It's no wonder Caught Up only garnered haphazard theatrical release in 1998. Director Darin Scott, who is credited with screenplay nods for Tales from the Hood and Sprung, tosses everything--including the kitchen sink--into this noir rip-off that borrows liberally from Chinatown and Bound but lacks the intelligent gravity and grace of the first classic or the stylish, tongue-in-cheek fun of the second. Starring Bokeem Woodbine as Darryl, an ex-con who wants to go straight but who keeps finding himself in unlucky circumstances, Caught Up has laughable dialogue and terrible bug-eyed over-emoting that tries to pass for acting, and wastes the laconic beauty of One False Move costar Cynda Williams, as a femme fatale named Vanessa Dietrich (honest!). Vanessa wraps Darryl around her little finger and embroils him in a voodoo-esque drug plot that will have the viewer rolling on the floor in disbelief. Had Caught Up played its convoluted plot for laughs, it may have at least been a camp parody on the genre, but as it is, it doesn't avoid a single cinematic cliché. Caught Up is a goofy mess of contradictions and implausibility. --Paula Nechak
(24 votes)
2.
She caught his eye. He was caught off guard. Now Daryl Allen is caught in the line of fire. After six years behind bars, a reformed street hood (Bokeem Woodbine) puts down his gun and struggles to go legit. But when a beautiful, mysterious young woman gets him involved with a bag of stolen diamonds, corrupt cops and a Jamaican mobster, his dreams for an honest future are shattered by a hail of gunfire. Snoop Doggy Dogg and LL Cool J cameo in this gritty action-thriller, from the producers of Menace II Society and Tales From The Hood. Also features an all-star hip-hop soundtrack!
(22 votes)
3.
After a prison stint, down-on-his-luck Daryl Allen resolves to turn over that proverbial new leaf. But his good intentions can't keep him away from a sultry, spooky seductress, who ropes an unwitting Daryl into a web of criminal chaos and frames him for murder. Heavily stylized, surreal urban noir from first-time director Scott.
(21 votes)
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