Gang Related (1997) from Tuna
Gang Related is a "bad cop" movie starring James Belushi and Tupac Shakur as narc partners who have figured out a clever way to earn a little extra cash. The set up drug deals using dope from the evidence lockup, kill the buyer in what is made to look like a drive by, pocket the money, and return the evidence to lock up. The scheme is working great until a buyer ends up being DEA. 

NUDITY REPORT
While she never shows breasts, Rochon gives lovely views of her buns while dancing on stage in butt-floss thongs, and she shows cleavage and poke-throughs elsewhere. An unknown stripper shows her breasts

DVD info from Amazon.

  • Widescreen anamorphic, 2.35:1

  • bare-bones
They elect to frame someone for the murder, and, of course, pick the wrong person to frame. They used a stripper, Lela Rochon, in their scheme, and also as a witness in their frame job, thus providing the mandatory strip-club background shots.   

The first half of the film held my interest as the noose begin to tighten around Belushi and Shakur, but there were just too many plot twists, and I eventually got tired of trying to keep up. 

Scoop's note: the older cop-partner wants to retire to Hawaii, and the younger guy is burdened with gambling debts. Isn't this where we came in?

The Critics Vote

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.6 
  • With their dollars ... it did a disappointing $6 million domestic gross
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C. Average genre fare, watchable for genre addicts, limited crossover potential

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