Empire (2002)

A successful South Bronx drug dealer turns his back on his roots and gives money to a Wall Street broker to invest for him.

Director:

Franc. Reyes

Writer:

Franc. Reyes

Stars:

John Leguizamo, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Leguizamo	...	Victor Rosa
Peter Sarsgaard	...	Jack
Denise Richards	...	Trish
Vincent Laresca	...	Jimmy
Isabella Rossellini	...	La Colombiana
Sonia Braga	...	Iris
Delilah Cotto	...	Carmen
Nestor Serrano	...	Rafael Menendez
Anthony 'Treach' Criss	...	Chedda (as Treach)
Rafael Báez	...	Jay
Fat Joe	...	Tito Severe (as Fat Joe 'Joseph Cartagena')
Carlos Leon	...	Hector
Felix Solis	...	Jose
Omar Pastran	...	Jason
Rob B. Campbell	...	Det. O'Brien

Storyline

A big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal and a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he has been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

money | drug dealer | friend | investment banker | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Two worlds collide.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, drug content and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

6 December 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Imperium - Zwei Welten prallen aufeinander

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$6,281,415 (USA) (6 December 2002)

Gross:

$17,504,595 (USA) (24 January 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arenas Entertainment, Bigel / Mailer Films, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in 22 days.

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Goofs

(at arouns 42 mins) There is a wide fish-eye dolly shot and in the lower right corner a grip's shadow, white sneaker, and what looks like a strap come into frame briefly.

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Quotes

Victor Rosa: [Walking past a couple who are kissing] Hey. there's no tongue allowed here!

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Connections

Referenced in Scary Movie 3 (2003)

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Soundtracks

White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)
Written by Sylvia Robinson and Melvin Glover
Performed by Grandmaster & Melle Mel
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products and Courtesy of Sanctuary Records Group

User Reviews

Good. Worth any gangster flick-loving movie fan's time.

Empire stars John Leguizamo in a fairly decent role this time, as Victor Rosa. He is a drug dealer who is living life at a good pace. But as sucessful as his buisness is, he finds that he should get out while he still can and settle down. He sees his chance as he meets a wall street stock broker named Jack. He has a propasition for Victor that involves millions of dollars in which Victor needs to borrow from his drug dealing allies. It soon turns out that Victor is screwed out of the deal and Jack has made off with the money! Victor soon discovers he has no choice but to seek out Jack and have his revenge. What starts out with all the characteristics of a flop movie soon turns into something interesting. Leguizamo portrays Victor well, with smarts, feelings and charisma. It's not the greatest gangster flick out there (say Goodfellas blows it out of the whole movie making buisness) but this is surely worth a look. Empire provides insites into the crime world and keeps interest for a lot of the time (except the flat beginning). There are sometimes surprises that you wouldn't expect, good gun fights, and the ending is really something else. Overall not bad, do not judge the cover by all the bad things everyone says about it. Give it a shot! you may be surprised. 7.0/10