FREE ESSAY ON BELLY

BELLY

Belly is one of the most controversial films in America. It is one of the most technically
polished Hip-hop films to date. Does it have great acting? No, it does not, but DMX as
"Boz" has a solid performance while the other actors do a believable job considering they
are by nature rappers and not actors. A good action movie? Yes, it builds refreshingly
and unexpectedly to a spirit of redemption and responsibility while containing a variety
of action sequences for your buck. A movie for the whole family? No, but is a hip-hop
teenager's favorite but is too hard for the younger and older audiences limiting its
success.
Rap artists do three of the four main acting performances. DMX gives a solid performance
as "Boz" portraying young and ignorant kid on the loose killing and dealing what he can.
As the movie moves on Boz is gradually transformed into a smart and reasonable young
adult. Nas another rapper plays "Sincere" and does a decent job of acting but is not as
believable as DMX in portraying his character. Fellow rapper Method Man plays "Ike Love,"
and has a hard time acting the part but to his defense the character is a little crazy
and unpredictable making the scene hard to act. The only main part not played by a rapper
is by Regan Jackson who plays the Rastafarian drug lord "Lenox", is played especially
good. Regan does exceptional job of looking like and sounding like a real life
Rastafarian with the right ascents and terminology as used by a Rastafarian. Tara Hicks
played "Boz's" girlfriend "Neisha" and did a good job considering the role she was put on
wasn't directed very nicely. The overall acting of this film is not going to win any
Oscar's but it is solid and gets the job done in a believable fashion.
The motion picture Belly contains an enormous amount of exciting action scenes containing
a lot of explicit content and violence. This is especially true when a rival Jamaican
drug posse tries to shut down "Lenox's" drug cartel and storms his compound. Lenox is all
doped up on drugs when he notices about hundred men climbing over the walls and
surrounding the compound on his security screen. He grabs his Ak-47 and commences to
killing any by that walk in. He is walking through his bedroom through to the hallway,
while the whole time shooting and killing while screaming all kinds of Rastafarian
obscenities. Once he past downs the staircase into the main lobby he mows down intruders
in a barge of gunfire. He is screaming, " I m da the meanest yug-gutter da whol worlde
ever seen; I da murdar bumboclots fa fun." Just as you think he has killed them all, a
lady catlike women jumps from the balcony and cuts Lennox's throat and leaves him to die
in a pool of blood. This one and many other scenes contain graphic content in violence
and language. But on the other hand these scenes all look like they took place on the
street as they really would, giving this movie a special feel. The director portrays the
violence only as to how it really is in real life and is merely copying this. Much of the
action is a portrayal of realistic drama and unlike the action depicts in movies such as
Superman, Star Wars, etc. It is showing a bad side to the world. It builds from a movie
of action packed violence and drugs to a movie of redemption and responsibility. This is
when the main character "Boz" played by DMX learns his mistakes in life and applies
himself to God and becomes a spiritual leader.
Is it a movie for the whole family? Well no, but is a good heart pumping realistic movie
that a teenager or young adult would enjoy. It gives a solid glimpse into the hip-hop
lifestyle of an urban rapper. But contains too much violence and explicit language for a
younger audience and is to out of date for the older audiences. This has caused the movie
to be limited to certain audiences, not making it a best seller on video or in the box
office. But it did gross over $10 million dollars at the box office.
Due to the limited audience it touches from the violence, sex and drugs Belly, has become
one of America's most controversial films. It is also one of America's most technically
polished hip-hop films of the day. It offers a special glimpse into the young black
ghetto lifestyle of nice cars, fast money and drugs. Were bad is taught and sought out
and good is later learned. This movie is visually dazzling, and brutally realistic and is
recommended by me as a must see if you can handle the graphic content nature.