Gang Related [VHS]

Two killers are hiding where no one will ever find them...behind their badges! Tupac Shakur (in hisfinal and most riveting performance) and James Belushi are two corrupt police detectives caught in a dangerous web of deceit in this "gritty, smart and tough" (CBS-TV) action thriller that will hold you in its grip from start to finish. Detectives Divinci (Belushi) and Rodriguez (Shakur) practice their own deadly brand of street justice: They set up drug deals, seize the money for themselves and then murder the dealers. It's a lucrative racket that has worked without a hitch for months. But when they discover that their latest victim was an undercover officer with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the two corrupt cops are forced to initiate a dangerous scheme to save their own lives. And as their "foolproof" plan begins to spin madly out of control, Divinci and Rodriguez are trapped in a tornado of suspicion, betrayal and murder in which they can trust no one...not even each other.

A classic example of a good idea ruined by Hollywood formulas. Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur (in his last performance) are two corrupt cops with an effective scheme: they rob and kill drug dealers. Unfortunately, one of their victims turns out to be an undercover agent for the DEA, and the two bad cops have to scramble to find a suspect to pin the murder on. Soon they're caught in a web of missing evidence, false witnesses, and frayed nerves--Gang Related could have been a lean film noir, slowly tightening until the men break under the pressure. Unfortunately, this isn't the 1940s, and suddenly the plot takes an absurd twist into the most melodramatic coincidence imaginable. It's too bad. Also featuring the lovely Lela Rochon, James Earl Jones, David Paymer, and a surprise performance by Dennis Quaid. --Bret Fetzer