Dead Presidents

A mess. The heist idea doesn't even come up until the last 40 minutes. Lots of tired Vietnam cliches ("fire in the hole!", "we're in a world of shit"). It seemed like I was being asked to sympathize with the main character, but he totally dug his own grave. The whole thing was just all over the place. Still, nice photography and I think Larenz Tate is a very good, underrated actor. Kickass soundtrack too

Mean spirited and grotesquely violent without purpose.

Liked it a lot. Little rip offs here and there, but no big deal. The clarity of the story's timeline made a great difference in how I ultimately felt about it. The structure is comfortable. Always seemed to land on two feet. The cast does a great job. Tate, Keith David, and Terrence Howard were all at their best here. And dammit, let's give the struggling black man a chance, ok? No? I know he shot a few cops in the face, but no big deal. It's not like they were people with families or anything.

Superior heist film (with an excellent Vietnam sequence in the middle) it's all about what come before, rather than during or after.

This film is alive. Every scene seems to breathe on it's own. A truly hidden and forgotten gem.