EMPIRE, the debut film from director-writer Frank Reyes is a Latin GOODFELLAS, chronicling the rise and fall of Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo), a Puerto Rican drug-dealer working the violent streets of the South Bronx. With an eye for money and a head for business, Victor dreams of one day achieving the wealth and success of a .. Read more
| Starring | John Leguizamo, Denise Richards, Peter Sarsgaard, Delilah Cotto |
|---|---|
| Director | Franc Reyes |
| Genres | Thriller |
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EMPIRE, the debut film from director-writer Frank Reyes is a Latin GOODFELLAS, chronicling the rise and fall of Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo), a Puerto Rican drug-dealer working the violent streets of the South Bronx. With an eye for money and a head for business, Victor dreams of one day achieving the wealth and success of a legitimate businessman. When Victor discovers that his girlfriend Carmen (Delilah Cruz) is pregnant, he jumps at the chance to give up the dangerous drug trade and joins forces with two new friends, Jack (Peter Skarsgaard)--a flashy Wall Street Investment banker, and his girlfriend Trish (Denise Richards). Jack offers Victor a new way of life and promises him access to "sure thing" investments. Eager to go legit, Victor quickly embraces Jack's standards of living. He gives up the streets of the Bronx for Jack's slick Soho loft and moves into the fast-talking, money-driven world of Wall Street. However, Carmen misses the warmth and familiarity of her roots in the South Bronx and Victor is torn between his own ambition and his desire to please her. Ultimately, he realises too late that Jack and Trish are not all who they seem to be, and his best-laid plans begin to falter as he is forced to accept the magnitude of their betrayal.
| Starring | John Leguizamo, Denise Richards, Peter Sarsgaard, Delilah Cotto, Vincent Laresca, Sonia Braga, Isabella Rossellini |
|---|---|
| Director | Franc Reyes |
| Studio | UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK VIDEO RENTAL |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 35 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 2002 To Rent: DVD: 20 Oct 2003 |
Urban dramas don't get any more derivative than this hackneyed debut from writer/director Franc Reyes. Starring John Leguizamo, who also acts as co-producer, it tells the story of a South Bronx drugs dealer who teams up with a Wall Street hotshot (a slimy Peter Sarsgaard) to try to escape the ghetto. While Leguizamo runs rings around his co-stars in the central role, the mediocrity of the plot does him no favours. It's full of holes and entirely predictable, with an unimaginative reliance on stereotypes instead of fully-fleshed characters. Ultimately, for all its slick cinematography, there's just no heart in Reyes's film, making it hard to empathise as violent and tragic events unfold.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful
Very much style over substance. The film is really let down by the insertion of a "twist" so predictable that you assume it won't happen. Not ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
hard t follow
this was an ok film found a bit hard to follow but someone else would think it was great, give a try
Predictable
Predictable, I must start reading reviews first, as seem to pick awful films...
Empire
A fantastic film.Alot to take in, but I found this very entertaining. Well worth a watch. I have even asdded this to my dvd collection
George Lucas, the man behind "Star Wars" has been dropping hints about the title of the third, or sixth, film. Lucas denied that the title would be "Rise of the Empire", but added that "Revenge of the Sith" was "a possibility." The iconic director pointed out that there are "lots of titles out there [on the internet]" when speaking to USA Today. Industry magazine Empire even ran a competition to find the best title. "Rise Of The Empire" Read more
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