Redemption on DVD (2004)

A customer from London , 25/08/2005

Thoroughly enjoyed this film, I was expecting gang violence and disturbing scenes but was pleasantly surprised. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

  6 out of 9 people found this review helpful

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S from W Yorkshire [Highly rated reviewer] , 14/08/2006

I was expecting a docu-drama type movie about one of the founding leaders of the Crips, however what I actually got in this movie was a self serving pile of doggy doo doo. I’m not sure how much input Stanley Tookie Williams had in the making of this movie, but from watching it, I would say a LOT!

This movie cannot be treated as factual or even true, I would go as far as to say that elements of this movie may be based on actual events but others are padded for the benefit of you guessed it Stanley Tookie Williams. I would be interested to know how soon before the clemency hearing this movie aired on US Screens…..

I found large parts of the movie uncomfortable to watch, most notably Stan being told by his mother that she is proud of him….. I was left wondering if this was based on imagination or fact.

The movie tries to show an impartial view of Stan Tookie, with wide panning and lack of interaction with the audience, whether this was intentional is hard to tell, but the inability to feel the emotions of the lead characters. This movie failed to make me feel or even care about Stanley Tookie, or anybody else in the movie.

After reading Monster by Sanyika Shakur, I felt helpless in a society of our making that seeks to ruin the incredible childhood and lives for thousands of gangmembers. I was expecting to gain the same insight not of the events, but of the actions and mentality of somebody who has dedicated in Stan’s case more than half his life to the gang/ family/ loved ones. Whilst Sanyika was able to convey the man behind the actions through his ability to look at himself and see his actions for what they were. For me Redemption falls short in this respect – whether this is through fault of the writers and director or the inability of Jamie Foxx for not conveying that to an audience or in making them care enough about the story of people I can’t say..

This movie aims to show what Stanley Tookie Williams thought of redemption or does it serve a duel purpose of being an appeal to the then Governor for that crucial clemency hearing?

  5 out of 7 people found this review helpful

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puddles22 from hove , 07/04/2005

jamie foxx is a younger denzel with equally convincing screen presence and the ability to tell a story with just his face. however this film, which is about an integral part of american culture, fell down on the side of cliched humour..he says something..she waits, is he serious?..then laughs. it just left me with the feeling i'd seen it all before. it seemed to be filmed at a distance in that it focused on telling a story without evoking any emotions and without delving into the people so petinent to the gang revolution. watchable but erring on the side of a dull history lesson.

  4 out of 5 people found this review helpful

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Paynts from Lancashire , 05/05/2005

Thoroughly enjoyable movie - it's fair to say this is probably not for everyone but for anyone that has contact with gangs, life in inner city areas and also any time in Jail you may well find this a real uplifting story of a man seeking redemption for past crimes and more importantly trying to divert the young throughout the world from following a life of crime.

Personally found it to be a good film with some strong performances. Not a classic but a movie of some substance.

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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sakuraba1982 from Dover , 06/12/2007

This is the film about Tooky Williams who started the infamous crip gangs in America and was later put on death row for his crimes and later executed. If you are looking for a film filled with gang bloodshed you will not find it here. As this is a film about trying to appeal the death sentance of a man who had turned over a new leaf.

This film shows Tooky in a very positive light and was made before his execution so was basically a publicity tool as if you do any research on the subject his violence towards others inside the prisons was awful.

The best film of this nature is the hurricane with denzille washington, give that a watch instead, that said jamie fox plays tooky very well

worth a watch

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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mjj46 from Essex , 17/07/2005

The acting in this film is superb, and the story is told with just the right amount of emotion. Excellent.

  2 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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