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
Sônia Braga	...	Iris (as Sonia Braga)
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:

Империя

Filming Locations:

Miami, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,281,415, 8 December 2002, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,504,595, 26 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:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vincent Laresca and Anthony 'Treach' Criss made their film debuts 10 years prior in Juice (1992).

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Goofs

When Trish is shot and falls on the bed, the gun she was holding is next to her right hand. In the next shot, it is on the left side.

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Quotes

Victor Rosa: The way we should be living. My woman deserves it, my kid deserves it, and I deserve it. Fuck everything else.

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Connections

References Carlito's Way (1993)

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Soundtracks

Que Te Pedi
Written by Fernando Lopez Mulens and Gabriel Luna De La Fuente
Performed by Tito Puente & La Lupe
Courtesy of Sonido, Inc.

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