Even if it is not quite the blast and gut wrenching experience it is aiming to be, Dope deserves a lot of praise for its style, its voice, its themes. I can honestly say I am very sorry I couldn't see this one on the big screen.
There is no two ways around it, this cast is the heart and soul of the film and casting so good unknowns adds even more to it. Shameik Moore is fabulous in the role. His charisma is something to behold, but his performance doesn't end there. He shapes his character three dimensionally and adds a lot of layers to him, and that is vital since we are always sticking with him and rooting for him to succeed in every obstacle despite the fact that the choices he makes are morally ambiguous, we don't really care because his character and his friends, appropriately who we also root for thanks to even more good work from the actors, come first.
The movie is also filled with an energy and a style that really deserve to be called out. You really feel a unique voice coming from the screen and that is also thanks to a brilliant photography work and a killer, spot on soundtrack. Fortunately though, the style doesn't get in place of the story and instead comes from it and helps the the story and explore the themes the movie puts forwards in a fascinating and very pleasant way, without ever banging you over the head with it. Then of course the style also makes from a jolly good entertainment which is very welcome.
What I found the movie to be lacking is an emotional line throughout. It is one of those film that once it gets past the third act's first part and starts wrapping things up, it could just end at any moment put keeps going. That for me is usually a sign of not having an emotional pay off. I enjoyed the characters very much and rooted for them when in danger, but really didn't care how the whole story would wrap up and moreover didn't quite get the movie's ending. It just lacks that originality and relatable punch that could have rocketed towards higher levels.
Still this is one of those amazingly pleasant experiences I will be thinking of for some time even though I might not want to check it out again anytime soon.
There is no two ways around it, this cast is the heart and soul of the film and casting so good unknowns adds even more to it. Shameik Moore is fabulous in the role. His charisma is something to behold, but his performance doesn't end there. He shapes his character three dimensionally and adds a lot of layers to him, and that is vital since we are always sticking with him and rooting for him to succeed in every obstacle despite the fact that the choices he makes are morally ambiguous, we don't really care because his character and his friends, appropriately who we also root for thanks to even more good work from the actors, come first.
The movie is also filled with an energy and a style that really deserve to be called out. You really feel a unique voice coming from the screen and that is also thanks to a brilliant photography work and a killer, spot on soundtrack. Fortunately though, the style doesn't get in place of the story and instead comes from it and helps the the story and explore the themes the movie puts forwards in a fascinating and very pleasant way, without ever banging you over the head with it. Then of course the style also makes from a jolly good entertainment which is very welcome.
What I found the movie to be lacking is an emotional line throughout. It is one of those film that once it gets past the third act's first part and starts wrapping things up, it could just end at any moment put keeps going. That for me is usually a sign of not having an emotional pay off. I enjoyed the characters very much and rooted for them when in danger, but really didn't care how the whole story would wrap up and moreover didn't quite get the movie's ending. It just lacks that originality and relatable punch that could have rocketed towards higher levels.
Still this is one of those amazingly pleasant experiences I will be thinking of for some time even though I might not want to check it out again anytime soon.