...a cliché-ridden bore-fest with paper thin characters and unbelievably poor gunfights.
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You shouldn´t go into the high grass when the Raptors are loose. They will tear you apart and nothing but a gory, bloody mess will remain. Sorry. I was thinking that other Universal film that starred the other kind of Raptor. Those were dinosaurs and the film in question was "Jurassic Park." This is a Rapper-Actor and the film is "Waist Deep." However, both feature a bloody, gory mess. Only one film entertains and I think about the only enjoyment I would have gotten from "Waist Deep" was to feature the scaly Raptors eating the wannabe Raptors. It would have been a lot of fun to see the clever girl from Steven Spielberg´s action extravaganza munching on the Rapper known as The Game.
I sat down with an open mind and wanted to enjoy "Waist Deep." Star Tyrese Gibson was really good in "Four Brothers" and did a decent job in "2 Fast 2 Furious." Larenz Tate showed his acting chops it the films "Ray" and "Crash." He was also then sidekick named Ford Lincoln Mercury in Kevin Costner´s epic "The Postman." Meagan Good looked pretty darn cute in "D.E.B.S.," although I didn´t know much more about her than her being easy on the eyes. There are no better rappers than the defunct (and somewhat departed) N.W.A. and The Game has ties to the godfathers of Gangster Rap. The cast wasn´t exactly an A-List of talent, but it was impressive enough that I thought "Waist Deep" had a chance of being entertaining.
There are a lot of bad films in the world. "Waist Deep" is not one of the worst films I have ever seen, but I have absolutely no desire to ever watch it again. The two minutes in which Meagan Good was able to strut her stuff in a bathrobe was the only interesting part of the film. The remainder of the film was a painful experience in the growing Urban Action genre. Paroled convict O2 (Tyrese Gibson) watched too many John Woo movies, or at least the director of the film has. Two handed pistol shooting with unbelievable accuracy and no attempt at looking through the gun sights is pure Hollywood magic. Sadly, there is no magic to the gunfights and action scenes of "Waist Deep." Clichés are recycled from the moment the film starts, until the film ends. The driving scenes are fast, but not furious. The film´s plot is laughable. Seriously, Meat (The Game) is extorting money from O2 by kidnapping his son, yet O2 decides the best way to earn the money needed is to openly steal from Meat? I´m certain Meat will be more than happy to take his stolen money as payment.
I have no clue as to who director Vondie Curtis-Hall is. He has worked mostly in television and doesn´t have a lot of experience except for "Gridlock´d." I have not seen that film and cannot comment. The actors get to play gangsta, but exhibit no character development or true emotional range. The timely "I love you" moment towards the end of the film is laughable and not romantic. Tyrese Gibson tries like hell to keep a straight face and salvage this dreadful film, but he doesn´t succeed. Even with the sexy Meagan Good prancing around in a bra and panties doesn´t bring much excitement to Gibson´s performance. What was up with The Game´s eye? That looked poor. Of course, The Game´s performance was not good. Not At all. Not even close. They should have contacted Eminem. The talented Larenz Tate is a no show in his role. He did better as Ford Lincoln Mercury in the superior film "The Postman."
Bad film.
Video:
The video presentation of "Waist Deep" wasn´t much better than the movie. Detail was sharp in a few scenes and the product placement for Motorala´s RAZR was quite clear. The car of choice, the Chevrolet Impala, looked mighty spiffy too. However, whenever the lighting dropped and either shadow or nightfall took over, the films horrible weak black levels and complete lack of shadow detail delivered a murky and muddy looking film that was painful to watch. Tyrese Gibson´s dark face was difficult to make out at times, as the handsome actor´s features were lost in less than desirable visuals. That tattoos and injury to The Game´s face are completely lost. The 2.35:1 widescreen image is not the worst HD-DVD release I have seen, but it is among the lowest third of titles released. The standard definition DVD is glued to the reverse side and it looks almost equal to the HD-DVD release during the dark and murky scenes.
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[release]19657[/release]