As a female cop confronting relentlessly toxic masculinity at almost every turn, Gonzalez ( Baby Driver, Bloodshot) tends to overplay somewhat, although her focused intensity impresses. Moore’s Blink is the film’s pensive protagonist, bringing an unexpected degree of self-reflection to a role that easily could have been far more rote. Hawk’s troubled, alcoholic widower and Howard as the city’s philosophical gang leader also get short shrift, but at least they lend some heavyweight drama to their scenes. Snipes is just one of the outstanding actors that the film slots into generic supporting roles that appear more decorative than essential. Their only option appears to be taking refuge on the city’s rural outskirts with Blink’s father Lawrence ( Wesley Snipes), a chronic recluse who’s not so thrilled to see his estranged son. Even though they lack a coherent plan, the four manage to haphazardly rip off a downtown casino, but the consequences of their hit prove especially dire when Andre dies in a shootout with the local cops.Ĭousin immediately rejects the remaining trio’s meager haul of cash and non-negotiable gaming chips, leaving them facing an intensifying police investigation, led by young career climber Lucy Valencia ( Eiza Gonzalez). The other guys aren’t doing any better, so they reluctantly turn to local gang boss Cousin (rapper and reality star Tip “T.I.” Harris), who agrees to handle the takings from any major caper that they can pull off. These career criminals exist several rungs above the now jobless Blink, who attempts to market his considerable skills as a graphic artist, but faces rejection at every turn. Cuschieri’s script, which soon drifts away from the central characters to consider a sprawling web of corruption involving city councilman Jackson Symms ( Ethan Hawke), a dirty cop (Rob Morgan) and a gangland boss known as “The Saint” ( Terrence Howard).
A similar degree of carelessness undercuts P.G.
Watch Ethan Hawke and Daveed Diggs in Showtime's 'Good Lord Bird' Trailerīrief newsreel footage of the storm raking through the city and scenes of the deadly flooding and devastation left in its wake inadvertently highlight the filmmakers’ limited efforts to convincingly replicate that historic destruction with a few shots of damaged homes and inundated streets. Cut Throat City will doubtless grab the attention of RZA’s diverse fanbase, but looks unlikely to make a significant mark among contemporary crime dramas. Unfolding in the aftermath of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, RZA’s trenchant take on the synergistic interaction of poverty and greed gradually loses focus as it devolves into a familiar account of warring gangsters, corrupt politicians and a city struggling for redemption. Following his 2012 directorial debut, martial arts homage The Man With the Iron Fists, and 2017’s romantic musical drama Love Beats Rhymes, filmmaker, composer and producer RZA changes up genres once again for his third feature, a convoluted New Orleans-set heist pic.