First Time Felon

"First Time Felon" is a story of redemption for a man named Greg Yance (Omar Epps). He was a small time drug dealer in Chicago who got busted. Being that he was a first time nonviolent offender he had the option of five years in prison or four months in boot camp. He did what most of us would have done--regardless of the nightmarish tales about boot camp--he chose boot camp.

Once there he and his fellow inmates were hit with a barrage of commands, insults, and rigorous exercise. Just the sheer noise was enough to drive a man mad, but quitting would mean serving out one's sentence in prison--a big deterrent.

Greg had three obstacles: the torment of the boot camp, a particularly jaded officer (Delroy Lindo), and a rival gang member (Treach). He would have to overcome them all to succeed.

"First Time Felon" was Charles S. Dutton's directorial debut and it was a brilliant one. The movie is a little bit "Boyz n the Hood" and a little bit "American History X." Like I stated, it is a redemption story and I, for one, am a sucker for redemption stories. I think most people like to see others turn their lives around. It gives us hope for humanity. This particular redemption story was even more impactful because it's based upon a true story and it was so realistic. There wasn't much in the way of drama for drama sake. Each character and each circumstance was so realistic. Thousands of young men just like Greg have found themselves in his same situation, but only a precious few have had the will, the temerity, and the opportunity to break from that life.