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Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Cut Throat City 2020 * 1/2 Stars

CUT THROAT CITY IS NOT WORTH VISITING

"First they flood us, then they pushing us out". Yup, sadly it's time for a little "ride or die".

Anyway, four downtrodden buddies who are low on moolah, decide to pull off a series of robberies right after the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Not thinking and out of desperation, they do it with middling masks, automatic weapons, and miscued attitude. That's the rub of the disjointed and tough-talking, Cut Throat City.

So yeah, "City" is yet another flick that makes New Orleans look and appear like modern-day Beirut. Black and Blue gave us grubby and unwashed last year while Cut Throat City does it again this year. You can taste the dirt, feel the anguish, sense the danger, and literally smell the grime. Heck, the downtown hubs of The Crescent City are nowhere to be found. Just the outside gray areas are shown.

Cut Throat City, which features a big name cast for the ages, feels as scatterbrained as any action drama I've seen in the past decade. Director RZA while knowing what to do behind the lens, just needed a more capable editor, a better storyboard specialist, and a more logical script supervisor to aide him.

Characters played by T.I., Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Isaiah Washington, and Terrence Howard fade in and out while spouting numerous soliloquies. Added to that, the viewer gets the feeling that every single actor while game, is trying to showboat for the camera.

With "City", there's no clear fruition and one to really root for (good or bad). It's a bloated and misguided  heist pic, populated by violent confrontations, bumping cars, and shifty cops. Tacked on are a confusing ending, a poor man's whiff of 2018's Den of Thieves, and the overuse of urban stereotypes that don't help much. Someone should have yelled "cut" at the hour mark. Rating: 1.5 stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson

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