Chris H
Unflinching and unpleasant, this film makes its points well. Anthony (Larenz Tate) does what he feels he needs to do, in the situation he finds himself in, whether that is killing Viet Cong or robbing a bank. It's a simple approach, born out of a simple desire to get by. He's not a simple man though - he's just being practical - and much more goes on beneath the surface.
A good ensemble cast surrounds Tate and their characters all have problems, none helped by the war.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
05/14/24
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Autumn M
Dead Presidents is the dramatic tale of a young man from the Bronx who has his life forever changed by two tours in Vietnam. The themes of mental illness, drug addiction, and institutional racism all collide into a sad tale of desperation. I was a little turned off by the foul language and graphic violence; I am no prude, but it was a little much for my sensibilities. It was okay, but I did not like the ending. They also left the fate of one of the characters ambiguous, for some reason.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/13/24
Full Review
Alec B
Yes it is broadly about America's failures (both foreign and domestic) and the way violence, once started, never stops. However the more compelling and intimate narrative is about bitter disappointment. Life sometimes has a way of not working out for a lot people for reasons both beyond and within their control. As with "Menace II Society" the Hughes brothers are willing to take us to places that can make just about everyone uncomfortable.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/10/24
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Lance U
DEAD PRESIDENTS is a beautiful film from directors Allen & Albert Hughes! Both Larenz Tate & Keith David deliver powerful performances! A-
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/29/23
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Andre G
Bank robbery movie. The planning they do is next to none. Awesome action but also pretty sad.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
05/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
In the North East section of the Bronx, New York during the spring of 1969, Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) is about to graduate from high school, and decides to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps rather than go to college. He is sent to Vietnam, leaving behind his middle-class family, his girlfriend Juanita (Rose Jackson), and small-time crook Kirby (Keith David), who is like a second father. Anthony's close friend, Skip (Chris Tucker), later joins Curtis' Recon squad after deciding not to go to Hunter College and his other friend Jose (Freddy Rodriguez), is drafted into the U.S. Army. Once in Vietnam, Curtis and his squad lose several fellow Marines during combat, and commit several atrocities of their own, such as executing enemy prisoners and beheading corpses for war trophies. When Anthony returns to the Bronx in 1973, he finds returning to "normal" life impossible. He finds Skip now an Agent Orange victim and heroin addict, Jose is an amputee with a prosthetic hand and pyromaniac who now works as a postman at the James A. Farley Building, and Cleon (Bokeem Woodbine), a religious but homicidal individual that was his squad's Staff Sergeant, who is now a devoted minister in Mount Vernon, New York. After being laid off from his job at a butcher shop, Anthony finds himself unable to support Juanita (who had an affair with a pimp while he was on duty) or his daughter. After an argument with Juanita, Anthony meets his girlfriend's sister, Delilah (N'Bushe Wright), who is now a member of the "Nat Turner Cadre", a revolutionary communist militant group. Anthony, Kirby, Skip, Jose, Delilah, and Cleon devise a plan to rob an armored car making a stop at the Noble Street Federal Reserve Bank of the Bronx...
Dead Presidents received mixed reviews from critics. Todd McCarthy of Variety gave the film a positive review stating, "In all respects an extremely ambitious follow-up to their crackling debut, Menace II Society, the Hughes Brothers' mordant Dead Presidents may eventually box itself into a narrative dead end, but its muscular engagement of weighty themes and explosive situations makes it a powerful drama." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film "both expected and surprising, familiar and yet somehow different. Made with fluid skill and a passion for storytelling, its tale of how the Vietnam War and American society affect a black Marine remains accessible while confounding expectations." Caryn James of The New York Times felt the film "takes on much more than it can handle." Comparing the film with the Hughes Brother's previous film James said, "The Hugheses obviously knew the world and generation of Menace II Society better than the past of Dead Presidents, but that is only part of the problem. In Menace they trusted the audience more, immersing them in a violent world the film explained without condoning." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a mixed 2.5 star review, and explained that the directing duo "have a sure sense of the camera, of actors, of the life within a scene. But they are not as sure when it comes to story and meaning, and here is a film that feels incomplete, as if its last step is into thin air. Scene by scene you feel its skill, but you leave the theater wondering about the meaning of it all." The early scenes were the best, according to Ebert, and the film "goes off the rails" in the final act. Mark Kermode placed it at number two in his countdown of top five underrated films of all time.
This the Hughes Brothers film, which was co-written, produced and directed by the two, was a treat to re-see. As far as I remember I liked it when it came out in 1995 and I still do. I like the strong storyline that intertwine with the Vietnam war depicting the struggle of returning war veterans of color who were neglected by the US government and mistreated. Many Black and Latino veterans of the Vietnam War were denied benefits, compensation, and recognition for their efforts in serving their country. The cast is very solid (even if Chris Tucker is challenging your patience with his high pitch voice and twitchy movements), we get a great soundtrack, great cinematography, great action sequences and a great 70s vibe and look.
Trivia: Dead Presidents is based partly on the real-life experiences of Haywood T. Kirkland (aka Ari S. Merretazon), whose true story was detailed in the book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans by Wallace Terry. Certain characters from the film are based on real acquaintances of Kirkland, who served time in prison after committing robbery in facepaint. The film also is loosely based on several incidents involving the Black Liberation Army, notably the Brink's armored truck robbery.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
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