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Redemption

Play trailer Poster for Redemption TV-14 2004 1h 33m Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 83% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Stan "Tookie" Williams (Jamie Foxx), founder of the infamous Los Angeles street gang the Crips, is sent to death row in 1981. Journalist Barbara Becnel (Lynn Whitfield) wants to interview Williams after her son gets interested in gang culture. Though initially reluctant to speak to anyone, Williams' outlook changes when he begins writing children's books. Resolving to redeem himself before his execution, Williams talks to Becnel about his turbulent childhood and his rise to gangster legend.

Critics Reviews

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Robert P. Laurence San Diego Union-Tribune Easily worthy of an Emmy nomination, it establishes Foxx as a serious actor to reckon with. Rated: 3/5 Mar 12, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Interesting, but disappointed look at the man who founded the L.A. gang, The Crips. Jamie Foxx is good, but some of the rest of the film falls flat. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member descent bio-pic of sorts. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Decent wouldn't watch again, or really recommend it to anyone. But Foxx's performance was commendable Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member The story about the man who started gang violence and the Crips gang, named Stan "Tookie" Williams, is definitely shaky, but still good. If the film had a bigger budget, a more present soundtrack, and was written a few years later, it would have been Oscar-material. You can tell this was filmed very cheaply, but that's not much of a problem. The biggest problem is the ending, which was left running a tad dry. It's even more agonizing to know that Tookie died in prison only a year after this film's release, which means had the filmmakers waited a while, they could have incorporated a deep and emotionally rich ending. Of course, nobody knew that would have happened, so you can't place the blame on anyone. Jamie Foxx is good, but he's not going to win over any awards. Tookie is an interesting character though; it's always a treat to watch an intellectual speak out and declare what he thinks right and wrong. Even though the film has it's shortcomings, it's still a good film, considering the budget it was made on. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Not the best jail movie but its a true story about the creator of the crips worth watching for sure. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is this shit Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Redemption

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Redemption

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Movie Info

Synopsis Stan "Tookie" Williams (Jamie Foxx), founder of the infamous Los Angeles street gang the Crips, is sent to death row in 1981. Journalist Barbara Becnel (Lynn Whitfield) wants to interview Williams after her son gets interested in gang culture. Though initially reluctant to speak to anyone, Williams' outlook changes when he begins writing children's books. Resolving to redeem himself before his execution, Williams talks to Becnel about his turbulent childhood and his rise to gangster legend.
Director
Vondie Curtis-Hall
Producer
Sue Bugden
Screenwriter
J.T. Allen
Production Co
New Line Cinema
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Biography, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Sep 6, 2005
Runtime
1h 33m