pfeifer) in a great performance living the high drug life. After Mitch gets locked up Ace decides to take over but he isn't your average dealer he's cool and laid back. While in prison Mitch meets Rico (Cam'ron in a breakthough debut) a hot head who decides he wants someone of the action. On the streets the trio run thangs but greed and betrayal thretan everything and the film has some shocking twists that are hard to believe. The eighties slang, clothes and life are portyaed very well. Producers Jay-Z,Dame Dash ( who shows up in a cameo) and Brett Ratner did their research to make the film look true to life. Regina Hall,Chi McBride go good supporting performances and the direction by Charles Stone III is impressive as is the script. I give it **** out ****.

Paid in Full is the true story of three drug dealers in '80s Harlem, and the screenplay is written by the real-life protagonist. It follows the rise and fall of Ace, a young man who does honest work for a living before getting caught up in the drug trade. The film does a great job at showing how appealing this criminal lifestyle would be to impressionable young men struggling to live in poverty. At first, the flashy aspects of the lifestyle are highlighted: brand new cars, being a local celebrity, wads of cash. Once Ace gets himself directly involved, however, the unfortunately brutal consequences to such a careless line of work quickly catch up to him.

Paid in Full wisely avoids glorifying the crimes within; in fact, many of the real crimes claimed more victims than those shown in the movie, and only one crime is changed for effect (the revenge murder of a character near the end). Ace is the perfect protagonist; he plays the game but understands its danger, choosing not to flaunt his wealth or status and avoiding doing drugs himself. Still, one is left to ask: why? Why get involved in such a trade that you know puts your entire community in danger? This is also the purpose of the writer, who has written one heckuva cautionary tale. As he says late in the film of the game, "It's all fake." The money, new clothes, cars, and hordes of women mean nothing when so many lives are at stake. The characters here are real, with understandable motivations, particularly Ace and Mitch, played by the always-fantastic Mekhi Phifer. My only complaint of the movie was that it was at times hard to understand, given all the street lingo; yet, because this was to be expected, I can't fault the movie for its realism.

This movie was a surprisingly good crime drama that has a lot to say. Rather than glorify drugs and the lifestyle involved, it serves as a dire warning.

I thought this movie was fabulous!

The acting was good all round especially Wood Harris, Mekhi Phifer, Cam'ron and the little boy Remo Greene was pretty good for a kid as well.

The story was fabulous. I loved all the twists it had.

Great directing Charles Stone III!

It was really cool how it cut back and forth from scene to scene.

Interesting to see it was based on a true story.

It's odd I have never heared of this film before. I should definitely be put down in the history books as one of the classic 'hood' movies.

Just saw this film yesterday. It had a ton of holes, Liked the characters though but should of been used in an action film. Also, I didn't see the point in setting the film in the mid 80's even though the events are based on a true story the fact that it took place in the eighties is of no consequence. But the part that I truly got a kick out of was the Esai Morales character. He just decided out of the blue to give the dry cleaner the best available dope on the street because he kept to himself, talk about being lucky !! I personally expected more from this film I hope somebody can recommend me a better urban crime film with more action and a better plot.

If I had realized that this was a gangster/hip-hop generation flick before I purchased it on pay-per-view, I would have never watched it. But I gave it a chance in an attempt to not waste my money. It was really well done. The acting was believable and in depth and the movie was superbly casted. It kept my attention, kept me involved and was narrated by a character that was likeable and credible. Well-done.

Very good film underrated no hype surrounding it but tight in the script realism and action. Before viewing the film I had never heard of Wood Harris I was surprised at how good he was in the role. Ably supported by Mekhi Phiffer who has gone on to bigger and better things his name alone was the draw for me watching the film. I was also curious to see how Cam'ron would be plenty of rappers have tried the hand and at acting only a few have been successful. I thought that he did a performed well in the role of an out of control street soldier. The plot ran smoothly all the way through the film and what made a nice change with this film the lead character always understood his limitation which gave the ending a realistic feel. If you have not seen it I suggest you do..

I have to admit, I was surprised watching this the other day. This would be one of the movies I would have loved to watch back when it was released ... I don't know how I missed it. But I watched it finally the other day and it was ok to do so - I know many players now.

If you like realistic views (characters are based on real people too), this is one to go. The Wire is still top notch but this is a really good movie about how the drug game can ... drag you down. Great performances all around ... and a killer song to boost to: Eric B and Rakim with the titular song.

So many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something. So many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something. So many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something. So many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something.

It becomes repetitive. The dialogue is so boring and tedious and over repetitive that so many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something. You get what I'm sayin B? So many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something.

This movie is about a bunch of drug dealers whop have no idea on how to maintain a low profile, keep themselves out of problems or become smarter than a brick or a log of wood.

They are greedy, show offs who think that they rule the streets and people like them and value them.

In all the time that they operated, they never learned to keep a low profile, they never learned to speak sentences, the never learned to invest their money into businesses and become something else - aside of the selfish, ignorant, bloated idiots that they were from the beginning.

The never learned a new vocabulary and still spoke like unintelligent, incapable, uneducated morons with a grade 5 level choice of words and the need to repeat themselves 4 times in the smae sentence to make a statement.

They were stupid and greedy and deserbed to get arrested or killed.

In all that time, they never learned anything about business or people in order to effectively grow and build their lives for the better.

They flashesd their cash like total idiots and talked about their deals in public to be even bigger idiots.

They had to be among the dumbest drug dealers ever - to maintain such prolific status and never think about what it could do to them.

They never took their money and moved away from the dumps they grew up in, the never changed their dress or attitude, they never made benefits to their future.

They were stupid as stupid could be - and every bullet they took and charge they were given by police was well deserved.

There was so much swearing in this movie that it took away and retracted interest from the film. These individuals appeared as total idiots and losers and no amount of money or jewellry could cover that up.

Anybody who operates like they do in this business or any other business - legal or otherwise deserves to be shot or imprisoned.

Selfish and greedy idiots don't deserve to walk around.

When your whole network of retailers end up putting you at risk on every single day for every single occasion they do anything...it's time to put them out of their misery.

With that much money, they could have turned it into hundredws of millions in a legal empire and kept it goping for years upon years - only to grow and grow - but they were so blinded by theri gold, they were unable to see anything else aside of their need for flashing their cash to impress the people on their block.

Knowing that these people actully existed, I do not feel sorry for what happened to them and only wished it happened sooner.

When you have that much money from your illegal activities, it's time to change your operation and entire persona - otherwise you become a statistic that is well deserved for your actions.

Oh yeah, the dialogue was also so repetitive. So many of the characters have to say things 3 or 4 times in order to say something.

Finally a good gang movie, I've see a lot of them lately and thy all more or less suck, but this one was real real good.

Properly because it was based on a true story, that always makes a good movie. And Mekhi Phifer is or some in this movie, one scene was so so good, man he is becoming a great actor if you ask me :)

I am very happy that the life story of Alpo, Rich Porter and AZ has come out, I saw the movie and I was mezmerized. Mekhi Phifer(Rich Porter) and David Sherwin Harris(AZ)(Above The Rim, Remember The Titans) do great as the legendary drug kingpins AZ and the now deceased Rich Porter. It really tells how crack cocaine blew up the way it did in the 80's and how "REAL" the crack game really is- How the up can make you feel on top of the world and how fast one can hit rock bottom in the game. The surprise came from Cam'ron as the now incarcerated druglord Alpo. This was a great movie and I also recommend the street documentary "Game Over" hosted by AZ which is also based on the lives of Alpo, Rich Porter and AZ.

A street classic 10/10

F**k U mean! Dis sh8t 100! F**k U mean! Dis sh8t 300! F**k U mean! Dis sh8t 600! F**k U mean! Dis sh8t 900! F**k U mean my review is not long enough? Dis sh8t 900! My nigga A boogie is in da m8thaf**kin building!! GANG GANG GANG GANG GAN GAN GANG GAN GANG GANG GANGA GANG GANG GANG GANG