Penitentiary

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Allan C Leon Isaac Kennedy plays a man wrongfully sent to prison, where he finds his place in the boxing ring. Written and directed by UCLA film student Jamaa Fanaka, this super low-budget film has a gritty honesty to it that is highly engaging, which helps it rise above its prison film cliches and amateurish acting by some of the supporting cast. I was expecting a blaxploitation prison drama, but PENITENTIARY was a far cry from your typical Fred Williamson outing. The white characters are actually pretty decent, even if they are the authority figures. Chuck Mitchell, best known as Porky from PORKY'S and PORKY'S REVENGE, plays the prison block lieutenant. Kennedy is solid in the lead role, but Floyd Chatman, as Hezzikia "Seldom Seen" Jackson, gives the standout performance in the film as an elderly prisoner who's spent his entire life incarcerated, taking Kennedy under his wing. His character seems to foretell James Whitmore's character in SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (this film also predates the Stephen King novella the film was based on), about a character whose only world he knows is being incarcerated and fearful of life on the outside. Sadly, this was one of only three films he ever appeared in. Regarding the boxing sequences, they are shot well and have a nicely unglamorous feel to them. That ugly realism is particularly on display for a prison cell fight scene between Kennedy and a mentally ill prisoner he's forced to share a cell with. The scene is brutal and has a sloppy, realistic, unchoreographed feel to it, which is rather welcome in this day and age of JOHN WICK action balletics. That scene alone makes the film worth watching, but overall, although PENITENTIARY is a mixed bag, it's an interesting and more ambitious film than I was expecting. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/04/25 Full Review Audience Member Meh, this is a silly but entertaining sequel to the blacksploitation oriented original . Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member More blaxploitation bullshit not even MR. T can help this crap. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member (** 1/2): [img]http://images.rottentomatoes.com/images/user/icons/icon13.gif[/img] Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A big let-down after the first Penitentiary. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member More blaxploitation bullshit not even MR. T can help this crap. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Penitentiary

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