The only good thing about this movie was the soundtrack, probably my favorite soundtrack of any movie I've watched. Other than that, this movie was putrid. A bunch of largely unlikeable characters doing unlikeable stuff.
The lead character, Kyle (Duane Martin), was a cocky blue chip recruit that didn't know the meaning of team. Shep (Leon) was a surly washed up ex-ball player that hadn't smiled since his best friend died. His role was to impart the critical message and be a deus ex-machina. Birdie (Tupac) was a gangbanging drug dealer, and Mo (Wood Harris, most famously as Avon Barksdale from The Wire) was his henchman. Bugaloo (Marlon Wayans) was a clown. Flip (Bernie Mac) was a loud mouth and hostile bum. And there are your lead characters.
The story was a redemption story, but again, you'd have to care about the character being redeemed to like the story. I didn't. I couldn't even say that I liked the basketball, it was more like rugby with dribbling. There's being physical and there's felony assault. The final hoops showdown was nothing more than thugs in uniforms-- it was a mockery. I'm sure it was supposed to be something of a Rucker's Park tournament but the only similarity between "The Shootout" in ATR and Rucker's Park is they both have basketballs. ATR was terrible. Yes, it had a "happy" ending but that's a liberal use of the word because I was anything but by the end.
The lead character, Kyle (Duane Martin), was a cocky blue chip recruit that didn't know the meaning of team. Shep (Leon) was a surly washed up ex-ball player that hadn't smiled since his best friend died. His role was to impart the critical message and be a deus ex-machina. Birdie (Tupac) was a gangbanging drug dealer, and Mo (Wood Harris, most famously as Avon Barksdale from The Wire) was his henchman. Bugaloo (Marlon Wayans) was a clown. Flip (Bernie Mac) was a loud mouth and hostile bum. And there are your lead characters.
The story was a redemption story, but again, you'd have to care about the character being redeemed to like the story. I didn't. I couldn't even say that I liked the basketball, it was more like rugby with dribbling. There's being physical and there's felony assault. The final hoops showdown was nothing more than thugs in uniforms-- it was a mockery. I'm sure it was supposed to be something of a Rucker's Park tournament but the only similarity between "The Shootout" in ATR and Rucker's Park is they both have basketballs. ATR was terrible. Yes, it had a "happy" ending but that's a liberal use of the word because I was anything but by the end.