‘My grandpa asked me one time if I care whether I live or die…’
Menace II Society is one of those films that I’ve heard about many times without ever really considering if it’s any good or not. It scores highly on both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, and it hails from the 90s – my favourite cinematic era – and yet… The Hughes Brothers seminal work did absolutely nothing for me. The action begins with a store clerk being brutally gunned down in front of his hysterical wife and then we are asked to sympathise with the two main characters who have carried out this crime. I don’t get it…
Caine (Tyrin Turner) and O-Dog (Larenz Tate) seek to escape the hood life by… I dunno really? Arseing around and stealing cars? There isn’t much of a narrative arc here, if I’m honest. Other characters come and go, including those played by Samuel L. Jackson and Jada Pinkett-Smith, but eventually we always end up back with Caine and O-Dog.
I guess I can see why this film was a big deal upon release in 1993. It is a gritty, violent take on life on the streets, and the ending definitely packs an emotional punch. That being said, the performances are nothing to write home about, the script is forgettable and the narration is often too on the nose to be taken seriously. In short, this is a film that has aged badly. It also doesn’t help that I had seen Don’t be a Menace to South Central Whilst Drinking Your Juice in the Hood – a film that expertly parodies Menace II Society – many times before I saw this film. This made many of the more well known scenes feeling faintly ridiculous, although I suppose it would be harsh to be judgemental about that given that the Hughes Brothers didn’t know their film would be parodied so brutally in the future.
Menace II Society is no longer the shocking and poignant film that it may have been upon release. Honestly? Watch Boyz N the Hood instead.