New Jack City is a film to appreciate on many levels. It really means well, enforcing the message of addiction, and choosing the path between right and wrong. It's a lot to enjoy, and you somewhere feel the movie is presented in an over rated style, if trying to be better than it really is. I think where it fails, is because everything in it, we've seen all before. It's really an enthusiastic effort, seen from the good performances the movie brings out, some rock solid, like Nelson and Peebles who directed the movie, which even stars, oddly, Russell Wong, one of my favourite Asian actors as part of Peeble's squad. It's just isn't as good as other drug movies like Deep Cover or Sugar Hill. Wesley is fantastic in a villainary role, such a different contrast to his well meaning cop-hating Larry Fishburne character in King Of New York. This is a movie where he really shines, and may'be at his brightest, if reaching his peak of acting quality, the accolades he got for this, come as no surprise. He plays Nino Brown, who created a big drug empire, taking over residence in New York, even if it means kicking out people, or burning down buildings, the speech of defence he gives in the courtroom, at the end, going on about how he wasn't brought up in riches, was so cliché'd, as in the drug pusher trying to save his own skin scenario, his fate minutes later, of righteous justice was a beautiful shock. He and his empire are at war too with the Italian mafia. Snipes who's really a scummy and weak character, who will do anything to save his own skin, like using kids for bullet proof vests, doesn't take too kindly to insults from the wops either, when given a gift of ridicule. Chris Rock as a drug addicted teen, who Ice T takes under his wing, is so frickin' believable, I couldn't believe it, where seeing it many times, didn't recognize it was him. Away from the drug meetings and selling, and the open violence on the streets, that includes a retaliation by the Wops, using Uzi's, the movie has potent moments like, the rehabilitation scenes with Tucker, who we feel so sorry for. And for flesh dancing, we have one of Snipes's floozies, doing an animated hot bra and panties dance to George Michael's "I wanna sex you up". Highly appropriate and arousing. The unorthodox and hot tempered undercover cop, Ice T, goes undercover, bonding with Snipes, a good reason behind it too. Ice is far from your ordinary undercover cop, as is Nelson, who again I must say is really good, who's just out there, who's paired with him. NJC is good action fare with a story and heart, but there are just a few pieces of stuff, missing from the film, that could of made it better. It's just the feeling I got overall. But director Peebles has impressed, and done something good with this.