Synopsis
Two corrupt cops have a successful, seemingly perfect money making scheme- they sell drugs that they seize from dealers, kill the dealers, and blame the crimes on street gangs. Their scheme is going along smoothly until they kill an undercover DEA agent posing as a dealer, and then try to cover-up their crime.
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Cast
- Jim BelushiDetective Frank K Divinci
- Tupac ShakurDetective Rodriguez
- Lela RochonCynthia Webb
- Dennis QuaidJoe Doe / William
- James Earl JonesArthur Baylor
- Gary ColeRichard Simms
- Terrence 'T.C.' CarsonManny Landrew
- Wendy CrewsonHelen Eden
- Kool Moe DeeLionel Hudd
- Reggie MillerSelf
Recommendations
- 91
The A.V. Club
As is probably inevitable for a film with two corrupt, murderous, drug-dealing cops for protagonists, Gang Related is a nasty, vicious little movie. It's also an excellent genre film. Like a good pulp novel, it tells a lurid story cleanly and effectively, without calling undue attention to itself. The cast is uniformly excellent, with James Earl Jones, David Paymer and Gary Cole making good turns in supporting roles. Belushi turns in a surprisingly restrained performance as the nastier of the two corrupt cops, but the real surprise here is Shakur's work as an essentially moral officer who is gradually sickened by the murky moral swamp in which he finds himself. Shakur's growth as an actor since his unheralded debut performance in Nothing But Trouble is nothing short of remarkable - 80
Washington Post
Shakur is superb, as I said, but so is Belushi. Initially a kind of glowering Bozo whose very sleaze is seductive and whose efficiency is attractive -- he's very Dirty Harry-like in his solutions to criminal problems -- he drifts off, almost banally, into the most repellent of all evils, the criminal sociopath masquerading under the flag of authority and using the system to hide his tracks. He stops being funny and merely becomes horrifying. - 75
ReelViews
Kauf, whose Stakeout was a lighter blend of the same kind of elements at work here, knows just how to play the material to keep it enjoyable. That's not an easy task, considering that the main characters are pretty reprehensible and the basic plotline is about covering up the accidental murder of a cop. Nevertheless, in part because of a series of good performances and in part because Kauf approaches things with confidence, the results are positive. Gang Related may not be Pulp Fiction, but it's not a bad foray into tangential territory. - 75
Baltimore Sun
But the most interesting aspect of the film is its sense of karmic retribution. Coincidences pile so high that "Gang Related" sometimes seems like a comedy -- not necessarily a bad thing. They all point to a larger force at work. Though not every evil is punished, the events in this film noir seem to have sprung from chaos theory: In their randomness, they draw a pattern. Gang Related"delights in bedeviling the devils. - 70
TV Guide Magazine
In his last role, the late Tupac Shakur shows once again that he had considerable natural talent as an actor, and while Jim Belushi is always in danger of sliding from sleaze into shtick, he always pulls back. - 67
Austin Chronicle
Although Belushi's scruffy charm has its moments, it's the late Shakur's performance as the conscience-stricken half of the duo that draws the most attention. There's a gravity to his performance that is totally unexpected, a surprise that -- given the circumstances -- is as sad as it is welcome. - 60
Empire
Writer/director Jim Kouf certainly knows his police procedures, packing the movie with sharp dialogue and authentic set pieces. Unfortunately, the final half-hour, with its told-you-so conclusion, takes the knife-edge away from what clearly could have been a masterly thriller. Then again, just watching Tupac ponder death on the big screen is probably all the knife-edge you need. - 33
Entertainment Weekly
Belushi certainly proves that he can play an uncharismatic lout with conviction, but the talented Shakur is — literally — wasted in his final screen performance.
