Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Above the Rim

Play trailer Poster for Above the Rim R 1994 1h 33m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
50% Tomatometer 22 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
A high-school basketball star (Duane Martin) is torn by loyalties to a drug dealer (Tupac Shakur) and an ex-player (Leon).
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Above the Rim

Critics Reviews

View More
Anderson Jones Detroit Free Press 04/26/2022
2/4
Films with principally African-American casts shouldn't have to mean hats cocked sideways, baggy jeans around the knees, slithery drug dealers and voiceless women. Not even in service of a fast break. Or buck. Go to Full Review
Karen McCluskey Empire Magazine 03/25/2008
2/5
It ain't got game. Go to Full Review
Brian Lowry Variety 03/25/2008
A fine cast and the movie's general energy can't overcome that mix of cliches and technical flaws. Go to Full Review
Scott Thomas Buffalo News 02/29/2024
2/5
The plot is a predictable slide toward the big game. Go to Full Review
JK Sooja Common Sense Media 08/29/2022
3/5
Gun violence, language in solid '90s basketball drama. Go to Full Review
TV Guide 03/25/2008
2.5/4
A superficial and predictable sports drama with an inner-city background, Above the Rim nevertheless offers engaging characters, fast-paced direction, and strong performances. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Mo S. @9mr_0 1d فيلم بين المتوسط والضعيف See more thiago s @Thiagostone Aug 8 Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more Lyle P 09/24/2024 Not a bad movie. I watched it mainly cause I was a big Tupac fan at the time but it's good. See more A.L.Jude P @judebd 02/18/2024 Wasted efforts and time that could have been avoded. See more 03/27/2023 Duane, Martin, Marlon Wayans, Bernie Mac, and Tupac Shakkur a sports-drama about a rising athletic youth torn between his family loyalties and his aspiration for sports directed by Jeff Pollack this was part of the 90's black film renaissance surrounding the drug culture, the violence, and inner-city racial tensions Kyle Lee Watson has two brothers and his mother; he's a basketball student hoping to win a scholarship to help his mother's expenses two of his siblings live in different worlds, Shep is a security guard at the school and the other is Birdie living in the streets of crime and drugs Kyle wants to make it big but his attitude gets him in more trouble than one would expect, yet Shep may be the one person to push him to be better even after he himself gave up his life-long dream in basketball problem is that Birdie may have Kyle wrapped around his finger too tightly so it makes one wonder which team is he actually playing for the film works as a drama, a sports film, and making hip-hop more mainstream a very slick soundtrack, too with Snoop Dogg and Tupac himself it's very short but says a lot about playing the game, knowing the game, and being a team player not just in basketball but for our loved ones as well we can't erase what we were, does having a team make us more successful in the game?, people move past the things they're running towards or they stop altogether, do we owe others anything for future success or just ourselves, who's team are we actually playing for in life? See more @ckacar 09/13/2022 Features one of the most unintentionally funny first 5 minutes and inciting incident. The basketball is decent, the story and performances are solid. See more Read all reviews
Above the Rim

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Menace II Society 84% 93% Menace II Society Watchlist TRAILER for Menace II Society One Night Stand 34% 39% One Night Stand Watchlist American History X 84% 96% American History X Watchlist Glengarry Glen Ross 95% 88% Glengarry Glen Ross Watchlist Pump Up the Volume 80% 85% Pump Up the Volume Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis A high-school basketball star (Duane Martin) is torn by loyalties to a drug dealer (Tupac Shakur) and an ex-player (Leon).
Director
Jeff Pollack
Producer
Jeff Pollack, Benny Medina, Ina Mayhew
Screenwriter
Barry Michael Cooper
Production Co
New Line Cinema
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 23, 1994, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 22, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$16.0M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Surround
Most Popular at Home Now