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Gang Related
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Wikipedia article
'Gang Related', alternatively known as 'Criminal Intent', is a 1997 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Jim Kouf starring James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Quaid, Lela Rochon, David Paymer and James Earl Jones. The film revolves around two corrupt cops (Belushi and Shakur) who attempt to frame a homeless man (Quaid) for the murder of an undercover DEA agent that they themselves had actually killed.
The film was shot over a period of a month in August 1996 and wrapped filming just two weeks before Tupac Shakurs death on September 13, 1996. It marked his final film appearance and was released a year after his death.
Synopsis
Vice squad detectives Frank Divinci and Jake Rodriguez set up narcotics runner Lionel Hudd in a bogus drug trafficking deal; they shoot Hudd dead and pocket his money. Having recovered the cocaine Hudd purchased from them, the detectives return that to the evidence room at their headquarters. When Divinci and Rodriguez find out Hudd was actually a "deep cover" DEA agent because Hudd's partner, Richard Simms, drops by their precinct for help sniffing out the killers they resolve to pin the murder on any likely suspect they can find. The detectives finally frame William McCall, a homeless drunk, by tricking him into confessing to the crime. Needing a witness, Divinci and Rodriguez press stripper Cynthia Webb with whom Divinci has been cheating on his wife into picking McCall out of a police lineup. It turns out McCall is a physician, missing and presumed dead for years, who hails from a wealthy family; their lawyers are brought in to defend him. At McCall's trial, he is promptly shown to be innocent. The case falls apart and McCall is released. Rodriguez records a conversation with Divinci in which the latter admits to Hudd's killing and McCall's setup. In response, Divinci forces Rodriguez out of the car at gunpoint. Returning to his apartment, Rodriguez is met by his bookie Vic...and by Vic's bodyguard, "Mr. Cutlass Supreme". They shoot Rodriguez dead over an outstanding gambling debt. Investigating Rodriguez's death, the police find the damaged tape which contains Divinci's confession. McCall attorney Arthur Baylor questions Webb about Hudd's murder, playing back the plan by Divinci to kill her as a loose end. Webb tells Baylor everything she knows about Divinci's crimes. Divinci hides out in Webb's apartment and shoots her for betraying him. Webb is rushed to the hospital; her gurney is wheeled past 'Doctor' McCall. Divinci arranges for a limousine ride to the airport. The driver is revealed to be recently-acquitted serial killer Clyde David Dunner, who shoots Divinci dead and then dumps the body in an alley.
Cast
* James Belushi as Detective Frank Divinci
* Tupac Shakur as Detective Jake Rodriguez
* James Handy as Captain Henderson
* Deborah Rennard as Caroline Divinci
* Lela Rochon as Cynthia Webb
* Dennis Quaid as William McCall / Joe Doe
* Tom Ormeny as Nathan McCall
* James Earl Jones as Arthur Baylor
* David Paymer as Elliot Goff
* Gary Cole as DEA Agent Richard Simms
* Wendy Crewson as District Attorney Helen Eden
* Terrence C. Carson as Manny Ladrew
* Brad Greenquist as Assistant District Attorney Richard Stein
* Kool Mo Dee as DEA Agent Lionel Hudd
* Robert LaSardo as DEA Agent Sarkasian
* Gregory Scott Cummins as Clyde David Dunner
* Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. as 'Cutlass Supreme'
* Perry Anzilotti as Vic (bookie)
Reception
'Gang Related' opened in North America in 1,260 theaters and made $2,443,237 with an average of $1,939 per theater, ranking at No. 10 at the box office. The film ended up earning $5,906,773. The film received mixed reviews, and has the rating of 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on seventeen reviews, with an average rating of 5.4 out of 10. The film was released in the United Kingdom on August 14, 1998, and opened on #11. Roger Ebert appraised the film more positively in an episode of 'At the Movies':
About the movie's reception and box office results, Jim Belushi said: "Right around that time, when that movie came out, there was a gang related shooting at a movie theater in Los Angeles. That just ruined the opening of that movie. Everyone was afraid to go to the movie theatre, especially with the title Gang Related. Nobody went. Regardless, its become kind of a cult film since its release."
Soundtrack
References
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